Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Round ‘Em Up
Materials: cotton balls, chenille stems, masking tape
Use tape to create two or three small “sheep pens” on sides or ends of a table. Scatter cotton balls on the tabletop between the pens.
Create two or three teams; each team will claim one of the pens. Give each child a chenille stem. Tell teams that the goal is to gather as many cotton balls as they can in their pen. They must use the chenille stems to move the cotton balls. They can bend the chenille stems as they choose. Any balls in another team’s pen are off-limits, but any cotton balls outside the taped areas can be taken. Say: “Go!” (Drop a few more cotton balls in the middle of play to extend the game.) Call time and count each team’s total. Any cotton balls outside a pen are not counted for any team. Play again as time allows. Tell kids that Moses was shepherding sheep when he saw something unusual.
Live It Out
Game – Full-Body True or False
Materials: none
Make statements about the Bible story. Guide kids to use their bodies to make the letter T if the statement is true or F if the statement is false. Kids can lie on the floor to make their letters. They can work alone or with friends to make the letters. After each statement, talk about the answers, and guide kids to stand again before making the next statement. Say the Unit Verse. Repeat the verse with motions suggested by the kids.
Craft – Burning Bush Painting
Materials: coffee filters, thin-lined black permanent markers, washable markers (red, yellow, orange), cups of water, watercolor brushes, plastic plates or trays, hair dryer (optional)
Talk about the Bible story and say the Life Point. Distribute the coffee filters. Lead kids to print the Life Point on the coffee filters with permanent markers. Lead them to draw the sticks of a bush underneath the printed Point. Tell the kids they can use the washable markers to color blocks on the bush outline. Then they can lay the coffee filter on a plastic plate and paint over the marker blocks with water to make the colors run and blend. The effect should resemble a burning bush. (The plastic plate will keep the color from seeping through to the table or floor.) Set aside the filters to dry or use a hair dryer on low setting to dry them. Lead kids to talk about God’s power and say the Unit Verse.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Shoes Off
Materials: shoes that the kids are wearing
Group the kids into teams. Group the teams in the middle of the game area, each facing a different corner. Mix and pile the shoes in the different corners of the space or around the perimeter of the space. On your signal, the first child searches and finds her shoe, puts it on her foot, and then runs back to her team, tagging the next player. Continue until all teams have shoes on their feet. (To simplify the game, pile the shoes in the middle of the area and group each team in a different corner of the room. Kids will run to the middle to find their shoes.) Comment that Moses saw something unusual and God told Moses to remove his shoes.
Live It Out
Game – Your Number’s Up
Materials: sheets of paper numbered 2-12; pair of numbered cubes; music
Lay the numbers in a random pattern on the floor. All kids can stand around the game area. Play music and guide kids to walk through the numbers in random directions. Stop the music. All kids should stand on or near a number. (More than one person can stand on/near the same number.) Roll the numbered cubes. Ask the kids on that number to answer a review question. If they answer incorrectly, lead them to sit outside the game area (for one round). Start the music again to continue the game. After kids sit out one round, they can rejoin the game. Say the Unit Verse and talk about ways God shows His power.
Craft – Shoe Shaped Verse Reminder
Materials: heavy-weight paper in various colors, gel pens, scissors, hole punches, colorful shoe laces, large clean shoes
Guide the kids to make verse reminders. They can trace around one of the large shoes (or trace around their own shoes) and cut out the shapes. Tell the kids to write the Unit Verse in the middle of their shoe shapes. They can add other designs around the verse as they choose. Then kids can punch holes around their shoe shapes and lace one or more of the colored laces in the holes. Talk about the Bible story while kids work. Say the verse together.
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