Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Create with Sand
Materials: sand in a plastic container
Gather kids in front of a table with the container of sand. Ask a volunteer to come up and make something from the sand. Because sand won’t stick together, it’ll be impossible to form anything from the sand. Allow a few volunteers to come up and try. Encourage kids to get creative. After a few volunteers try, tell kids that God made the whole world out of nothing at all! Say the Life Point together and recite the Weekly Verse.
Live it Out
Game – Categories
Materials: none
Invite kids to circle up. Say a creation category and challenge kids to start naming items in that category as they go around the circle (ex: fruit: apple, banana, orange, etc.) Kids should name a different example than any named before and cannot take more than five seconds to come up with an example. If a kid repeats a word or takes too much time, she must sit down. Play until one kid is left. Repeat with as many categories as you have time for. Remind kids that there are many examples that kids couldn’t come up with, but God knows and created everything that is on this earth!
Craft– Make Playdough
Materials: 2 cups all-purpose flour, ¾ cups salt, 4 teaspoons cream of tartar, 2 cups lukewarm water, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, food coloring, quart-sized bags
Before your group time, make plenty of dough to divide between kids. Double or Triple the recipe depending on the size of your group. To make the dough, stir together the flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a large pot. Next, add the water and oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring until the dough has thickened and begins to form into a ball. Remove from heat and then place inside a gallon-sized bag or onto wax paper. Allow to cool slightly and then knead until smooth. Divide the dough into balls depending on the number of kids in your group.
Bring the dough to your group along with plenty of food coloring. Give each child a ball of dough and a color. Invite kids to add the dough into the quart-sized bags and put about five drops of color. Kids can knead the dough, while inside the bag so it doesn’t stain hands.
Encourage kids to play with the dough and make it into whatever they want. Explain that sometimes it’s hard to come up with what to create because our minds are limited, but God is the most creative being ever. Not only did He come up with the ideas of everything to create, but He didn’t even have a pile of supplies. God is Creator, and He made the world from nothing.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Highs & Lows
Materials: none
Sit in a circle. Tell something that was a high point and something that was a low point of your week, and then invite kids to go around the circle and do the same. Model honesty and vulnerability in an age-appropriate way. After each kid who wants to share does, tell kids that God made the world from nothing, and when He made it, He declared everything good. When God first created the world, there would have been no lows for the week! Explain that this week, you will learn how God created the world in the very beginning.
Live It Out
Game – What Day?
Materials: paper, marker, Bibles
On separate pieces of paper, write Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, and Day 7. Attach each paper to the walls around your space. Begin to name different things that were created and tell kids to go to the day on which they think God made that thing. Anyone on the wrong day should sit in the center of the play area. Continue to play until only one person is remaining, or you run out of time. Say the Life Point and Weekly Verse together.
Craft – It’s Up To You!
Materials: various craft supplies: colored construction paper, markers, crayons, glue, stickers, plastic gems, etc.
Lay out various craft supplies in the middle of the room. Encourage kids to grab any supplies they would like and create something—anything at all! As kids are working, ask them if it was hard to come up with something? Explain that our minds are limited, but God is the most creative being ever. Not only did He come up with the ideas of everything to create, but He didn’t even have a pile of supplies. God is Creator, and He made the world from nothing.
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