Grades 1-3
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 – God Made it Charades
Materials: none
Invite a kid to act out something created by God (rocks, pigs, fish, trees, tigers, flowers) without making any sounds. The rest of the group should guess what object he is pretending to be. Allow the first kid who guesses correctly to act out the next created thing. Remind kids that God is the Creator and He made the world from nothing.
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.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – What Day?
Materials: Bibles, paper, markers, tape
On separate pieces of paper, write Day 1, Day2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7. Attach each paper to the walls around your space. When kids arrive, name different things that were created and tell kids to go to the day they think God made that thing on. Play a round or two, then allow kids to get out their Bibles and look it up for the next round. Tell them that today, they’ll be learning all about everything God created on which days.
Live It Out
Game – Categories
Materials: none
Invite kids to circle up. Name 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 have to 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 every single thing that is on this earth!
Craft – Make Playdough
Materials: 2 cups flour, ¾ cups salt, 4 teaspoons cream of tartar, 2 cups lukewarm water, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, food coloring, quart-sized ziplock bags
Before group, 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 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, and store in ziplock bags.
Bring the dough to your group along with plenty of food coloring. Give each child a ball of the 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.
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