Grades 1–3
Introductory Activity—Bible Search
Materials: Bibles, letter cards (A, S, C, E, N, S, I, O, N)
Mix the cards. Guide kids to choose cards and find books in the Bible that begin with the chosen letter. Continue for several minutes. Then guide kids to arrange the letters to form a word. Ask kids if they know what the word ascension means, and allow them to answer, sharing their personal thoughts of what it might mean if they have no idea. Tell kids that they will hear about the ascension today.
Live It Out
Game–Pass the Egg
Materials: large Easter egg
Randomly ask one student a review question while the egg gets passed around the circle. If the egg arrives back at the student before she answers she must go to the middle (the pot) of the circle. The chicken is then passed to the next person, and so on. If the next student does not get the answer correct, then ask the students in the “Pot” if they know the answer. If someone does, then he may get out of the pot and go back to the circle. Remind kids at the beginning that the Easter egg can represent the new life that Jesus brought by resurrecting!
Craft—Rainbow Cloud
Materials: craft sticks, markers, cotton balls, liquid glue, card stock, scissors
Invite kids to cut out what they think of as the shape of a cloud from cardstock. They should then color craft sticks the colors of the rainbow: one red, one orange, one yellow, and so on. After they have rainbow colored craft sticks, help them glue the sticks as if they were coming out of the bottom half of the cloud. Finally, glue the cotton balls onto the cloud and allow glue to dry completely. Allow kids to keep the clouds as a reminder that Jesus went into the clouds, but He made a promise to come back.
Grades 4–6
Introductory Activity—Goodbye Shakes
Materials: no materials needed
Talk about ways people say hello or good-bye. What do people do? (wave, fist-bump, shake hands, hug, etc.) Group kids into pairs or threes. Each small group can come up with an elaborate way to say good-bye. They can shake hands, spin around, slap hands together, and so on in various combinations. After groups create their handshakes, they can show them to the rest of the group. Tell kids that they will hear a story today of what happened when Jesus told His disciples good-bye and returned to heaven.
Live It Out
Game—Write It Down
Materials: pencils, paper
Group kids into three groups. Ask a review question. Lead each group to write down its answer for the entire group. Teams should stand when they have finished their answers. Call on a group to give its answer. Tell kids to sit and ask another review question. Talk about the Life Point.
Craft— Ink Blot Clouds
Materials: blue construction paper, white paintGive every child a piece of blue construction paper and white paint. Kids should fold their blue paper in half however they choose. Then, when they open it up, they can dab 3-4 dime sized dollops of white paint near the crease. Have them fold the paper over and press however they please, rubbing the paint around. When they open the paper back up, everyone should have what looks like a cloud, but each one will be a little different! Remind kids that even though Jesus went up into the clouds, He is coming back for all His children. Say the Weekly Verse together.
Leave a Reply