Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Gospel Puzzles
Materials: different colored sheets of paper, scissors, marker, ziplock bags
On several sheets of colored paper, write the names of the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Write each on a separate piece of paper. Cut each paper into 6-8 pieces and store each puzzle in a ziplock bag. (Make several puzzles of each Gospel name.)
Give each child or pair of children one of the puzzles. Guide kids to put the puzzles in order. Some may want to race one another in putting puzzles together. After a child or pair assembles the puzzle, help him/them find the Gospel in a Bible. As time allows, kids can trade puzzles to work. Tell kids that the Gospels tell about the things that Jesus did. The four Gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, named for the men who wrote the books. Tell kids that this unit’s stories will focus on Jesus and the Gospels.
Live It Out
Game – Over and Under Relay
Materials: index cards, marker, tape, beach ball (one per team, if teams are used)
Write the words of the Life Point on cards, one word per card. If you choose to play with teams, create a set of words for each team. Tape the words on a wall at one end of the game area.
Talk about the Bible story and say the Life Point together. (Create teams if you choose.) Guide kids to stand in a line, one behind the other. (Each team should form its own line.) Hand the ball to the first kid in line. When you say go, the first kid should hand the ball over her head to the kid behind her. The second kid should hand the ball between his legs to the kid behind him. The kids should continue to pass the ball over and under to the end of the line. The last kid in line runs to the wall of word cards, chooses the first word in the Life Point, and runs back the line. She places the card in a specified place, stands at the front of the line, and passes the ball over her head. Continue the game until the Life Point is completed in order. Talk about the things that Jesus taught about loving and forgiving others.
Craft – Life Point Plate Puzzle
Materials: paper plates, markers and crayons, scissors, large ziplock bags
Give each child a paper plate. Invite kids to write the Life Point on the back of the plates as you talk about the Bible story. Tell kids to write something that Jesus taught on the front of the plates. Kids can cut their plates into several pieces to make puzzles. Challenge kids to trade puzzles and assemble them. Or ask kids to pick up one of their puzzle pieces, read it, and then say the complete Life Point. Offer ziplock bags for kids to store their puzzles.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Top Ten Difficult Things
Materials: paper, marker
Make ten placards with one of these statements written on each: Singing a solo in front of your whole school; Running two miles; Climbing a mountain; Taking a science test; Skateboarding; Telling your parents you made an F on a paper; Memorizing 10 Bible verses; Saying you are sorry; Cleaning up someone else’s messy room; Standing up to a bully. Place the placards on the floor.
Read the tasks with the kids. Ask them to work together to put the tasks in the order of difficulty. Explain that the first one should be the most difficult one to do and so on down to the last one being the least difficult. Talk about the ranking that the kids made, and ask them to talk about reasons they put the placards in that order. Tell the kids that Jesus taught us what to do and some of those things are difficult. Suggest they listen carefully to the Bible story to discover what Jesus taught and talk about its difficulty after the story.
Live It Out
Game – Four in a Row
Materials: beanbags, paper squares (two colors), tape
Use tape to create a 4-by-5 grid on the floor. Mark a tossing line a few feet away from the grid.
Create two teams; designate one of the colored squares for each team. Guide a player from Team 1 to stand at the tossing line and toss a beanbag onto the grid. If the beanbag lands in a square, ask the team a review question about the Bible story. If the team answers the question correctly, the player places a colored square in the grid where the beanbag landed. If the team does not answer the question correctly, the grid square is still available. A player from Team 2 tosses the beanbag on the grid. (If a player misses the grid or lands on a square already claimed, the team’s turn is over.) The team that gets four colored squares in a row (in any direction) wins. Talk about the Life Point and what Jesus taught His followers to do.
Craft – Marble Magnets
Materials: clear floral marbles, paper, gel pens, self-adhesive magnets or magnet tape, glue that dries clear, brushes
Talk about the Bible story and the Life Point. Lead a kid to trace around a floral marble and cut out the circle. He can write Forgive on the small circle. He can brush glue on the flat bottom of the marble and stick the words on the glue. He can add the magnet on the back of marble, too. Encourage kids to talk about forgiving others.
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