Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – What Is It?
Materials: index cards or paper squares, athletic headband
Print words or names of
objects associated with Jesus on the cards or squares. Possible words could
include: manger, temple, baptized, Jordan
River, disciple, cross, miracle, heal, preach, Savior, tomb, arose. (Choose
words your children will know and understand.)
Mix the cards. Choose a volunteer to stand in front of the other kids. Place
the headband on her head. Choose a card and show to the other children but keep
the volunteer from seeing it. Slide the card in the headband so the rest of the
kids will remember what the word is. The volunteer can ask 10 questions for
others to answer. After the 10 questions, ask the child to tell the word. If
she cannot name it, show the word. Choose another volunteer to play the game.
After a few rounds, tell kids that the Holy Spirit will help people tell about
Jesus.
Live It Out
Game – Blow Me Down
Materials: plastic cups (one per team), straws (one per child)
Group the kids into teams. Place cups, upside down, along the side of a table. Tell kids that they will blow through their straws to move the team’s cup across the table and off the other side. One or two members of each team can blow the cup at the same time. Ask a review question to the team that blows the cup off the table first. Reset and play the game again to review the Bible story.
Craft – Mosaic Marker
Materials: heavyweight paper, colored masking tape, washi tape, scissors, gel pens (optional)
Cut the paper into 2-by-8-inch strips. Give a strip to each kid. Kids can cut pieces of tape to create mosaic designs on the strip. Talk about the Bible story. Tell kids that the Holy Spirit helps people tell about Jesus. They can pray and ask for help in knowing how to tell about Jesus. Suggest they use the mosaic marker in their Bibles. As an option, provide gel pens for kids to write the Life Point on the backs of their mosaic markers.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Following Directions
Materials: paper, pencils
Group kids into pairs. Give each kid a piece of paper and a pencil. Tell partners to sit back to back. Guide one kid in each pair to draw an object or simple picture. Then that child will give simple directions to his partner to recreate the drawing. Directions can only be descriptions of shapes or lines; kids cannot tell partners what image they are drawing. For example: “Draw a triangle at the top of the page. Then draw a square underneath it.” When all the directions have been given, kids can compare the drawings. Then swap roles and draw again. Say: “Sometimes it is difficult to explain something to someone. Today we will think about how we can better explain about Jesus to others.”
Live It Out
Game – Number Scramble
Materials: large 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 play area. Play music and guide kids to walk through the numbers. Stop the music and all kids should stand on a number. (More than one person can stand on/near the same number.) Roll the numbered cubes. Ask the kid(s) on that number to answer a review question. If they answer incorrectly, lead them to sit outside the play area. Start the music again to continue the game. Talk about the Bible story. Say the Life Point
Craft – Story Tower
Materials: index cards, markers, scissors
Give each kid several index cards. Guide a kid to print the story title on a card. She can print facts about the story on the other cards. Help the kid cut two slits in the title card, from the bottom up. Then she can slide a card into each slit (perpendicular to the first card) and stand up the cards. She can cut slits in those two cards and slide in other cards to make a story tower. Talk about the story and the Life Point.
Leave a Reply