Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity— Bible Writers
Materials: index cards, pen
Print the following names on index cards, one word per card: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, Moses, Isaiah, Daniel, David, Solomon. Lay the cards facedown on the floor and tell kids to sit on the floor near the cards. Choose one child to pick up a card and read the name. Ask her to tell something she knows about that Bible person. (For example, Moses led the people out of Egypt, Paul was a missionary, David was a king, and so forth.) When all of the names have been revealed, ask: “What is something these men have in common?” (The wrote books in the Bible.) Tell kids they will hear about another man who wrote God’s words in the Bible.
Live It Out
Game— Obstacle Course
Materials: paper, marker, scissors, tape, lunch bags
Print the Bible verse on pieces of paper. Make a verse for each team. Cut each verse into 10 pieces. (Do not mix the pieces.) Divide each team’s puzzle pieces into 5 bags. Set each group of bags at one end of the play area; leave space between the groups of bags. Use tape to create a zigzagging path from the start line to a group of bags. Make a path for each team.
Group the kids into teams of 5. On your signal, the first player from each team will run along the path to the bags. He will take one of the backs and race back along the path. When he arrives the next child runs along the path. The first child removes the puzzle pieces and begins the puzzle. Kids continue to race and bring back bags of puzzle pieces. They work together to assemble the puzzle. The first team to complete the puzzle wins. Read the verse together. Say the Life Point and recall the Bible story.
Craft— Bible Bookmarks
Materials: envelopes, scissors, washi tape
Help a child cut the corner from an envelope; cut diagonally across the envelope about ½-inch from the corner. Lead the child to use washi tape to cover both sides of the triangle bookmark. Make sure to leave the long end open. As kids work, talk about the Bible story. Say the Life Point and talk about what kids have learned about how to live from Bible. Show kids how to slide the bookmark over the corner of a page to mark pages. Suggest kids use their bookmarks in their Bibles to mark where they are reading or to mark today’s Bible verse.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity— Scribes
Materials: Bibles, pencils, lined paper, timer
Give kids paper and pencils. Tell them that you would like them to copy as much of the book of Genesis as they can in 2 minutes. However, the copy must be as neat as possible. Help kids locate Genesis 1 and prepare to write as you set the timer. On your signal, kids can copy the passage. Call for kids to stop when the timer sounds. Note how much of the passage kids were able to write. Repeat with Jeremiah 36 as time permits. Tell kids that a person in the Bible story today was a scribe, a person who wrote words for others. The words this man wrote were God’s words.
Live It Out
Game— Dress Up Relay
Materials: variety of clothes that can be easily put on—hat, novelty glasses, clip-on tie, jacket, scarf, belt, mittens, and so forth
Tell kids that this game is teacher vs. class. Tell them you will read a question for a preteen to answer. If he answers correctly, he can choose a piece of clothing for the teacher to wear. If he answers incorrectly, the teacher chooses clothing for him to wear. Play the game. Everyone will continue to wear clothing until it is gone. Then, if a question is answered correctly, kids can choose one of their pieces of clothing to go on the teacher. The game is over when the teacher is wearing all the clothing. (“Teacher” can be any designated adult, not necessarily the one asking the questions.) Say the Life Point and talk about what the Bible says about how to live.
Craft— Memorizing Ring
Materials: large metal key rings (one per child), heavyweight paper, gel pens, hole punches, Bibles
Give each child a key ring. Instruct kids to cut pieces of paper into large squares and punch a hole in the corner of each square. Kids can write some of their favorite Bible verses on each of the pieces of paper and put them on the keyring. Suggest kids write the Weekly Verse, 2 Timothy 3:16, on square to be placed on the front of the ring and to print the Life Point on the back of the same square. Kids can also print the Unit Verse, Psalm 119:160, and other verses to help them think about the Bible.
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