Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Mountain, River, Valley
Materials: masking tape
Make a masking tape line down the middle of the room. The line will need to be long enough for all kids. If needed, make several lines spaced around the room for groups of kids. Guide all kids to stand on the tape line. Say: “This line is the river. If you step to the left, you are on the mountain. If you step to the right, you are in the valley. Listen carefully and stand where I tell you to stand.” Wait until all kids are ready. Say: “Mountain! (Kids step to the left of the tape) River! (Kids step onto the tape) Valley! (Kids step to the right of the tape)” Then speed up and mix up what you call. If a kid steps to the wrong place, he moves to the back of the tape line (and everyone else moves forward). Keep playing for a few turns. Stop and tell kids to stand back on the tape line and begin again. At the end of the game, say: “Today we will hear a Bible story about a man that God took to a valley and spoke to him.”
Live It Out
Game – Write a Letter Relay
Materials: masking tape, two pieces of paper or white boards, markers
Lay a tape line in the middle of the game area. Place the paper or white boards at either end of the area. Group kids into two teams. Repeat the Life Point together a few times. Line up teams on the tape line; one team should face the paper at one end of the area and the other team face the other end. On your signal, the first player on each team runs to his team’s paper, writes the first letter of the first word of the Life Point, and runs back to the team. The next player runs to the paper and writes the second letter of the word. Play continues until a team completes all the words of the Life Point. Teams can assist by telling the player what letter to write if he seems confused. When teams have completed the sentence, read the Life Point again with kids. Talk about the Bible story.
Craft – Origami Triangle Bookmark
Materials: paper squares (6 inches by 6 inches is a good size); thin line markers, washi tape, small stickers, other art supplies
- Distribute the paper squares, one per kid. Lead kids to follow the steps to fold the paper into a triangle/corner bookmark.
- a. Lay the paper on a table in front of you, with one corner facing you (so that the paper looks like a diamond.
- b. Fold the top corner down to meet the bottom corner and crease it. (This folds the paper in half diagonally, making a large triangle.)
- c. Fold the left corner down to meet the bottom corner. Crease the fold.
- d. Fold the right corner down to meet the bottom corner. Crease the fold.
- e. Open up the left and right points back to their original positions.
- f. Fold up the bottom corner—top layer only—to the upper folded side. The sides will line up with the creases.
- g. Fold the left corner back down and slide the corner into the pocket you created. Smooth the corner into the pocket as needed.
- h. Fold the right corner back down and slide the corner into the pocket. Smooth as needed.
[[See attached diagram below if needed.]]
Press along the creases as needed. Lead kids to write the Life Point on their bookmarks. Guide them to use the tape, stickers, markers, and other supplies to add designs and color to their bookmarks. Talk about the Bible story. Stress that the Bible gives people hope by telling what God has said and done. Show kids how to slide the pocket of the bookmark over the corner of a page to mark a place in the Bible.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Put It Together
Materials: 7 different colors of paper, marker, scissors
Print Ezekiel’s name on paper, one letter each on a different color. Print the letters large to cover the whole page. Cut each letter into pieces. (More pieces will make the game more challenging.)
Mix the cut pieces of paper. Stand in the middle of the game area, hold the pieces over your head, and drop them to scatter on the floor. On a signal, lead the kids to put together the paper pieces to get the letters. Then they can put the letters in order to spell the name. Tell the kids that they will hear a Bible story in which parts assembled together.
Live It Out
Game – Sitting Volleyball
Material: masking tape, beach ball
Use the tape mark the outside boundaries of the game area. Place a line of time across the middle of the game area to make the “net.” Group kids into two teams. Tell teams to sit on opposite sides, facing the center line. Toss the ball to one team to start the game. Each team gets only three hits to get the ball over the net to the other side. If a team hits the ball more than three times, hits the ball out of bounds, or lets the ball hit the ground on its side, the other team wins a point. Hold the ball and ask that team a review question; a correct answer gains an additional point. Then that team gets the ball to restart play. Continue until one team reaches 21 points.
Craft – Message Rocks
Materials: clean smooth rocks, paint pens
Distribute the rocks. Lead kids to write the word hope on their rocks (or similar messages that convey today’s Life Point). As kids decorate around the words on their rocks, talk about the Bible story. Comment that the Bible gives people hope because the Bible is God’s Word; God is always faithful and true so people can believe and trust that He will do what He says. Discuss with preteens about having hope in God because of the Bible. Encourage them to talk about their thoughts related to the Bible story. When the rocks are complete, consider placing them in a flowerbed or other safe location around your church to remind people about hope in God. Or tell kids to place their rocks somewhere outside their homes to communicate and remember the hope people have in God.
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