Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Esther Acrostic
Materials: paper, pencils
Give each child a piece of paper and a pencil. Instruct the kids to write ESTHER down the left side of their papers. Tell them to use Esther’s name to create an acrostic about courage by using each letter to create a word or phrase. Afterward, give several volunteers the opportunity to share their acrostics. Have everyone say the Life Point together.
Live It Out
Game – Esther True or False Quiz
Materials: bell
Before class, create multiple statements concerning today’s Bible story that are either true or false. Form two teams of children and line each team up on either side of you. Place a bell in between the two teams. Tell your children you will read a statement and the team to hit the bell first and answer the statement correctly wins a point. After a child participates, he or she will go to the back of the line. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins!
Possible statements:
King Nebuchadnezzar was Esther’s husband. (false)
Haman attempted to have all the Jews killed. (true)
Esther invited Haman and king Xerxes to a banquet. (true)
Mordecai was Esther’s father. (false)
Craft – Construction Paper Crowns
Materials: construction paper, glue, decorative items (gems, glitter, stickers, etc.), scissors, markers, tape
Give each child the supplies for the craft. Instruct them to cut their construction paper in half, and cut the other half in half again. Tell them to cut a ridge out of the top of one strip of paper so that it looks like a series of mountains. In the middle of the crown, instruct them to write PROVERBS 3:5-6. Direct them to decorate their crown with markers or the decorative items that you provided them. After they have decorated their crowns, help them glue the two other strips to each end. Help them put the crowns around their heads and tape the ends of the crowns together. Have everyone say the Life Point together. Tell your children that Esther trusted God and He helped her with every decision she made.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Esther Word Search
Materials: whiteboard, dry-erase markers, paper, pencils
Before class, write words from the story of Esther on the board, both horizontally and vertically. Next, write random letters around all of the terms, creating a Word Search grid. As children enter your class, give each of them a piece of paper and a pencil. Instruct them to find as many words as possible. After everyone has had the opportunity to look for words, the child who found the most is the winner! Encourage your children to listen for those specific words during the lesson.
Suggested words to write on the board:
ESTHER, HAMAN, QUEEN, MORDECAI, PALACE, KING, BEAUTY, GATE, MAIDS, HONOR, GALLOWS
Live It Out
Game – Story Relay
Materials: no materials needed
Form two teams and have each team sit in a circle facing each other. Tell them they will go around the circle, taking turns to tell the story of Esther in a relay. The first child will say one sentence about Esther, the next child will continue the story with one sentence, and so on. The team that has everyone say one sentence about the story of Esther first is the winner! Afterward, have everyone say the Weekly Verse together.
Craft – Esther Comic Strip
Materials: paper, colored pencils, pencils
Give each child a piece of paper, a pencil, and colored pencils. Instruct them to draw four equal-sized boxes on their papers. Tell them to draw the story of Esther as a comic strip. Their comic strip should include the four most important events from the story of Esther. Allow them to color their comic strip after drawing it. Afterward, allow volunteers to share their comic strips with the class. Pray with the kids, thanking God for His power and that people can always trust in Him.
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