Grades 1–6: Trusting God — Session 4: Esther Helped Her People (February 23)

Grades 1-3

Introductory Activity – Hard to Do or Not?

Materials: no materials needed.

Tell kids that you will name things that people do. They can stand if they think it is hard to do or remain seated if they do not think it is hard to do. Name a variety of things with only short pauses; kept the game moving. Possible things: hitting a baseball, jumping out of an airplane, baking a cake, writing a story, reading a book with 100 pages, riding a bike, drawing someone’s picture, building a wall, swimming across a pool, teaching a dog to roll over. (Include things that fit with your kids’ interests.) Tell kids that someone faced a choice to do something she thought was difficult and even dangerous to do.

Live It Out

Game – Pass and Point

Materials: long cardboard tube, music CD and player

Lead kids to sit in a circle. Show the cardboard tube and tell kids it is a scepter. Play music and hand the scepter to a kid. Kids should pass the scepter around the circle while the music plays. Stop the music. Ask a review question. The child holding the scepter should point it toward another child to answer. Begin the music again and pass the scepter. After a few turns, change the game. The child points the scepter at someone who says the Bible Verse or the Life Point.

Craft – “E” Mail

Materials: large letter E’s cut from heavyweight paper, markers, stickers, paint, other art materials, large envelopes (optional)

Give each child a letter E. Lead kids to decorate their E’s. They can include the Life Point or verse on the letters. Talk about the Bible story. Mention times that it may be hard to trust God. Tell kids that people can trust God even when difficult things happen. Suggest kids use the letters to remind them that Esther trusted God and we can trust God today, too. You may want to provide envelopes for kids to store their “E” mail.

Grades 4-6

Introductory Activity – Bounce and Spell

Materials: Plastic cups, unsharpened pencils, permanent markers, stopwatch (or other timer)

Print the letters of TRUST on plastic cups, one letter per cup. Make at least two sets. On a table, set up the 5 cups to spell the word; create space between each cup. Lay several pencils on the table near the first cup. Set up the other cups and pencils on another table. Tell kids: “You will take turns trying to bounce pencils into the cups. See if you can bounce a pencil in each cup in 1 minute.” Demonstrate how to hold the pencil (eraser side down) and bounce the pencil on its eraser toward the cup. Start the stopwatch and say: “Go!” Say “Stop” after 1 minute. Allow kids to take turns trying to complete the task. Or see who can complete the task in the shortest amount of time. (Note: One minute may be too short for kids to complete the task; you may want to change the goal time to 2 minutes.) Tell kids that you will learn more about trusting God today.

Live It Out

Game – Team Bowling

Materials: 6 large plastic bottles, 6 foam balls, masking tape

Use masking tape to create the borders of the game area; tape a center line through the game area. Set up 3 plastic bottles at the back of each game area; set them in a triangle formation. Group the kids into 2 teams. Teams spread out through their sides of the area. Give each team 3 balls. Tell teams that on your signal, they should roll the balls and try to knock down the other team’s pins while protecting their own pins. Say: “Go!” Teams can play the game. Call: “Stop!” All balls and kids should stop. Ask a review question. If a team gets the question correct, they can roll a ball toward the other team’s pins while the team remains still. Say: “Go!” and general game continues. When a team knocks down all the other team’s pins, award 5 points. Say the Life Point. Reset all pins and begin again.
If you have a large group of kids, create four teams and create four squares in the game area. Put team’s pins in each corner. (You will need 12 bottles and 12 balls.)

Craft – Scepter Reminder

Materials: wooden dowels about 12 inches long; tempera paint and paintbrushes; strips of paper; pens; yarn; scissors; hole punches

Talk about the Bible story and mention the king’s scepter. Tell kids they can create their own scepters with the materials. Lead kids to write Trust God on paper strips. Help a preteen punch a hole in her strip and tie a length of yarn to the strip. Then she can tie the other end to a dowel. Guide her to paint her dowel as she chooses. As the scepters dry, talk about times kids should trust God. Mention that sometimes people are unsure to trust God in difficult times but they should do so anyway. We can pray and ask God to help us know what to do.