first grade foundation, who is god and what is his …...archaeologists, exploring the past. so they...

First Grade Foundation, Who is God and What is His Plan?

Fall Quarter: When the World Was New

© 2002, 2010, 2013 Karyn Henley. All rights reserved. Exclusively administered byChild Sensitive Communication, LLC, PO Box 150806, Nashville, Tennessee 37215-0806

Written and illustrated by Karyn Henley

Layout by Kristi J. West

The dandelion logo is a trademark of Karyn Henley.

WHEN THE WORLD WAS NEW

Introduction: Let’s Look at Some Basics i

Walk Through a Lesson ii

Connect with Parents vi

How to Use this Curriculum with Older Students vii

Lessons:

1. When the World was New: Creation – God is Artist and Maker. 1

2. Adam and Eve – God is always right. 8

3. A World Under Water – God takes care of those who trust and obey. 15

4. The Tower – God works to make His will happen. 22

5. Abraham – God keeps His promises. 28

6. Isaac and Rebekah – God hears and answers prayer. 36

7. Jacob and Esau – God is our protector. 42

8. Jacob Has a Family – God is with us everywhere. 48

9. Joseph Goes to Egypt – God is always in control even when wedon’t understand what’s happening. 55

10. Joseph Becomes a Ruler – God gives wisdom. 62

11. God Chooses Moses – God exists beyond time. 68

12. Pharaoh and the Plagues – No one is as powerful as God. 74

13. In the Wilderness – God is the Ruler. He makes the rules. 80

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Welcome to First Grade Foundations. The theme of this four-quarter curriculum is“Who is God and What’s His Plan?” Each lesson is designed to help children discover a newattribute of God as they progress through a chronological study of the Old Testament. Theywill also learn what God’s plan is. (God wants to love and bless us. In turn, He wants us tolove and bless Him and others. Then others will see God’s love through us and will come tolove God themselves.) Children will see God’s character and His plan demonstrated throughthe Old Testament stories.

Quarter 1 - When the World Was NewQuarter 2 - Promised Child, Promised LandQuarter 3 - Good Kings and Bad KingsQuarter 4 - Messages from God

Let’s Look at Some Basics:

• Six year olds are beginning to understand the flow of time. Sixes have a newly developing awareness that events progress from beginning to

middle to end. First Grade Foundations helps them grow toward this understanding of thepassage of time as it relates to the Bible. This chronological overview of the Old Testamenthelps first graders understand that the Bible is not simply a collection of stories told likeAesop’s fables, but is one whole meaningful story in itself.

• Six year olds can distinguish between fantasy and reality.Unlike preschool children who confuse fantasy and reality, six year olds can separate

what’s real and what’s pretend. While they still enjoy pretend stories, they enjoy real-lifethemes as well. They are fascinated by the amazing and miraculous. First GradeFoundations takes advantage of this interest by emphasizing the amazing and miraculousreal-life attributes and deeds of God as told in the Bible.

• Six year olds want to have friends and to be active and productive.Six year olds need to continue to have a variety of hands-on experiences to help them

learn and remember. They enjoy games and artistic expression. First Grade Foundationsrelies on groups, activity, and productivity so that first-graders can take an active part indiscovering biblical truths.

• Six year olds have limited writing and reading abilities.Boys of this age usually have more difficulty with writing than girls. So First Grade

Foundations requires very little reading and even less writing. Any reading is simple, andmost reading is either optional or done as a group so that children who have difficultyreading do not have to feel embarrassed.

• Six year olds like surprises.Because six year olds enjoy being surprised, there is an element of surprise involved in

each storytelling session. The children take turns discovering the surprise element and thenlisten for how it applies to the story.

First Grade Foundations: Fall Quarter i

© Karyn Henley. All rights reserved. www.karynhenley.com

• Six year olds are imaginative, curious, and enthusiastic.They tend to be busy and noisy, and their enthusiasm often finds its way into

competition. Six year olds may be more interested in the process of an activity than in thefinished product. This often translates into speed and sloppiness. Six year olds are usuallyin a hurry. First Grade Foundations has varied activity suggestions from which you canchoose according to the needs of your children.

• First Grade Foundations builds the groundwork for future Bible study.Because First Grade foundations is an overview, giving children a broad look at biblical

events in the order in which they happened, it sets the stage for future study of the Bible inits traditional out-of-sequence order. It is important for children to see the Bible as a wholestory so that when they learn the books of the Bible and study the traditionally ordered Bible,they can know, for example, how the prophets spoke to the kings whose stories are toldearlier in the Bible. They will begin to see how God revealed His character and His plan inan orderly and purposeful way as He worked in the lives of the people in the world.

WALK THROUGH A L E S S O N

Scripture There is one Bible verse for each session. This verse emphasizes the attribute of God which the children will discover during the session. You may use this as a memory verse if you want. The verse will be read after the story is told. It is also referenced in the mural page each week.

Bible Story The Bible stories follow the Old Testament in the order in which the eventshappened. Each story concentrates on a specific event or person. Each story also focuses on one attribute of God which became clear in the event orin God’s relationship with the person.

Goal Each week the goal is for the child to learn a new attribute of God which isrevealed through the story and activities of the session.

INTRODUCTIONClass time starts when the first child arrives. Teachers should be available and ready to

greet each child and his or her parent(s) as they arrive. Have materials for the introductoryactivity ready and available so that children can be drawn into the session immediately. Youcan do this by either having a teacher-helper available to explain the activity to each childwho arrives. Or you can explain the activity yourself as you welcome the children to join youin the activity. Or you can enlist the first children who arrive to help explain the activity tothose who arrive later.

Option: If your children will be arriving at the same time (for example, if they come toyour class directly from a worship service), you may wish to skip the introductory activity andmove right into the large group, “Exploring God’s Plan.”

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EXPLORING GOD’S PLANAfter session 1, you are encouraged to seat the children on the floor in front of the

“archaeological dig.” This provides a point of interest and serves to pique the curiosity of thechildren as you draw them into the story. You will be pretending that your children arearchaeologists, exploring the past. So they will “dig” and find “artifacts” which will serve asclues for the story.

The Archaeological Dig: To make the dig, you will need a child’s wadingpool and yellow, brown or other earth-tone streamers. You may substitute alarge, wide box or a large flower pot, laundry basket, or galvanized metal tubfor the child’s pool. Place the pool or other receptacle at one side or corner ofyour room. Tear streamers into strips about two feet long, and fill the poolwith the streamers. This becomes the “rubble” in the dig. Each session planrecommends different items to hide under the rubble so that children cansearch for them. A few lessons will ask you to replace the earth-tonestreamers with blue streamers so that the dig becomes a lake or a well. Onoccasion, to fit the story and add variety, the dig will not be used.

At this point in class, ask the children to sit on the floor in a semi-circle around the “dig,”but about three feet away from it. This will give the children who actually search through the“rubble” the room that they need.

If you want to incorporate songs into your class time, this would be the ideal time tohave music. This will help children transition to the group, and it will help them focus for the“think time” to come.

Think About ItThis portion of the session challenges children to think about interesting facts or

questions that draw them into the story.

The MuralThis is the time to briefly review last week’s session by referring to a mural to which you

add one page each week. A mural page pattern is found at the end of each session plan.Before each class, you copy this page and cut along the lines indicated to shape it like ajigsaw puzzle piece. The mural page fits into the piece before and after it, helping children toremember that each Bible story is linked to what happened before and after. Each muralpage contains a simple drawing that will serve as a reminder of the event or person in theBible story. The mural page also tells the attribute of God for that session and lists thescripture for the day. The scripture will always be about the specific attribute of God listed onthe mural page.

Choose a place in your classroom to hang the mural pages. They will need to be linkedin consecutive order. So if you can, place the pages high enough on the wall so that you areable to continue linking them in a line around corners. You can skip spaces when you cometo windows and doors, of course. Consider hanging the mural pages at a height that willplace them above the door. You will continue to add mural pages each week through theentire four-quarter study, except for Christmas and Easter lessons. The total space requiredfor this year will be about 27 feet. This can be accommodated by any room that’s over 7 feet

First Grade Foundations: Fall Quarter iii


square (not including doors and windows if the room is that small). Another option, thoughit’s less convenient, is to hang the mural pages in a hallway outside your room. Or if youhave to, place them in rows, one below the other on one wall.

Since the mural pages are simply pieces of plain paper, they canbe hung easily using plastic adhesive like Plasti-Tak or Tak’n Stik. Oruse sticky notes (postable notes) as if they were tape, overlappingboth the wall and the paper with the sticky part of the note.

Discovering the StoryMost of the stories begin by asking a few children to be the archaeologists who dig in

the rubble to find artifacts which will serve as clues to the day’s story. Once the childrenhave found the artifacts, the story is told. Each session gives you a choice of ways to tell thestory. You may tell it in your own words. If the story is one with which the children arefamiliar, (baby Moses, for example), it would be best to ask the children to tell you the storywhile you add important details if necessary.

The Day by Day Kid’s Bible (Tyndale House Publishers) isrecommended as one storytelling option. This is a children’sBible which is written on a second grade reading level, so thestories are very clear and interesting. The Day by Day Kid’sBible is a chronological Bible and is the Bible on which thiscurriculum is based. (This particular Bible was formerlypublished under the title of God’s Story.) The Day by Day Kid’sBible is available through Christian bookstores or may bypurchased directly from Karyn Henley Resources atwww.KarynHenley.com. Note: It is not necessary to use theDay by Day Kid’s Bible in order for this curriculum to beeffective.

A third option that is always suggested is reading the story from a traditional Bible.Scripture references are listed. Easy-to-understand Bibles are the International Children’sBible and the New International Reader’s Version.

A Verse to RememberAt this point, hang this week’s mural page on the wall, and read the scripture that talks

about the attribute of God.

PrayerAsk for a volunteer to say the prayer to end the large group time. If no one volunteers,

say the prayer yourself.

ACTIVITY CENTERSAt least three different activities are suggested for each session. NOTE: You do not

have to do all of the activities. Choose the one(s) that best fit your needs. The third activityis a time line which the children create and add to each week. They will take it home at theend of the quarter. When a fourth activity is suggested, it is always a story that the teacher

iv First Grade Foundations: Fall Quarter


reads aloud or plays on CD. It is included whenever possible because it is interesting, yetrequires little or no preparation.

If you have a very short Sunday School time (for example, 45 minutes), you may wish toarrange your schedule in one of the following ways:

• Introductory activity + “Exploring God’s Plan” + “Bringing It Home”(“Exploring God’s Plan” includes the story, scripture, and prayer.“Bringing it Home” includes the take-home read-aloud story.)

Or• “Exploring God’s Plan” + one activity of your choice + “Bringing It Home”

Or• “Exploring God’s Plan” + one or two activities

It’s always a good idea to be prepared to do one more activity or section than you thinkyou’ll have time for. It’s much better to have more activities than time, instead of more timethan activities.

If you have mid-week classes, you may wish to start the session on Sunday with theintroductory activity and story, and conclude the session during mid-week classes using theremaining activities and the “Bringing It Home” review.

If you have a longer Sunday School time and many children, divide your class intotwo or three smaller groups, six to eight children in each group. Having an teacher-helper ineach group will help facilitate the activity and enhance learning. (However, after the firstsession, children should be able to do group #3 each week without much help, so this centercould be utilized without a teacher-helper.) After the story, scripture, and prayer, send thechildren to their groups. Give them 15 or 20 minutes, and then guide the children to adifferent group. In another 15 or 20 minutes, guide the children to a third group (or to“Bringing it Home” if you only have two groups).

If you have a longer Sunday School time and few children (10 or fewer), keep thechildren in one group, and go together through the activities you’ve chosen .

Materials: Most materials are readily available at home or in a discount store. The Day byDay Kid’s Bible (formerly God’s Story) is available at many Christian bookstores or fromKaryn Henley Resources at www.KarynHenley.com.

Do: Specific instructions are given for each activity. Sample illustrations are included whennecessary. It may be helpful for you to make a sample of any art or craft activity beforeclass.

Discuss: This section suggests questions and statements that will help link the activity tothe story or theme of the session. Try to guide children’s conversations toward thoughtfulresponses to the story or theme.

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BRINGING IT HOMEGather together as a large group to review. Give each child a copy of the take-home

read-aloud story, and ask the children to read it aloud with you. This will review today’s storyand will give the children practice so they can take the story home and read it to theirparents, siblings, and/or friends. The stories are written at a first-grade reading level, but youmay need to help children sound out some of the names (for example, Abraham orRebekah). Encourage the children to place a finger under each word as they read if theyneed to.

CONNECT WIT H PA R E N T S

Children are asked to read the take-home story aloud to their parents. A note at the endof each take-home story serves to further involve parents in their children’s Bible learning.This note encourages parents to read specific stories from the Bible to their children duringthe week. Some of the suggested readings review what the child heard in class. Some arepreviews of what the child will hear next week. However, most of these readings reveal theconnective events that happened between what the child heard last Sunday and what thechild will hear next Sunday. Through these readings, parents can play a big role in helpingthe child understand the flow of biblical events. The readings suggested are specific storiesfrom the Day by Day Kid’s Bible (see information under “Materials” or “Discovering the Story”above). But scripture references are included so that these same stories can be read fromany traditional Bible.

NOTE: If for some reason the parents cannot or do not want to read the suggested storiesto the child during the week, the child will still get a rich overview of the Bible simply byattending class.

Other options to connect with parents include:

• Send a newsletter home at the beginning of each quarter listing the stories, scriptures,and goals for your class for that quarter.

• Take photos of the children during interesting activities in class. Or have a volunteercome into class periodically to take photos. Post the photos on a bulletin board outsidethe classroom so parents can see their children in action.

• Invite parents to come and observe your class in progress. Some parents enjoy it somuch that they volunteer to become helpers and teachers.

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HOW TO USE THIS CURRICULUM WITH OLDER STUDENTS

First Grade Foundations gives children an overview of the Old Testament. SecondGrade Foundations gives children an overview of the New Testament. So in two years,children get an overview of the entire Bible.

Some churches may wish to use this overview of the Bible with third and fourth grades,or fourth and fifth grades. This curriculum can be used as a framework or outline with olderstudents. To adapt it to older grades, you will need to change it in the following ways:

• Instead of the teacher reading the story passages, ask the students to read thesepassages. The Day by Day Kid’s Bible is still appropriate for use with these olderstudents. (Keep in mind that over 70% of U.S. students read below grade level.) Otheruseful Bibles are the International Children’s Bible and the New International Reader’sVersion. See the note under “Materials” or “Discovering the Story” (page iv) forinformation on the Day by Day Kid’s Bible.

• Evaluate the activities. Many of them will be enjoyable for older students, but thestudents can do any writing or reading involved. Older students can also be expected todo more elaborate drawings, designs, etc. You may want to substitute morechallenging activities at times. Here are some suggestions for older students:

- Students write imaginary news articles as if they were reporting a currentevent for a newspaper.

- Assign Bible character roles to different students, and ask others to interviewthem as if they were newspaper reporters. Tape the interviews.

- Play scripture memory games using the scripture for the day. Play othergames using the goal or story for the day. Gospel Light Publishing Companysells some excellent game books under the title Big Book of Bible Games.These are for students through age 12 and are easily adapted for use withmost Bible stories and themes. Group Publishing Company also sells generalactivity books for older students.

- Use Snip & Tell Bible Stories as an activity. Make one copy of theappropriate pattern page for each student, and teach them how to cut thepattern to make a story figure. This book is available from Group Publishingor from Karyn Henley Resources, www.KarynHenley.com.

• In your discussion of the activities, go deeper into:

- How God shows this particular attribute in the students’ daily lives and in thelives of others.

- How students can bless God and others in specific ways, using theexamples of the lives in the story when possible.

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• The third activity, creating a time line, is appropriate for older students. However, inaddition to drawing the symbols, students should write the attributes of God and thescripture references on their time lines. The mural page for the week can serve as anexample.

• Leave out activity #4 when it is suggested.

• Instead of giving the students a take-home page to read aloud, assign them thereadings that are listed at the end of the take-home page under the note to parents.

viii First Grade Foundations: Fall Quarter

Session 1

When the World Was NewGenesis 1

Scripture: “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.” Psalm 95:6, NIV

Goal: Learn that God is the great Artist and Maker.Learn that God’s plan is for Him to love people and people to love Him.

INTRODUCTIONYou will need cornstarch, water, a large bowl, paper plates, and paper towels. Optional: Youmay also have play dough available. Use ready-made play dough, or make it by mixing 3parts flour with 1 part water and 1 part salt.

As children arrive, help them mix 2 parts cornstarch to 1 part water in a large bowl. Eachchild then pours some of this mixture onto a paper plate. Challenge children to mold thisdough into a mountain or animal shape. Although the mixture feels as though it is making ashape, when the children stop pressing on it, it oozes back into a formless mass. Optional:After children have tried using ooze dough, let them use play dough to shape mountains andanimal figures.

EXPLORING GOD’S PLANGather children together in a large group.

Think About ItAsk the children what happened when they tried to mold figures out of the ooze dough. Askthem to name some things that people make or create. (Bread, clothes, cars, buildings, artwork, songs, etc.) Ask what the difference is between people making or creating somethingand God making or creating something. (God created something out of nothing. Peoplemake things out of what God has created.)

The MuralBefore class, make a copy of mural page1-1 (page 6). Cut out the puzzle-shaped side. Atthis time, stick it on the wall with plastic adhesive (like Plasti-Tak or Tak’n Stik) or by usingsticky notes (postable notes) as if they were tape. Tell the children: The earth in thepicture will help us think about the beginning of the earth. God created the earth tobe beautiful. And God created the earth with a plan: for God to love people andpeople to love God.

First Grade Foundations: Fall Quarter 1


Discovering the Story

Materials: one balloon for each child, string, a permanent marker, (optional: stickers ofthings God made), the Day by Day Kid’s Bible or a traditional Bible, and a Plan Poster *

*See the following illustration. You can trace around your own forearm and hand to make thearms and hands on the poster. Leave space across the bottom of the poster to add asentence when you get to session 5 in a few weeks.

Do: Before class, inflate one balloon for each child. Tie a 2’ to 3’ string onto each balloon.Use a marker to write the following words on the balloons, one word on each balloon.

Light Sky Land Sea Grass PlantsTrees Fruit Sun Moon Stars FishBirds Animals People Rest

If you have fewer children, you may let each one have more than one balloon. If you havemore children, write the word good on as many balloons as you need. (Optional: As well aswriting the word on the balloon, draw a picture of the word - a star for “stars, for example - orput stickers that represent the word on the balloon: star stickers for “stars” or animal stickersfor “animals, etc.)

In class, give each child a balloon. Read the story “When Time Began” from the Day by DayKid’s Bible or from Genesis 1:1-31 in a traditional Bible. As you read, stop before saying aword that’s on a balloon. Point to the child holding that balloon. The child holds up herballoon and says the word on it. Continue the reading this way. If several children holdballoons with the word good on them, they all hold up their balloons at the same time andsay, “Good.”

Discuss: Say: When God created plants, He could have made all trees look alike andall flowers smell and look alike. But He didn’t. He could have made all fish just alike.He could have made only one kind of bird. But He didn’t. Why do you think Godmade different kinds of plants and fish and birds? Say: God enjoys beauty. Hemade beautiful colors and shapes and designs. He made smells and flavors andtextures. He made sounds and music. GOD IS AN ARTIST AND MAKER.

Now hang the Plan Poster on the wall in aplace where you can refer to it week afterweek. You will add to it in session 5.

Ask the children to read the word GOD atthe top and US at the lower left. Point outthe arrows. Say: God loves us. He wantsus to love Him back. This is God’s plan.

THE BEAUTY OF WHAT GOD MADE IS ONE WAY GOD SHOWS US HE LOVES US.AND GOD WANTS US TO LOVE HIM BACK.

2 First Grade Foundations: Fall Quarter


A Verse to RememberRead today’s scripture. Say: This is one way to show we love God: to worship Him.Tell the children that in their Activity Centers today, they will do things to help them rememberGod’s creation.

Prayer

ACTIVITY CENTERSYou don’t have to do all of these activities. Choose the one(s) that best fit your needs.Activity #3 begins a notebook that the children will add to each week.

1. Creation Rhythm Rap

Materials: none

Do: Teach the children the following chant. Start a pat-clap rhythm: pat both hands onknees once, then clap once, then pat again, clap again. Continue this rhythm. To readthe rhythm below, clap on each word under an X. Pat knees on the word or silent spaceunder each O. On the very last word (“Rest”), close eyes. Practice this together untileveryone is doing it fairly smoothly. Try it faster and faster.

X O X O X O X O X O X O X O (close eyes)Light Sky Land-Sea-Plants Sun-Moon-Stars Animals-Man-Rest

Discuss: Tell the children that this is the order in which God created the world: Lighton the first day, sky on the second, land-sea-plants on the third, sun-moon-stars on thefourth, animals on the fifth, man on the sixth. Ask: Which kind of animal is yourfavorite? Why? What’s your favorite color? What’s beautiful about a forest?What’s beautiful about a beach? What’s beautiful about the sky? Could God havechosen to make all plants the same, or to make all one kind of animal? Why doyou think God made different flavors and colors and sounds? What does this tellus about God? GOD IS AN ARTIST. HE LOVES BEAUTY. THE BEAUTY OF WHATHE MADE IS ONE WAY GOD SHOWS US HE LOVES US. How does God want us tofeel toward Him? (God wants us to love Him back.) How can we show God we loveHim?

2. Circle Chart

Materials: two paper plates for each child plus one for yourself, paper fasteners(brads), scissors, crayons

Do: Before class, draw a line dividing your paper plate in half, then a line dividing eachhalf into three parts. This makes six “slices” as if it were a pie. Cut out one of theslices, stopping about 1/2-inch before reaching the center of the plate. Use this as astencil, placing it on top of one of each child’s plates. Trace the slice. In class, giveeach child two paper plates, one plain, and one with the slice drawn on it. The children



cut out the slice, then place it on top of the plain plate. Help the children secure a bradthrough the center of both plates. Then each child should color yellow or gold thesection that shows through the slice. Next, children turn the top plate clockwise until theopen slice is past the yellow section. In this second section, the children color blue forsky. Then they turn the top plate clockwise past the blue section. They color land, sea,and/or a plant. In the next section, they draw sun, moon, and/or stars. In the nextsection, they draw an animal. In the last section, they draw a person.

Discuss: Tell the children that this is the order in which God created the world. Ask:What does the story of creation tell us about God? (God is an Artist and a Maker.)Why do people like to go on picnics or camping or hiking? (They enjoy nature.)Why do people like to go places like the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls or(mention a place in your area that children would be familiar with)? (It’s beautifulor amazing.) Say: THE BEAUTY OF CREATION IS ONE WAY GOD SHOWS USTHAT HE LOVES US. Ask: How does God want us to feel toward Him? (Godwants us to love Him back.) How can we show God we love Him?

3. What’s the Plan?

Materials: one loose-leaf notebook or binder for each child, copies of the Time Linepage (page 87), a hole-punch, crayons or colored pencils, permanent markers

Do: Before class, punch holes in one edge of the pages. In class, give each child aTime Line page. Ask children to turn the pages horizontally so that the holes are at thetop. Ask children to draw in the first section (left hand side) a picture of their favoritething that God created in the beginning. Give each child a notebook. Let the childrenwrite their names on their notebooks with permanent marker. Help them put their firstpage inside it. They will leave these notebooks in class.

Discuss: Ask children what we have to do before we make something. (We have tot h i n k or i m a g i n e and p l a n.) Ask what God must have done before He created.



(He must have thought and imagined and planned.) Ask what the difference is betweenhow God creates and how we create. (God makes something out of nothing. We makethings out of what God made. What God makes is perfect. What we make is not.Sometimes we make something interesting by accident. But what God creates is notmade by accident.) Ask: What does the beauty of God’s creation tell us aboutGod? (God is an Artist. The beauty of His creation is one way God shows us that Heloves us.) How does God want us to feel toward Him? (He wants us to love Himback.) How can we show our love for God?

4. Extra Optional Activity: A Story

Materials: the Before I Dream Bedtime Bible Storybook and CD, a CD player

Do: Read the story “God’s Great Idea” or listen to it on CD.

Discuss: Ask: Which kind of animal is your favorite? Why? What’s your favoritecolor? What’s beautiful about a forest? What’s beautiful about a beach? What’sbeautiful about the sky? Could God have chosen to make all plants the same, orto make all one kind of animal? Why do you think God made different flavors andcolors and sounds? What does this tell us about God? GOD IS AN ARTIST. HELOVES BEAUTY. THE BEAUTY OF WHAT HE MADE IS ONE WAY GOD SHOWS USHE LOVES US. How does God want us to feel toward Him? (God wants us to loveHim back.) How can we show God we love Him?

BRINGING IT HOMEGather as a large group to review.

Materials: one copy of the story “The First Days” (page 7) for each child.

Do: Give each child a copy of the story. Help the children read it together aloud. Then askthem to take it home today and read it to their family. Review the scripture for today.

Discuss: Ask: What did we learn about God? (He’s an Artist and a Maker.) What’sGod’s plan? (God loves people and He wants people to love Him back.)

Pray, thanking God for His plan and His creation.





God is the great Artist and MakerPsalm 95:6

Mural Page 1-1

The First Days

First God had a plan.

He made light.

Light and dark.

It was the first day.

Day 2: God made sky.

Day 3: God made land.

He made sea and plants too.

Day 4: God made the sun.

He made the moon and stars.

Day 5: God made animals.

Day 6: God made a man.

God said, “It is good.”

Day 7: God rested.

Note to Parents: If you have a copy of the Day by Day Kid’s Bible, read toyour child the first story, “When Time Began” (Genesis 1).



Session 2

Adam and EveGenesis 2, 3

Scripture “For the word of the Lord is right and true.” Psalm 33:4, NIV

Goal: Learn that God is always right.

INTRODUCTIONYou will need a variety of fruits. Choose some unusual fruits as well as familiar fruits. Youwill also need hand wipes, paper towels, paper plates, and a knife for the teacher. Aschildren arrive, ask them to clean their hands with wipes. Cut the fruits into bite sized piecesif necessary. Then set out the fruits and encourage the children to try some of each kind.Tell the children that today’s story is about fruit.

EXPLORING GOD’S PLANGather children together in a large group around the archaeological “dig” (see theintroduction, page iii, for specific instructions). You will explain this dig to the children whenyou get to the story below.

Think About ItPlay an brief imagining game. Ask the children to name an imaginary animal that is acombination of two real animals. For example, what would they call an animal that is halfzebra and half hippopotamus? (Zebra-potamus) Here are some others: kangaroo and polarbear (kangabear or polaroo), elephant and monkey (elekey or monkaphant), rhinoceros andflamingo (rhiningo or flamoceros). Tell the children that God brought the animals he hadcreated to Adam. Adam named the animals.

The MuralBefore class, make a copy of mural page 1-2 (page 12). Cut out the puzzle-shaped sides.You will use it later. In class, point out the Plan Poster. Ask: What is God’s plan? (Heloves people and wants people to love Him back.) Point out last week’s mural page. Askthe children what they learned last week. (God is the great Artist and Maker.) Say, Let’sfind out what happened next.

Discovering the Story

Materials: a Bible, different fruit (orange, apple, pear, plum, peach), an archeological “dig,”*the Day by Day Kid’s Bible or a traditional Bible

*This is a large tub, bin, box, etc. filled with strips of brown, yellow, or other earth toned streamers.You will use this almost every week. See the introduction, page iii, for specific instructions.



Do: Before class, hide the fruit underneath the streamer strips. In class, tell the childrenthat they are now explorers, and they are going to explore the past. Not the past ofyesterday or last week or last year, but the past of long, long ago: the ancient past: Bibletimes.

Now choose the same number of children as fruit hidden in the dig. Keep track of who youchoose, so you can choose different children next week. Tell the children that every week,some of them will be archaeologists and dig for clues to ancient times. The clues they findwill help them learn what happened in the Bible. Ask each of the children you’ve chosen totake turns digging through the “rubble.” They may only feel with their hands. They may notlook. Each of them may pull out only one thing.

As children pull out different kinds of fruit, ask them what the fruit is, if they’ve ever tastedthat kind of fruit, and if so, whether they liked it or not. They should set their fruit in front ofthe dig where everyone can see it. Say: These are clues about what happened afterGod rested. Listen and see if you can hear what the clues mean.

Now tell the story in your own words, letting the children tell as much as they know while youfill in the details. Or read “Adam’s Helper” and “The Snake’s Trick” from the Day by DayKid’s Bible. Or read Genesis 2 and 3 from a traditional Bible.

Discuss: Ask: What did our clues mean? (The fruit reminds us of the fruit that Adam andEve ate.) Say: God told Adam and Eve that they should not eat the fruit. The snaketold them they should eat it: it would make them wise like God and they would notdie. Who was right: God or the snake? (God. God is always right. Adam and Eve nowknew good and evil, but they were not wise like God. And, although they didn’t die rightaway, they did eventually die.) How does this fit into God’s plan? (God loves us byalways doing and saying what’s right. God tells us the truth, because He loves us. He wasloving Adam and Eve when He told them not to eat from that one tree. But Adam and Evechose not to believe God. That showed that they were not truly loving Him back.)

On the Plan Poster, write Trust and Obey onthe lines beside the arrow going from US toGOD as shown below. Say: Trusting andobeying God are one way to show Him welove Him.

A Verse to RememberShow the second mural piece to the children.Read the words on it. Then add it to the mural,linking it into the first piece. Read today’sscripture. Tell the children that in their activitycenters today, they will do some things that willhelp them remember Adam and Eve.

Prayer



ACTIVITY CENTERSYou don’t have to do all of these activities. Choose the one(s) that best fit your needs.

1. The Helper

Materials: a small zipper-locking plastic bag, index cards on which you’ve written thenames of the following animals, one animal to a card (Write only the animal name, notthe way it helps.), optional: a tape and tape player

Animal: How it Helps:dog guards, fetches things, plays with us, seeing eye dogs for the blind

chicken meat, eggs

horse carries us, pull carts

ladybug eats bad insects

cow gives milk (cheese, ice cream, butter), leather

sheep wool for clothes and blankets, meat

fish meat

bat eats mosquitoes

bee gives honey

mule carries things, including people

Do: Place the cards into the plastic bag. The children sit in a circle and pass the bagaround while you sing a song or play a tape. Stop your song or tape at random. Whenthe music stops, the child holding the bag pulls one card out of it. The child reads thename of the animal and then tells how that animal helps us. If the child is stumped,other children can help. Start the music again, and repeat the process. If a child getsthe bag more than once, that child should pass it to the next person in the circle whohasn’t gotten the bag yet.

Discuss: Say: All these animals help in some way. Why weren’t they goodenough to help Adam? What kind of helper did Adam need? What tree did Godtell Adam and Eve not to eat from? What is evil? What was the choice that Adamand Eve made? What happened because of that choice? Tell about a time whenyou had to make a choice between right and wrong.

2. Spiral Snake

Materials: copies of the spiral snake (page 13), crayons or markers, scissorsDo: Give each child a spiral snake page. Ask the children to color the snake, pointingout that the head of the snake is at the center of the page. When they’ve finishedcoloring the snake, show them how to cut along the solid lines to cut out the snake,spiraling all the way to the center of the page. Then they hold up the snake by its headso that the spirals loop downward.



Discuss: Ask: What tree did God tell Adam and Eve not to eat from? What isevil? Did Adam and Eve know bad things, evil things, before they ate from thattree? Did they know bad things, evil things after they ate from that tree? Whowas right: God or the snake? Have you ever done something wrong and feltguilty about it? Have you ever hidden or wanted to hide after doing somethingwrong? Why did Adam and Eve hide? (Adam and Eve had sinned and disobeyedGod. They felt guilty.) Sin separated Adam and Eve from God. Even today, sinseparates people from God.

3. What’s the Plan?

Materials: the children’ Time Line notebooks, crayons or colored pencils

Do: Give the children their notebooks. Ask the children to draw a tree and a snake inthe next blank section of the page. Today’s mural page can serve as an example.Children leave these notebooks in class.

Discuss: Ask the children to tell their favorite part of the story. Ask: What is evil?What did the snake tell Eve about the fruit? Did Eve trust God or the snake?After Adam and Eve ate the fruit, how did they feel? How do we know? Whatdoes all of this tell us about God? (He is right and knows what’s right for us.) Arethere things God tells us not to do? Why? (Because God knows what’s right for us.)

BRINGING IT HOMEGather as a large group to review.

Materials: one copy of the story “The Lie” (page 14) for each child.

Do: Give each child a copy of the story. Help the children read it together aloud. Then askthem to take it home today and read it to their family. Review the scripture for today.

Discuss: Ask: What did we learn about God? (God is always right.) What’s God’splan? (For God to love us and for us to love God back.) Say: The snake was evil. Helied. He wanted to spoil God’s plan. Did He spoil God’s plan? (He got people to turnaway from God. But He didn’t get God to turn His heart away from people. It may look likeevil won. But God loves His people, and love always wins. We’ll find out more about thisnext week.)

Pray, thanking God for always being right and for telling us what’s right. Ask God to help uschoose to trust and obey Him.





Mural Page 1-2

God is always right.Psalm 33:4

Snake Spira l



The Lie

The snake came to Eve and asked,“Did God say you may not eat fruit?”“No,” said Eve.“We can eat fruit.But we can not eat fruit from the tree of good and evil.”“God is not right,” said the snake.“If you eat that fruit,you will be wise like God.”Eve wanted to be wise like God.So Adam and Eve ate the fruit.Then they felt bad.And God was sad.Adam and Eve had to go out of the garden.

Note to Parents: If you have the Day by Day Kid’s Bible, read to your child thestory, “The First Children” (Genesis 4).



Session 3

A World Under WaterGenesis 6:1-9:17

Scripture “But God remembered Noah and all the animals in the boat.” Genesis 8:1, NLT

Goal: Learn that God takes care of those who trust and obey Him.

INTRODUCTIONYou will need two paper bags and about a pound of unshelled peanuts, or more if you havea large class. Before class, hide peanuts around the room. When the first few childrenarrive, choose two of them to be leaders. Give each leader a paper bag. Assign the otherchildren to the leaders so that you have two teams. Children on one team are cats. Thoseon the other team are dogs. Team members look for peanuts. When they find a peanut,they may not pick it up. Instead, they must make the sound of their team animal. Then theleader of their team comes to them, picks up the peanut, and puts it in the bag. As otherchildren arrive, assign them to teams evenly and tell them what to do.

Option: If this will be too noisy for your location, ask players to pose like the animal theyrepresent. Cats point fingers up on their heads like ears. Dogs stick their tongues out andpant. Team leaders must watch carefully for those who find peanuts.

EXPLORING GOD’S PLANGather children together in a large group around the archaeological dig.

Think About ItAsk the children to name • the largest animal they can think of (The blue whale. It can be over 100 feet long.)• the tallest animal (The giraffe. It can be as tall as a two-story house. )• the animal that runs fastest (The cheetah. It can run as fast as a car on a city freeway:

62mph)

Ask the children what God thought about the animals He had made when the world began.(God thought that what He had created was good.) Ask children to listen as you readGenesis 1:24-28 and 2:15 to remind them of what God wanted people to do. (People wereto be in charge of the earth and take care of it. They were also to have children and fill theearth.)

The MuralBefore class, make a copy of mural page 1-3 (page 20). Cut out the puzzle-shaped side.You will use it later. In class, point to last week’s mural piece. Ask: What did we learnabout last week? Remind the children: God gave Adam and Eve a job: to be in charge



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