The Flood and the Ark

Hi Godly Play Teachers,
Welcome to our lesson for August 5, The Flood and the Ark, found in Genesis 6:5 - 9:17.

This is bound to be a favorite story of the children. It's good to remember that Noah was a good man, but he wasn't sinless. He pleased God and God "found favor" with him because he loved God and obeyed him, and so his life can serve as an example to all of us.

I'm especially interested in how the children will respond to the wondering question, "I wonder where you are in the story or what part of the story is about you." Please do have someone write down their responses so we can share them. Thank you!

Idea Sparkers for the Give A Gift to God time:
 *A fun snack might be animal crackers. Just make sure they contain no peanut oil or tree nut oil, as we have children with severe allergies to nuts.
*You may have seen in the Fourth Grade room a mural that the children worked on together a couple of years ago for Noah's ark. Some children made the ark itself, others a rainbow, others pairs of animals (on separate sheets that they cut out and glued to the ark)  They LOVED doing this, and there was lots of ownership since each child got to pick what they made. Why not repeat it in your class?
*Kids could make an ark on paper and find magazine photos of animals to glue on to make a collage.
*Make animals out of play dough for an ark the class makes.
*Play an animal matching game.
*Emphasize God's promise by making rainbow castanets, as shown here. Or make any of the other rainbow projects as shown here.
*Make an ark out of Popsicle sticks as shown here. Scroll 3/4 the way down.

Enjoy!
Love, Becky

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Hi Godly Play Teachers,
Welcome to our lesson for July 22, the Parable of the Mustard Seed, found in Matthew 13:31-32, Mark 4:30-32, and Luke 13:18-19.

The children love this parable, and if you help them process it through the wondering questions, they're sure to come up with some profound thoughts and ideas.

The wondering questions are in the book. I'll have them printed out for you. Thank you for documenting the children's responses. They're so interesting for the parents-and for the rest of us!

Now, for some ideas to spark their imaginations as they do their work, making a gift to God...

1. How big do they imagine the mustard seed growing? Why not lay out butcher paper on the floor and let the children draw the tree? I've seen a class of fours do this, so I know all of ours can do it to. One team of kids could draw and fill in the tree, another do the leaves, another do the birds and birds' nests, and another do the sower.
Our fourth grade class did this a year or two ago and it turned out great!

2. Children could individually glue a seed to a paper and draw what the tree will grow to be.

3. You could plant a seed, if you haven't done that lately. It might be fun to plant grass seeds and draw a face on the pot/cup so as it sprouts it looks like hair.

4. The kids could make their own parable box for this one. There's felt in the resource room for the different parts, and they could also make a person out of a clothespin, birds and nests out of clay.

5. Make a mustard seed necklace as shown here

6. Sample different kids of mustard with pretzels or crackers as a snack.

Enjoy!
Love, Becky

The Parable of the Leaven

Hi Godly Play Teachers, Welcome to our lesson for July 15, the Parable of the Leaven, found in Matthew 13:33 and Luke 13:20-21.

It will be interesting to see what the children make of this parable. As Godly Play often encourages us, it's good to remember that the children may find meanings that we haven't even thought of- meanings we can learn from- so it's important not to steer them too much towards our own understanding.
It's also good to share how much three measures of flour is. I've read that it's enough to make a dozen loaves of bread- enough bread to feed 100 people!

Be sure to use the wondering questions to help them tease out their own thoughts from their heads. I'm afraid I've forgotten to print out the questions for you, with space to document the answers, and since I'm off to camp with the kids tomorrow, I won't be able to get that done. If I don't have them for you, please do jot down their responses on your own. I'd love to be able to share them with the parents in the newsletter, without names attached, of course.

Idea Sparkers for the Make a Gift to God time.
1. It might be fun to depict the parable by drawing out exactly how much bread this tiny bit of leaven can make rise. The children could make a mural showing the title of the parable, a drawing of a small amount of yeast, the dozen loaves of bread, and the baker woman. They could write out the short parable at the bottom, and we could put it on one of our big bulletin boards. Drawing out the dozen loaves would bring home how much bread the parable is talking about.

2. Eat bread! Let children shape croissant dough from the refrigerator aisle of the grocery store. If there's time, they could even "paint" it before baking with egg white colored with food coloring.
You could also compare unleavened bread with leavened bread by sampling each. Test what happens to warm sugar water with yeast in it.

3. The older children could work on the question of how do you show your leavening--or what kind of leaven are you? How do we participate in the kingdom of God? What things do we do to "make the bread of the kingdom rise?" To further the God's kingdom- to make the world like God wants it to be? This could be done in drawings, with a collage, a poster that the class works on together or separately.

4. Kids could also continue our hall project for the summer, making close up drawings of scenes from Jesus' life. Use the Easter tiles as examples.
Thanks, y'all!
Enjoy!

The Parable of the Sower

Hi Godly Play Teachers,
Welcome to our lesson for July 8, the Parable of the Sower.

 Jesus told this parable to answer the question, "What is the kingdom of heaven (God's kingdom) like?" The wondering questions this week are really important, because they can help the children understand the meaning of the parable. I hope you'll let the children struggle with each question. Sometimes it's very tempting to give them your answer, but a little mind struggling will allow them to find an answer that they can own-instead of one they don't really get, but feel you want them to believe. Even if they go down a wayward road, (if so we can always ask more questions to try to help them find their way) we will have "planted the seed" (how appropriate!) which they may discover later.

As you ask the wondering questions, if children have trouble, try to help them put themselves in the place of the sower. (Particularly helpful for questions 3,6,7,8,13,14)

So the important wondering questions we'll use this week are:
1. I wonder if the person had a name.
2. I wonder who the person could really be?
3. I wonder if the person was happy when the birds came and ate the seeds.
4. I wonder if the birds were happy then they saw the sower.
5. I wonder who the birds really are.
6. I wonder what the person was doing when the little seeds could not get their roots in among the stones.
7. I wonder what the person was doing when the little seeds were choked by the thorns.
8. I wonder what the person was doing when the little seeds were growing in the good earth.
9. I wonder what the harvest could really be?
10. I wonder what the sower used for seed?
11. I wonder what the sower sold?
12. I wonder what the sower kept for food?
13. I wonder if the sower was surprised at the harvest?
14. I wonder what part surprised the sower most?

Idea Sparkers for our Create a Gift for God time:

1. For the fourth and fifth graders, please use this time first for working on our hall project, making illustrations of Jesus's life. Please ask them to draw their figures as big as possible, to use color, and to make the scenes close-up, like the ones on the Easter tiles. The subjects for their drawings may include:
1. Jesus' birth
2. Jesus as a boy in the temple
3.Jesus' baptism
4. Jesus' temptation
5. Jesus' work as a healer and parable teller
6. Jesus offers the bread and wine
7. Jesus offers himself at Easter


Thank you! You know I don't  like to prescribe what the kids should spend their time on-I like them to have a choice- but we really need their help with this! The drawings will be such a wonderful addition to our hallway.


2. For the younger kids, this would be a perfect time to actually sow some seeds. You could use Styrofoam cups or small terra cotta pots which the kids could decorate, then fill with soil in which to plant a seed. You could also have them write a verse on a popsickle stick to put in the soil near the seeds they sow. They could choose a verse from the Bible story (a good way to have them look up the story themselves) or use Psalm 119:16b  “I Shall not forget your Word.”

3. Children could also reproduce the parts of the parable box-the sower, the birds, the pots, the rocky ground, the thorns, the plants.

4. Children could illustrate the parable with watercolors or markers or colored pencils.

Enjoy!

The Parable of the Great Pearl

Hi Godly Play Teachers, Welcome to our lesson for July 1, the Parable of the Great Pearl.

In a world like ours, which places such importance on having things, it's a great story to help us explore the greatest treasure one could possess: God's kingdom and a relationship with God. What does it mean to sell all that we have to obtain this treasure? I bet the kids can help us figure this out.

The wondering questions are in the book. They include:
1. I wonder if the person was happy with the great pearl.
2. I wonder what the merchant is going to do now.
3. I wonder why the seller was willing to give up something so precious.
4. I wonder if the seller has a name.
5. I wonder if the merchant has a name.
6. I wonder what the great pearl could really be?
7. I wonder what could be so precious that a person would exchange everything for it?
8. I wonder if you have ever come close to the great pearl.
9. I wonder where this whole place could really be.

Thank you for having an adult take time to jot down the children's responses to these questions.

Idea Sparkers for Our Give a Gift to God Time:

First, I hope that the children are getting a chance to work on our summer group project, making illustrations to decorate our classrooms and hallway. Please ask them to draw their figures as big as possible and to use color. Also, we really need pictures of Jesus' life, close-up, like the ones on the Easter tiles. These subjects include:
1. Jesus' birth
2. Jesus as a boy in the temple
3.Jesus' baptism
4. Jesus' temptation
5. Jesus' work as a healer and parable teller
6. Jesus offers the bread and wine
7. Jesus offers himself at Easter


Ideas for projects on the Parable of the Great Pearl
1. Make a "pearl" necklace. Hobby shops (Michaels, Hobby Lobby) has fake pearls that you can string. Each student could make themselves a necklace using one pearl and yarn, along with whatever other work they choose to do today.

2. What does the kingdom of God look like? What makes it such a priceless treasure?
Children could draw a mural together or individual pictures. What could they show people doing in the kingdom of God? Is nature in the kingdom of God? How are people treating nature and each other?

3. Children could make their own parable set, so they can retell this parable.

4. Make/buy a "pearl" snack to share. I'm still thinking on how to do this. Maybe like a Mexican wedding cookie but with no nuts? (Remember that we're nut free on the hallway due to allergies.) Something that looks like a pearl...any ideas?

Thanks, y'all!
Becky

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Hi Godly Play Teachers! Welcome to our lesson for June 24, the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

What a wonderful story about what it means to be a neighbor, and our responsibilities as followers of The Way to help those around us. You might want to include time in your morning to go visit the Good Samaritan statue near the remembrance garden.

Here are the wondering questions. I'd love to share the children's responses in our weekly newsletter. Thank you for writing down their responses.

Wondering Questions:
1. I wonder who is the neighbor to the person who was hurt, had everything taken from him, and was left by the side of the road half dead?
2. I wonder what would happen if the people in the parable were women and not men?
3. I wonder what would happen if the person finding the injured traveler were a child?
4. I wonder what it means to be a neighbor.
5. I wonder if you've ever had anyone be a neighbor to you like this Samaritan was to the hurt man.
6. I wonder if you've ever been the one who was the Good Samaritan?
7. I wonder how you can be a Good Samaritan kind of neighbor to others.

Idea Sparkers for our Gift to God Time

I. Our Ongoing Summer Project:
As I blogged last week, we're hoping that at some point this summer each of the children will want to illustrate their own scene from Jesus' life, so that we can have some illustrations to use as art on the children's hallway. Thanks for making this one of your options for the Gift to God time.
Here are the topics we'd love the children to illustrate on the paper I've provided (only because it's the right size):

1. Jesus' birth
2. Jesus as a boy in the temple
3.Jesus' baptism
4. Jesus' temptation
5. Jesus' work as a healer and parable teller
6. Jesus offers the bread and wine
7. Jesus offers himself at Easter

If you like, show the Easter tiles as examples.
The most important thing is to get the children to use the whole page and to use COLOR!
Thanks so much!

II. Other options for the Good Samaritan Parable
Here are some ideas for the parable itself:
1. Children make get well cards as a way to help others, like the Good Samaritan in the story
2. Children act out the story. (My camera will be in its usual place and takes pretty good video. Please use it! I'd be glad to show you how!)
3. Children could make a collage or drawing on who is our neighbor.
4. Children could make a collage or drawing on How I Can Be a Good Samaritan.
5. You could also go with the What Would Jesus Do theme. Make a bracelet with WWJD, or a mural of the story, or act out scenes of different conflicts and ask the question, "What would Jesus do?"
6. If you've visited the Good Samaritan statue, why not ask the children if they'd like to try to make their own with play dough or quick dry clay?


Enjoy!
Love, Becky

The Parable of the Good Shepherd

Hi Godly Play Teachers! Welcome to our lesson for June 17, the Parable of The Good Shepherd.

What a beautiful story that so perfectly depicts Jesus--the one who would (and did) lay down his life for his sheep! The parable is full of so much meaning, so many layers that the children can explore. I'm sure they'll be ready to talk about their own times when they've "found the good grass" as well as times where they've felt that they (or others they know) have been through places of danger. It's a great time to share our own such experiences and how our faith in God helped us make it through. Most every child has a story to share about being lost and found. I'm hoping you'll enjoy lots of discussion with this lesson!
There are wondering questions within the story script for this lesson. I'll have them in the classrooms for you to write in their responses.

Idea Sparkers for our Create a Gift for God time:

A Summer Project for FBC Kids:
As you may know, here at FBC we're about to give our children's area a facelift. One thing we'd love to include as art on our children's hallway is a collection of the children's own depictions of the life of Jesus. Remember the story tiles we use at Easter? (Jesus' birth, Jesus as a boy in the temple, Jesus' baptism and blessing by God, Jesus' temptation, Jesus healing others, Jesus serving the last supper, Jesus' death and resurrection) We'd love to have the children work this summer on making their own version of these scenes. Since we'll be able to only use some of them, please instruct the children that we will use some of their work to decorate our space on the inside of the classroom --we'll certainly do so.

How to do it?
Children can use markers or crayons or colored pencils or paint, on 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of white paper. (I'll put some in your classrooms.) They don't need to copy the Easter tiles--encourage them to be creative in how they create the scenes. The key is to make their pictures fill up the page, since small figures can't be enlarged easily. Ask them please to leave their work at church for the summer, rather than taking it home.
This is a project they could work on all summer long. We hope some of the children will be enthusiastic about this project. They may want to do work illustrating the particular Sunday's parable, and that is fine too of course.
 Thanks for your help with this. I'm excited about it!

Now, ideas for this week's story:
There are two ways to go here. The children can either reproduce the parable in some way, or they can explore their own experiences with what the parable talks about: being lost and found, their own faith in the Good Shepherd, their own times of good grass and cool water or times of danger and faith.

Ideas for reproducing the parable:

1. Let the children make their own miniature parable boxes with this week's parable inside. If you want to buy small boxes, just purchase them, give me a receipt and I'll reimburse you. We have green felt in the resource room. The kids could use fun foam for the pen and the water and the dangerous places, and could make the sheep however they want, with clothespins and cotton balls or their own ideas. Some links for sheep are here and here.
They could draw and cut out a wolf and the shepherd.

2. They could make their own sheep and shepherd puppets at the links above. (in #1)

Ideas for exploring the parable in terms of their own experiences:
1. The children could make a class mural/picture of how it feels to be lost (on one side) and found (on the other side). The title could be something like The Good Shepherd Takes Care of the Sheep or something like that.
2. They could illustrate My Good Shepherd Calls My Name, drawing the Good Shepherd and themselves.
3. This would be a perfect time to study and illustrate the 23rd Psalm!

Enjoy!
Love, Becky