Explorer Journal....The Ten Commandments

The 10 Commandments has been a wonderful lesson for the children. We focused a lot on the history around the giving of the Commandments...and then the meaning of each Commandment and then the fact that God has given us commandments to live by and keep.




For the kiddo's Explorer Journal activity we did a coloring and gluing activity. The kiddos had to color the picture of Moses on Mount Sinai...and then glue on his beard and hair, and then glue on the 10 Commandments "stone tablets." The stone tablets were made from foamy sheets available at your local hobby store or Walmart.






We review the story by using my Mount Sinai diorama. The children loved this interactive way of reviewing the story. I had laid my NUMBER Commandments down around the diorama. This made it easier for the children to remember which commandment was which.



We also sang the TEN COMMANDMENT rap and rhyme song several times. (They LOVED this song.)

The Ten Commandments

We have been studying the story of the 10 Commandments for the last two weeks. There is soooo much information on the Mount Sinai story that I decided we needed to take it a bit slower. So, here is some of what I did with the children during this study.

We focused on the fact that the Hebrews were told to move and camp at the basin of Mount Sinai. We talked about how they were to prepare for something AWESOME. We talked about Moses going up the Mount...and how the Hebrews were NOT supposed to come near or touch Mount Sinai.

We then focused on what was happening to Mount Sinai. The rumbling thunderous sounds and the lightning. We talked about the cloud being on top of Mount Sinai and God speaking to Moses. I taught the children about the 10 Commandments. How, they were written on stone. We then spent most of the class time talking about each commandment and it's meaning for the Hebrews. We talked about how if we love God we will keep all of HIS commands today.
Jn, 14:15

We also covered the fact that Moses was up on the Mount for 40 days, (However, I did not go into the golden calf story....that is for next Sunday.) I did explain that God gave Moses more that just the 10 Commandments. HE gave Moses the instructions for the Hebrews daily life and the instructions for the tabernacle.

The children enjoyed this lesson very much.

As their "Take Home" activity we made a "Mount Sinai." It is made out of paper...folded into a triangle box. We added stickers (I made them from my computer and sticker maker machine.) of Moses, #10, 40 days, and Clouds and lightning, The children had to tell me what each sticker had to do with the story. We also glued a cloud (cotton) on the top of Mount Sinai,



As a visual aid I used the "Stone" tablets seen above. I had made these several years ago and they are still a wonder visual. I also, use a Mount Sinai, diorama that I made several years ago, The paper dolls are from www.makingfriends.com. I printed and laminated them a long time ago. I reuse them when ever I need to tell the story of Mount Sinai. The children LOVED this interactive visual.







The Memory Verse for the week was John 14:15










The review game was a Match the Picture represetation to the correct commandment. This was a bit of a challenge....but, they enjoyed it.







These numbers each represent a commandment. The children really enjoyed these VISUALS. They seemed to help the kiddos remember the commandments a bit easier.

Wednesday's Explorer Journal Activity....Moses Strikes the Rock

Our Wednesday Evening Bible Class is a time I really enjoy. It allows me the opportunity to review what we learned on Sunday and make sure the children really understand the lesson.



This Wednesday we will review the story of Moses striking the rock at Horeb, as God commanded, and water gushing forth and providing the Hebrews with plenty of water to drink. The children enjoyed the visual aid (see previous post) of the Water coming out of the rock when we hit it...so, I will be allowing them to strike the rock and and see the water come out again.



We will do our Explorer Journal Activity. The students will color their picture and then add the water and the rod. The water is a copy on blue paper that has been glued to a foamy sheet (available at all craft stores, Dollar Tree, Walmart, etc.) and cut out. The rod is a small dowel piece.






We will also say our Memory Verse and add a sticker to our Explorer Back Pack, for saying the MV.



If time permits we will play the "Rod, Rock, and Water" review game. (View Last Post to see game.)

Moses Strikes the Rock

This has been a very busy week. I decided the original IDEA I had for the students Sunday Take Home activity was NOT coming together the way I wanted. So, I decided to change directions and DO something different. I must say, I really do like the NEW idea much better.

On Sunday we will be learning about God telling Moses to strike the rock...and the rock sending forth water. With that we will focus on God never leaving us to FEND for ourselves...God has always provided for HIS followers and HE does provide for US.

The Take Home activity ended up being a 3D Diorama of Moses Striking the Rock. The Children will color and glue all the pieces together. To make this a little more fun....I decided to add crape paper to the "water" gushing out of the rock. I think the kids will enjoy this activity.




As a Visual Aid, I made a Rock Mound....ran a straw through it and will pour water down the back as the children gently strike the rock....This was made out of a kitchen funnel, 2 bags of rocks from Dollar Tree, a Straw from the hospital cup my daughter received on her recent stay, foam core board (for the back drop) and a printed picture of a rock mountain. I believe the students will really enjoy this visual aid.




Our review game is called "Rod, Rock & Water"....we will play this as a class....Moses will move closer to the rock with flowing water, as the children answer questions for the story.




I am looking forward to Sunday...I am looking forward to my students learning this AMAZING story.

Blessings,

Ronda

Star Studded Story Memory....

Decided to make this REVIEW System for the kids. At the end of class we have a few minutes that I use to review the lesson.

This way of reviewing involves the children picking a star wand...and then they have to answer the question on the star.

We did this activity for the first time this past Sunday. The children responded very well to this activity. They enjoyed
picking the stars out of the container and then answering the questions.

To make this I used my color printer...printed out the stars with the
questions on them. Glued them to foam...and attached them to a
(dowel rod) wand.

The Star Holder....was made from a pringles can...I just wrapped it in paper...with the words STAR STUDDED STORY MEMORY...on it.

This was a quick and easy, yet effective review system to make.

Explorer Journal....Manna and Quail

As you know we use Wednesday nights to review the lesson we learned on Sunday.

So, we will be reviewing the story of Moses and the Hebrews at Marah, Elim and in the Wilderness of Sin. Of course that is the stories of the Bitter Water made Sweet....the 70 palm trees and 12 wells and the story of God providing the Manna and Quail. We will be doing our EXPLORER JOURNAL activity, spend time saying our Memory Verse...and playing our "Gathering Manna and Quail" game. Wednesday Night class period seems to go sooo fast.

On Sunday, for the Bitter Waters made Sweet story...I mixed a bit of vinegar in some water...and let them drink it. Their little faces were soooo adorable...all puckered up. I made sweet water by mixing a little sugar in the water. They preferred the sweet water, of course. We pointed out that only God can turn bitter water to sweet, by throwing a tree into the water. We will review this story... and I will allow any that want to try the waters again to do so.

We will again look at Elim being a great place to camp....Nice shade from the palms and 12 wells of water.

Then we will review how God provided Manna and Quail for the Hebrews. We will discuss how the Manna would become wormy if left till morning. We will focus on how we must follow all of the Commands of God...every last "little" Command is important. We will again talk about how God ALWAYS provides for His children...and how Jesus is our Bread of Life.

Our Explorer Journal Activity will be a Manna activity. The kiddos will add "manna" that I cut out of white foamy sheets. We will color and then glue on the "manna."

Then we will play the review game...We will gather up "manna" and quail by answering questions from our story.

WOW, we have a lot of ground to cover on Wednesday. I love review nights...it really allows me to know what the children really grasped from Sunday's lesson.

Blessings,

Ronda

Manna and Quail

Wow what a week...

We had a nice "Stay-cation" vacation. We were able to get a few things done around the house we needed to do...plus, sleeping in was nice.



However, this week I have be going full speed ahead...Prepping for the Bible Story where God provides food for the Hebrews. I decided to make a Ronda version of "manna." I used a pie crust cut into small circles...the children will make a "manna" basket and collect "manna" to go in their basket.





I have also made a jar of "manna" left till morning...I filled the jar with my "manna" and gummy worms. I am excited about this...I know the boys in my class will LOVE this part of the story.

I am also, briefly covering the events at Marah...where Moses tosses the tree into the water and it becomes sweet...and the story of Elim.....where they camped and had plenty of water and shade.





My main focus will be on how God always provides for HIS children and how HE sent the "Bread of Life" HIS son for us.

We will be playing a review game...where the children will either gather "manna" or quail...they will answer a question and then I will tell them it is night or morning....and they will have to gather
the correct item.




I will be adding a few pics of other ideas soon...over vacation the creative juices were still flowing...and I did manage to work on a few Bible Class ideas.

Blessings,

Ronda