GOD'S AWESOME PLAN FOR MAN---BOX 4 Joshua and Judges

 We are continuing our TOUR of our GOD'S AWESOME PLAN FOR MAN Boxes....They really are a wonderful teaching tool.  

This is the Joshua and Judges Box.  

JUST a quick peek....before, I pour it all out!!  LOL

 In this box we have several TOYS that help the KIDDOS remember the LESSONS from the life of Joshua and the time period of the Judges.  

We have a HORN.    The KIDDOS made these horns when we learned about the taking of Jericho.  

We have a DEBORAH (formally MARY from a Fisher Price Little People set.----I got it for FREE at a Garage Sale.)  and a Palm Tree.  Balaam's Donkey.  Samson the Judge.    We have RUTH--notice the wheat...GRAPES for the SPIES to carry back, young Samuel and Hannah.   

A SUN---for when the sun stood still. A WOODEN house with, "As for Me and My House, we will serve the LORD." written on it.  And a sand toy---it is our Jericho!!  

As you can see---I use a variety of items from a variety of places.   The grapes were formally attached to a bottle of grape smelling bubbles.  The wooden house came from one of those sets of wooden houses most of us had back in the early 90's.  Each house has a letter on it---WELCOME.  

The sand toy came from Dollar Tree.  The PALM tree came from a KIDS MEAL that my daughters got when they were little---they now 18, 24 and 25 years old.  :-)

Blessings,

Ronda

God Called Samuel Exploring Bible History

The kiddos are sooo excited about this "NEW" material.  We are truly on an EXPLORATION!  I love it when their eyes light up in AWE about what they are hearing from GOD'S Word.  

 

 

 

Our recent lesson was about GOD calling Samuel.  I reminded the kiddos that GOD did NOT speak directly to the Fathers (as HE had done during the Patriarchal time) because, HE had given Moses HIS Law for the Hebrews.  So, when GOD called Samuel it was a VERY SPECIAL EVENT!

Our TAKE HOME activity was Samuel in bed. The children LOVED being able to slide Samuel's  eyes open and shut.  As they pulled the top slide Samuel's eyes opened and the Scripture reference "Speak Lord for your servant's listening..."  1 Samuel 3,  would appear on the bedding.    Each of the kiddos bed looked different...I love it when the girls choose PINK for bedding and the boys choose BLUE!  So typical!  LOL

I decided this would be an appropriate Memory Verse...We ALL have ears and we ALL need to be listening to GOD'S WORD! 

We sang the Memory Verse to the tune:  "B-I-N-G-O."  Most of the kiddos had the verse memorized before leaving the classroom.  I know I sang it ALL week long.  There is something about putting verses to a familiar tune that helps with memorizing them.  If you have NEVER tried putting a verse to a childhood tune, I suggest you give it a try....you will be amazed at how easy it is to memorize Scripture this way.  

 

 

Our Review/Game was a LISTENING GAME.  

I purchased the little cups and the Yellow/Red Game pieces at the Dollar Tree.  (The game pieces came out of a TOPPLE type game.)

 

 

 

 

 

I wrote a song for this lesson called,

"God Was Calling Samuel."  I sang the song to the children...each time they heard me sing "GOD" they had to put a yellow game piece in their cup.  Each time they heard me sing "Samuel" they had to put a red game piece in their cup.  THEY LOVED THIS GAME!!!!!!  They wanted to play it OVER and OVER and OVER again!!!!!  So, we decided to change out the "What to listen for..."  I was sort of surprised at how much they LOVED playing this.  This is one game I will try to work into other lessons!  I LOVE it when something so inexpensive is soooo effective!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our EAA, which stands for EARLY ARRIVAL ACTIVITY was the WHITE BOARDS/DRAWING activity.  (I really need to post some of the pictures that they have drawn.)  The LOVE drawing on the personal sized white boards...so, I am going to keep it up for a few more Sunday's .....However, I did include some of the MILK CAP MANIA....and they WHIZZED right through them!!!!  I was soooo pleased with how many of the kiddos are REMEMBERING what they have learned!!!!  The  EEAs allow me to "TEST" the kiddos knowledge....and let me know if I need to review something, correct something or even re-teach something.  My EAA's have to have a purpose...or I would NOT use them.  I never want something to STEAL away my precious 45 minutes of teaching time! 

On Wednesday Evening the kiddos colored  a picture of Samuel in bed.  They added the bedpost (colored craft sticks) and a POP-UP speech bubble with "Samuel, Samuel" on it.  Again, the differences in each of their activities is so unique to their personality.  Some of the girl's added flowers to the blanket....and one of the boy's made his blanket have a camouflage type pattern.  I LOVE their unique individuality!!!  

GOD blesses me ro richley through these little ones!

For a VISUAL aid I decided to make a LARGE version of the TAKE HOME project....The kiddos LOVED pulling the slide on this one....  I used it while telling the story...I believed this helped the kiddos when it came time to make their own...they had already seen this work so the knew what to do.    When I can't find a VISUAL aid in my resources, clip art, or FREE online, I will MAKE IT MYSELF...LOL

We have already been so busy.  The kiddos amaze me each week.... Our main review questions this week were:  Who was the Strong Judge?  Who was the Judge after Samson?  What other "job's" did Eli have?  Who was Samuel's mom? Who was Samuel's dad?  Where did Hannah go to pray?  What did Eli think about Hannah when he saw her praying?  In what city was the Tabernacle?  What did Hannah promise GOD?  Did Hannah keep her promises?  What did Hannah bring Samuel each year?  Can children be servants to the LORD?  They knew ALL the answers!!!!!!  I was soooo pleased!!!!!  I  feel soooo blessed to be a BIBLE CLASS teacher!!!!   Next week we will be going on a "KING HUNT."  

Blessings,

Ronda

Eli, Hannah and Samuel.....Exploring Bible History

We have JUST begun our NEW UNIT!!!!!!  We are going to be EXPLORING  and  learning about Eli, Samuel, Saul, David and Solomon.  We are going to be VERY BUSY over the next quarter.

This is the way I "CONTAIN" my teaching materials....I use a BIG BINDER and plastic sleeves----LOTS OF PLASTIC SLEEVES!!!!!!  

I am PRAYING fervently about this undertaking.  It is a little more challenging to come up with activities, review games, etc. for the material we are about to EXPLORE......so, I am STRETCHING my brain as I work on these lessons.  :-)

This is what my classroom looks like!!!  I am blessed to have a LARGE ROOM....with plenty of room for the kiddos activities!!!

We have

'TABLE TIME" 

&  

"CIRCLE TIME." 

Our EAA, which stands for EARLY ARRIVAL ACTIVITY is a PUZZLE and then a DRAWING activity. 

I made this puzzle using frames from the Dollar Tree!!!  I call the puzzle "GOD'S AMAZING PLAN!" It is truly a puzzle with each TIME PERIOD OF THE BIBLE in each puzzle piece.  The kiddos worked together to get the puzzle in the correct chronological order!!!

After they completed the puzzle I allowed them to draw in "white boards."  These boards are cut from wall board that I purchased at LOWES..  $11.96 gave me 32 white boards!!!!  I have shared them with ALL the other Bible Classes!!!!   I had coded the white boards with various BIBLE characters and events.  The kiddos had to draw me a picture of what they could remember about the character of event.  THEY LOVED IT!!!!!  All kiddos love to draw on the white/chalk board so, I decided to use this to MY ADVANTAGE!!!!  I will post some pics of what they drew----They amazed me!!!!!

We have NEW cards to add to our WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY? and HOW? WALL!!!!  

We have a  "NEW" map up on the wall.  

 

We have already added two locations!!!!  

 

The kiddos LOVE to add new locations to the map.

This is our NEW bulletin board.

BTW, I just use the WALL!!!

We have 3 CROWNS and 3 MEN that would be KING.  

We will write (with a sharpie) information about each KING  on each crow.  BTW, the pictures came from DOLLAR TREE...I bought them last year....I sure hope they come out with MORE BIBLE related visuals!

Hannah Praying

Hannah's Answered Prayer!

Our first lesson was about Hannah.  Hannah prayed fervently for a baby boy.  The kiddos were very engaged with this story.  I explained how Hannah went to GOD through prayer.  I let them know that GOD really wants us to let HIM know our wants and needs.  They seemed to really get IT!!!!  YAY!!!!!

This was the kiddos "TAKE HOME." 

 

Our Memory Verse was Psalm 38:15.  "For in YOU, O LORD, I hope.  You will hear, O Lord my GOD."     I  felt this was an appropriate verse for the subject we were EXPLORING.  We sang the verse to the tune:  "One Little, Two Little, Three Little Indians."

Our REVIEW Game was called "PIN THE BOTTLE ON SAMUEL"  Each bottle had a question about the lesson written on it.  If the kiddo answer correctly (which they ALL did) they had to opportunity to "pin" (we used double stick tape) the bottle to Samuel.  They really enjoyed this!!!!!

On Wednesday Evening the kiddos colored  a picture of Samuel...added a "real" rattle and 3D blocks that spell SAMUEL.    They all turned our soooo sweet.  The kiddos added this to their NEW EXPLORER JOURNAL.    (The rattles came from the DOLLAR TREE   and we made the BLOCKS using little square wooden pieces and foamy  3D letters.)

I told you we are going to be busy....  :-)     And, I would NOT have it any other way!!!!!  I feel soooo blessed to be a BIBLE CLASS teacher!!!!  I am looking forward to sharing our EXPLORATIONS with you over the next few months!!!! 

Blessings,

 

 

Ronda