Gideon A Judge of Israel

We are continuing our lessons on the Judges.  This week's lesson is about Gideon.  Gideon was a humble Judge with a great amount of Faith.  He did as God commanded and had victory over the Midianites.  

God told Gideon how to win the battle against the Midianites and Gideon did just as he was told.  300 men and Gideon went into battle with pitchers, torches and horns.  They were victorious!  

Our "Take Home" activity is a Torch.  It is made from a paper towel tube, paper (wrapped around the tube), and tissue paper.  The kiddos will color the paper that wraps around the paper towel tube and then we will assemble them with a bit of glue and tape in class. 

Our memory verse this week is Judges 7:8...We will sing it to the tune "The Law of the Lord."   I know the kiddos will have it memorized before leaving class on Sunday.  That makes it easy for their parent to help them review the verse with them, so they will be ready for Wednesday.

Our Review game for this week is based off the fact that Gideon and his arm carried torches.  So, the kiddos will attach flames to the top of the torches if they answer a question from the story correctly.  There is velcro dots on the board and on the back of the flames so  it is easy for them to attach the flame to the torch.

On Wednesday Evening the kiddos will be coloring a picture of Gideon.  They will then get to add a 3D trumpet and a torch to Gideon's hands.  I have cut slots in his hand so that the torch can be easily slid into his hand.    The horn has two foamy dots on the back of it so that it is "3D" and puffs off the page.

Hope you enjoy teaching Bible class.

Blessings,

Ronda

Jericho

This past Sunday we learned about the story of the conquering of Jericho. We made the "Rams" horns as our "Take Home" Activity.  The horns were made before class (see previous post).  During class the children added the chenille stick around the mouth piece and were allowed to color and decorate their horn any way they wanted.    We also used these horns during the review game...but, more on that later.  The kids LOVED these horns.  They were soooo excited about getting to show their parents their "Rams" horn.  

Our memory verse this week was from the book of Proverbs.  We said and sang the memory verse several times during class...and I am sure they will have it memorized by Wednesday. 

Our Review Game was a BLAST (the kiddos were allowed to blow their horns during this game.) I had the children draw card from a pile...if they picked a "Trumpet Carrying Priest" then they were a horn blower....if they picked the "Ark of the Covenant" then they had to follow behind the horn blowers as we marched around "Jericho."  The children had to answer a question from the story in order to pick a 

card. 

This "Review Game" board from the Rahab story served as our Wall of Jericho. We marched around it a total of 13 times...(1 time for each of 6 days and then 7 times for day 7.)  Then the kids blew their horns and shouted.   Because this is a poster board type game board, I was able to let the wall fall flat.  Their expressions were priceless...I love getting them excited about Bible stories.

On Wednesday the children will be making this project for the Explorer Journal.  The horns are Bugles (from the grocery stores chip aisle.)  I coated them with a thick coating of modge podge and let them air dry for several days.  They have become extremly hard and I believe will hold up well in their Explorer Journal...I love the arm on the one Priest...it has motion by adding a brad...I love activities that have the kids do several things with their hands... I believe it will help them remember the story very well.

Blessings,

Ronda

Memorial Stones

This past Sunday we learned about the story of the Memorial Stones.  The stones were picked up from the midst of the Jordan River, from the place where the Priest feet had stood.    Joshua picked 12 men (one from each tribe) to pick up a rock out of the Jordan and carry it on his shoulders all the way to Gilgal.  The rocks were then turned into a Memorial for the Hebrews.  The stones would help remind the Hebrews of all that God had done for them.  

The children made a Diorama as their "Take Home" project.  They LOVED gluing on the 12 stones.  I had already glued the back ground into the shoe box...this helps save a bit of time.  I also asked member to donate shoe boxes months ago.  That way I was insured to have enough shoe boxes for this project.  

Our Memory Verse this week was Joshua 4:7.   We sang the Memory Verse to the tune: "If you're happy and you know it..."  The kiddos did great with the Memory Verse.

For a "Review Game" I had paper mache rocks that the children had the opportunity to pick up and carry on their shoulder to our "Gilgal."  They were soooo cute carrying them on their shoulders, pretending that they were soooo heavy.    They had to answer a question from the Bible story before going to pick up a rock from the "midst" of the "Jordan."  Then they brought the stone over to the other side of the room, by carrying it on their shoulder, and placed it in the pile.  We made our version of a "Memorial."  They had a great time.

On Wednesday Evening the children made a version of a "Memorial" out of 12 stones...This project is in their Explorer Journal.  They are heavy and had to be made of cardstock paper to help support...however, I still suggest you be careful lifting this.   They children loved their "Memorial Stones."

Crossing the River Jordan

This week we are learning about the Hebrews Crossing the Jordan River. This is such an AMAZING story. God stops the Jordan River from flowing...allowing the Hebrews to safely cross on dry ground. For a visual this week I am using my paper dolls from makingfriends.com and home made "Ark of the Covenant." I made my Jordan River out of yellow and blue poster board. It is a simple thing to make and has such a great effect.






The children will be making a stand up picture of the Hebrews crossing over the Jordan.










Our Memory Verse comes from Joshua 3:17...of course we will have a song to sing with this Memory Verse. I love putting Memory Verses to a tune...It make them easier to memorize.









On Wednesday Evening the children will be making this picture of the Jordan River...they will color the front and then add the "water" behind the picture. The water is a metallic tissue paper I found at the local Dollar Tree...it was in the gift wrapping area.










We will be playing a review game called "Crossing the Jordan." However, at this time I do not have a picture to post. It is basically the "Take Home" activity and a game board..the children will answer questions for an opportunity to move the Hebrews across the Jordan. I will post a picture as soon as possible.

Blessings,

Ronda

Wednesday's Explorer Journal Activity for Rahab

This Wednesday the children will be doing the review of the lesson on Rahab and they will do the activity for the Explorer Journal. We had a wonderful class period on Sunday. We had all my students there plus a visitor. I am glad the are all healthy. Hopefully, with the end of winter approaching the children will all stay well.

The kiddos were really into the lesson...I think they love the idea of being a spy! :-) They seem to really get into the fact that the Canaanites feared the Israelites!! They understand with God on our side we will always WIN!!!

The Explorer Journal Activity is a house with a flip top roof....under the roof is the spies....they will add the "flax" to hide the spies. I know they will LOVE this activity.










The kiddos will also be adding a piece to their Memory Verse Map. I know they will all have it memorized by Wednesday.







They loved the "Spies Escape" game... So, they will play it again. They will answer questions from the lesson in order to get to move the spies down the wall.

Hope you are having a wonderful week.

Blessings,

Ronda

Wednesday's Explorer Journal Activity Balaam and the Talking Donkey

Our Wednesday night review is taught by another teacher...I am currently teaching a YOUNG LADIES Bible Class on Wednesday Nights. However, I want to keep you updated on what we do in our Wednesday Night Review Nights.


This past Wednesday night the teacher reviewed the story of Balaam and the Talking Donkey. Again, the children LOVED this story. My co-teacher uses all the same visuals, games, etc. as I do on Sunday Morning.

However, on Wednesday Evening the activity the children make is kept in the classroom, in a book we call their Explorer Journal. This has been a great way to preserve all the kiddos HARD WORK...I BELIEVE THEY WORK VERY HARD IN CLASS!! The parents get to take home the Explorer Journal at the end of a quarter. The parents have been thrilled with these JOURNALS. It is wonderful to go back an look through them and see what all the children have learned.



Well this past Wednesday's Explorer Journal activity was a "moving" picture of Balaam and the Talking Donkey. The Donkey can move towards the angel. I decided to do this by using yarn and a straw...kids colored their donkey, Balaam, angel, and background. The yarn and straw were already attatched to the paper...they just colored around it. After gluing on the angel they TAPED the straw to the back of the DONKEY and walla, a movable, walking, "talking" donkey.






This takes a little more time than most of our activities, but the end product is great...they loved moving their donkey along the road.






They all said their MEMORY VERSE and placed a sticker on the Explorer Journal Backpack. (I will take/post a picture of their "Backpacks" soon.

They also had just a few minutes to play the "PIN THE MOUTH ON THE DONKEY" game. We may have to play that game again on review SUNDAYS.

Blessings,

Ronda

Balaam and the Talking Donkey

This is our LAST lesson in the second book of my Exploring Bible History Curriculum.

The children have really enjoyed these lessons...and we will shortly be going on into book THREE...however we have a few weeks of REVIEWING FUN COMING UP FIRST. I will post about our review days.


This lesson was about Balaam and the Talking Donkey. The Children LOVED!!! this lesson. It is amazing how excited they get over the Donkey Talking. The focus of the lesson, of course, was we MUST LISTEN TO GOD!!! Because, I do NOT have a talking Donkey....I ended up using a donkey that I had found at Micheal's Craft store for $1.00. I LOVE this sturdy little donkey. To make a Balaam, I cut one of my makingfriends.com Bible Friends, that I had made and laminated years ago, to fit on the donkey. I think it turned out cute.




For the kiddos "Take Home" activity, we made a Paper Bag Donkey Puppet....I loved hearing them sing "Balaam Rode a Donkey" with the Donkey Puppet on their hands. They are soooo cute!!! I had planned on adding YARN hair to the donkey, but do to the snow and ice we were having I was unable to make it to the craft store. The kids were OK without the yarn...however, I think it would have made them a little cuter.

Again, due to the weather...I had to take home the supplies to make the puppets (remember I think crafts should NOT take up too much time in Bible Class...So, I do 90% of the work before class.) Here they are drying on my kitchen table. :-)

Our Memory Verse was a good verse to help remind us to LISTEN TO GOD! We sang the Memory Verse to the tune: "Ten Little Indians."










Our review game was soooo much fun. We played 'PIN the MOUTH ON BALAAM"S DONKEY." Some of the kids did not want to wear the mask...however, most of them LOVED wearing the mask. For a turn they had to answer a question about today's story.




I will post about Wednesday Nights Activities Shortly.

Blessings,

Ronda

Building the Tabernacle

The newest lesson we learned was all about the Tabernacle. We learned that God commanded the Hebrews to build the Tabernacle and the Hebrews happily obeyed. They were so happy to help that they brought offerings to Moses for the building of the Tabernacle. They brought sooo much that Moses had to tell them to stop bringing their offerings.





The Children liked this lesson...we talked about all the furnishings that went into the Tabernacle...and then talked about the rooms of the Tabernacle. We talked about the outer court, the coverings, and the attendants for the Tabernacle... (the Levites.)





We also, learned how the cloud rested above the Most HOLY Place. And when it moved, the Hebrews knew it was time to move.





The Take home activity was a coloring page of the Tabernacle with a FIRE sticker and cotton Pillar of Cloud.










The children LOVED the MODEL of the Tabernacle....we really enjoyed looking at all the items that went in the Tabernacle.








The review game was printed Tabernacle furnishings that were velcroed to a board laid out to resemble the layout of the Tabernacle. The children placed them in the right place after answering a question.










Our Memory Verse card...we sang this Memory Verse to the tune, "Oh Come all ye faithful.."

On Wednesday night, the children had a new teacher. She will still be teaching my materials. She will be reviewing the story we learned on Sunday with them and doing their Explorer Journal Activity.

This weeks Explorer Journal Activity is a Golden Calf Picture, The children colored the altar gold, using a gold paint pen, add a golden calf that had been pre-painted, and then added three things that might be idols in our lives.


The children enjoyed coloring with the paint pens.
They enjoyed gluing on the little golden calf and the 3 other "idols."

It is nice to have someone teaching for me on Wednesday Evenings, but, don't think I have given up teaching on Wednesday Nights. :-) The elders asked me to teach a class for young teen girls. I am excited about this class too, so I may do a bit of bloggin about that class as
well.

Blessings

Ronda

The Golden Calf

The lesson about the Golden Calf was a hit with the kids. We learned how the Hebrews were impatient people and decided they wanted a god. Aaron made them a golden calf and they began to worship it. We talked about how having idols in our life is NEVER pleasing to God.




For the Sunday's Take Home Activity, the children made a "Golden Calf" Pop Up. The little calf was a wooden calf that we painted gold. The children colored a "Mount Sinai" in the background and added a cotton cloud to the top.







For a Visual Aide, I used the Mount Sinai diorama that I had made years ago. The paper dolls can be printed from makingfriends.com. I added a "golden calf" (a toy cow that I painted gold) placed upon a set of blocks that are painted gold with the word calf on them, for an altar.






The Memory Verse for this lesson is Psalms 97:7...we sang it to the tune "auld lang syne."









Our Review Game was this NO, NO IDOL! game. The children answered questions from the lesson and then pulled down a piece of the idol. The idol was velcroed to the poster board. The children LOVED pulling down this "idol."


My desire if that the children learn the stories and begin to apply some of what they learned. We talked about how anything that takes us away from God is an idol.


Blessings,

Ronda

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.