Introductory Activity – Letter Search
Materials: dishpan with sand, letter tiles or magnetic letters (r, e, m, e, m, b, e, r), drop cloth
Hide the letters in the pan of sand. Set the pan on a drop cloth. Lead kids to find the letters in the sand. (You may want to have more than one set of letters.) After all letters are located, challenge kids to create a word with the letters. (Group the sets if you have more than one.) Tell kids that remember is a key word in today’s Bible story.
Live It Out
Game – Wheelbarrow Relay
Materials: sticky notes, marker
Print the words of the Weekly Verse on self-stick notes, one word per note. Mix the words and stick them to a wall or board at one end of the game area. Gather the kids at the opposite end of the game area. Tell kids that the first two kids will move to the wall to get the first word of the verse. They should move as a wheelbarrow—one kid lies on the floor (stomach down); the second kid grabs and holds the first kid’s ankles; the first kid pushes up on his hands. They walk in this manner to the wall. They work together to find the first word of the verse. Then, on the return trip, they switch roles and move back to the start line, carrying the word on the back of the “wheelbarrow.” When they get back, the next two kids move to get the next word. Continue until you have retrieved all he words. Put the words in order on a wall and say the verse together. Use the verse as a starting point to recall the Bible story. Talk about the Life Point.
Craft – Banner
Materials: construction paper, scissors, tape, yarn or ribbon
Talk about the Bible story. Guide each child to cut five squares or triangles. Tell kids to draw pictures or print words about Jesus on their shapes. When a child finishes, help her cut a length of yarn (long enough to fit all of her shapes). She can lay her shapes face down, next to one another, and lay the yarn along the tops of her shapes. She can tape the shapes to the yarn and tie loops at both ends of the yarn. Tell kids they can hang their banners somewhere at home to help them remember things Jesus did.
Introductory Activity – “Write It” Relay
Materials: markers, large pieces of paper, tape
Tape a piece of paper to the wall, one page per team. Paper should be at kids’ eye level. Group kids into teams. Teams should stand in a line, one behind the other, facing their paper. Give a marker to each player on a team. At your signal, players step to the paper, write something Jesus did and move to the end of the line. Guide kids to write different things from their teammates. After teams complete their lists, review what was listed. Tell kids that Jesus told his followers to remember Him.
Live It Out
Game – Gimme a T, Gimme and F
No materials needed
Make statements about the Bible story. Guide kids to use their bodies to make the letter T is the statement is true or F if the statements is false. Kids can lie on the floor or make their letters standing. They can work alone or with friends to make the letters. After each statement, talk about the answer and guide kids to stand again before making the next statement. Say the Life Point.
Craft – Magnetic Puzzles
Materials: heavyweight paper (cut into 6-inch squares), gel pens, markers, scissors, magnetic tape, ziplock bags
Distribute squares of paper to the kids. Lead kids to write or print the Life Point in large colorful letters on their squares. They may want to add additional designs or embellishments around the words. Lead kids to cut their squares into several pieces (6-8) and attach magnetic tape to the backs of the pieces. They may also want to initial the backs to identify any wayward pieces. Challenge kids to work their own puzzles and then trade and work friends’ puzzles. Talk about things kids remember about Jesus. Store the puzzles in ziplock bags to go home.