The Plagues. Preschool Leader Guides. The Plagues 163

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1 Preschool Leader Guides The Plagues The Plagues 163

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3 PRESCHOOL LEADER GUIDE The Plagues (Exodus 7:14 12:32) Big Picture Overview Visit for more Spark content. Watch a short Lesson Prep Video that will prepare you and give you confidence to explore this Bible story with the kids you are leading. You will also find 6 Coloring Pages to use during Gather Time and a downloadable Family Page for this rotation s story filled with ideas for families to use to explore this story and live out their faith at home. week 1 Let Them Go! Gather (10 minutes) center time: Kids play with bugs and color Bible story pictures. Circle Time: Kids welcome one another with a fly swatter and shout back and forth. Prayer Time: Kids say a buzzing prayer. Activate Faith (25 minutes) Music Ten Little Plagues: Kids sing a song. Art Hail Painting: Kids paint with ice cubes. Snack Bugs: Kids eat a snack with crackers. Open the Bible (10 minutes) The Plagues Storytelling: Kids hear the story of The Plagues and make actions to mimic The Plagues. Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time: Kids say good-bye, sing a song, and bounce a beach ball with fly swatters. Prayer Time: Kids pray using a beach ball. week 2 Bugs, Frogs, and Flies Gather (10 minutes) Center Time: Kids play with bugs and color Bible story pictures. Circle Time: Kids welcome one another with a fly swatter and answer riddles. Prayer Time: Kids say a buzzing prayer. Activate Faith (25 minutes) Game Fly Swatter Relay: Kids play with fly swatters. Art Clay Bugs: Kids make bugs out of clay. Snack Locust Legs: Kids eat celery sticks. Open the Bible (10 minutes) The Plagues Storytelling: Kids hear the story of The Plagues and use bandanas to interact with The Plagues. Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time: Kids say good-bye, sing a song, and bounce a beach ball with fly swatters. Prayer Time: Kids pray using a beach ball. The Plagues 165

4 PRESCHOOL LEADER GUIDE The Plagues Exodus 7:14-12:32 Big Picture Overview Gather (10 minutes) week 3 Sick Animals Activate Faith (25 minutes) Center Time: Kids play with bugs and color Bible story pictures. Circle Time: Kids welcome one another with a fly swatter and pretend to have a cold. Prayer Time: Kids say a buzzing prayer. Music ten little plagues: Kids sing a song. Art Clothespin Flies: Kids make a fly out of a clothespin. Snack Animal Crackers: Kids eat animal crackers for a snack. Open the Bible (10 minutes) The Plagues Storytelling: Kids hear the story of The Plagues and pretend to be plagued animals. Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time: Kids say good-bye, sing a song, and bounce a beach ball with fly swatters. Prayer Time: Kids pray using a beach ball. week 4 It s Dark! Gather (10 minutes) Center Time: Kids use doctor kits to take care of stuffed animals and color Bible story pictures. Circle Time: Kids welcome one another with a fly swatter and make shadows with a flashlight. Prayer Time: Kids say a buzzing prayer. Activate Faith (25 minutes) Game Let Them Go Oh, No!: Kids play a Red Light, Green Light game. Art Glow Bracelets: Kids make ankle bracelets with glowin-the-dark beads. Snack Cover the Sun: Kids eat cheese and crackers. Open the Bible (10 minutes) The Plagues Storytelling: Kids hear the story of The Plagues and use flashlights and a blanket to mimic the plague of darkness. Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time: Kids say good-bye, sing a song, and bounce a beach ball with fly swatters. Prayer Time: Kids pray using a beach ball. 166 Preschool Leader Guides

5 PRESCHOOL LEADER GUIDE The Plagues (Exodus 7:14 12:32) Big Picture Overview week 5 God s Way Hurray! Gather (10 minutes) Center Time: Kids use doctor kits to take care of stuffed animals and color Bible story pictures. Circle Time: Kids welcome one another with a fly swatter and share a cheer. Prayer Time: Kids say a buzzing prayer. Activate Faith (25 minutes) Music tambourines: Kids use tambourines to praise God. Art Hurray, Tambourines: Kids make praise tambourines. Snack Mini Cupcakes: Kids eat mini cupcakes. Open the Bible (10 minutes) The Plagues Storytelling: Kids hear the story of The Plagues and pretend to be the Israelites. Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time: Kids say good-bye, sing a song, and bounce a beach ball with fly swatters. Prayer Time: Kids pray using a beach ball. week 6 All About Ten Gather (10 minutes) Center Time: Kids use doctor kits to take care of stuffed animals and color Bible story pictures. Circle Time: Kids welcome one another with a fly swatter and count to ten. Prayer Time: Kids say a buzzing prayer. Activate Faith (25 minutes) Game Fly Swatter Relay: Kids play with fly swatters. Art Ten, Ten, Ten!: The kids make a collage with ten of everything. Snack Ten Snacks: Kids eat ten mini crackers. Open the Bible (10 minutes) The Plagues Storytelling: Kids hear the story of The Plagues and use their bandanas to say no to Moses requests. Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time: Kids say good-bye, sing a song, and bounce a beach ball with fly swatters. Prayer Time: Kids pray using a beach ball. The Plagues 167

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7 PRESCHOOL LEADER GUIDE The Plagues (Exodus 7:14 12:32) Lesson At-A- Glance Chart Week 1 Lesson Focus: Let them go! Gather (10 minutes) Center Time Kids play with bugs and color Bible story pictures. Circle Time Kids welcome one another with a fly swatter and shout back and forth. Prayer Time Kids say a buzzing prayer. Coloring Pages The Plagues A Toy insects and frogs, magnifying glasses, plastic jars, butterfly nets, bandanas, real bugs (optional), blank paper, markers or crayons New fly swatters Open the Bible (10 minutes) The Plagues Storytelling Kids hear the story of The Plagues and make actions to mimic different plagues. Spark Story Bible Activate Faith (25 minutes) Music Ten Little Plagues Kids sing a song. art Hail Painting Kids paint with ice cubes. Snack Bugs Kids eat a snack with crackers. Plastic table coverings or plastic swimming pool, red powdered tempera paint, ice cubes, white paper, paint shirts, towels, hand wipes or a sink to wash hands Vanilla wafers, frosting, mini pretzel twists, red juice, cups, plastic knives, napkins, raisins, chocolate chips or small candy The Plagues 169

8 Lesson At-A-Glance Chart Week 1 Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time Kids say good-bye, sing a song, and bounce a beach ball with fly swatters. Prayer Time Kids pray using a beach ball. Family Pages Beach ball, fly swatters Beach ball Visit for more Spark content. Watch a short Lesson Prep Video that will prepare you and give you confidence to explore this Bible story with the kids you are leading. You will also find 6 Coloring Pages to use during Gather Time and a downloadable Family Page for this rotation s story filled with ideas for families to use to explore this story and live out their faith at home. 170 Preschool Leader Guides

9 PRESCHOOL LEADER GUIDE The Plagues (Exodus 7:14 12:32) Week 1 Gather (10 minutes) Center Time You may choose to set up one or both of these creative play centers where kids can play as they arrive in your classroom. Have helpers in each center to help children with the activities. Kids can stay in one center or travel to both. Playing with Bugs Let the kids use the magnifying glasses to study the insects. Have the kids tie the bandanas around their neck or heads like bug hunters. Use the butterfly nets to pretend to catch butterflies. Have the kids count and sort the bugs. They can pretend to have the insects fly around the room. If you have real insects for the kids to study, be sure the kids know that the insects need to stay in their containers. Coloring Center Provide copies of The Plagues Coloring Page A, blank paper, and markers or crayons for each kid. Be sure to write their names on their drawings before moving to Circle Time. Coloring Pages The Plagues A Toy insects and frogs Magnifying glasses Plastic jars Butterfly nets Bandanas Real bugs (optional) Blank paper Markers or crayons When all kids have arrived and have had time to participate in at least one center, say, I am going to count while we get ready for Circle Time. God sent 10 plagues to the people of Egypt. We are going to clean up and get ready while I count to 10. One. Two... Circle Time Have the kids sit in a circle. Hand one kid a fly swatter, and you keep the other. There are all kinds of flies and bugs in our story. Does anyone know what this is? It s a fly swatter. We are going to welcome each other with a fly swatter welcome. I ll start. Say to the kid with the other fly swatter, Welcome. God loves you! We ll gently swat the fly swatters and pass them to the next kids. Continue until everyone receives a fly swatter welcome. New fly swatters God s people in Israel were not happy. They wanted to be free. They called out to Pharaoh, who was the king, Let us go! And Pharaoh said, No, no, no! Split the group in half. Have half of the kids say, Let us go! Let the other half say, No, no, no! Say it loud! Say it softly. Switch sides and say it again. The Plagues 171

10 Prayer Time Let s share a bug prayer. After each thing I say, we ll all buzz or make any bug sound that we can think of. We will end by saying, Amen. Dear God, (buzz) Thank you for watching over us. (buzz) Thank you for freeing Moses and his people. (buzz) We love and praise you for being strong and mighty. (buzz) Amen. Open the Bible (10 Minutes) The Plagues Storytelling God sent 10 plagues to make Pharaoh let the people go free. God made the river red and smelly. Let s cover our noses. Eew! God sent frogs. Let s croak like a frog. Croak! Croak! God sent gnats and flies to bug the people. Let s buzz and fly around. Bzzzz! Spark Story Bible God made the animals and the people sick. Let s lie down and pretend we are sick. God sent hail and thunder. Let s make loud thunder noises. Boom! Boom! God sent tons of grasshoppers. Let s hop like grasshoppers. Hop! Hop! Hop! God made the sun go away. Let s cover our eyes. God even killed some of the children. Let s cry because that is very sad. Boo hoo! Let s read more about the plagues in our Spark Story Bible. We can find out when Pharaoh finally let the people go. Take out your Spark Story Bible and open to The Plagues on pages Read the story out loud and point to the corresponding pictures. Look for Squiggles the caterpillar in each picture. Ask kids what they think Squiggles is feeling or doing. Encourage them to make a face or move like Squiggles. Ask the following questions, allowing time for kids to answer: Who was stronger: God or Pharaoh? (God) Was there a time that you forgot that God is the strongest of all? 172 Preschool Leader Guides

11 Activate Faith (25 minutes) m u s i c: Ten Little Plagues Sing this song to the tune of Ten Little Indians. One little, two little, three little plagues, Four little, five little, six little plagues, Seven little, eight little, nine little plagues, Ten little plagues God sent. One was frogs and one was locusts, There were flies and hail and blood, Once God made the animals sick And darkness everywhere! One was boils and one was gnats, Once God made the children sick. God made Pharaoh free the people. God rules over all. One little, two little, three little plagues, Four little, five little, six little plagues, Seven little, eight little, nine little plagues, Ten little plagues God sent. a r t: Hail Painting Set Up: Set the paper in the pool or on the table covering. Lay the paint shirts and towels where they can be easily accessed. Help the kids put on paint shirts. Give each kid a piece of paper and sprinkle some red tempera paint on it. Give everyone an ice cube. God sent plagues to Egypt so Pharaoh would let the people go. One thing that God sent was hail. The cold hail rained down on the people and animals and crushed the plants. God made the river turn red and smelly so the people could not swim or wash in it. God is very powerful. The ice cube reminds us of the hail and the red paint reminds us of the red water. Use the ice cube like a paint brush. Paint red all over your paper. Take a rest when your hand gets cold. Have you ever painted with an ice cube before? Let the kids paint with their hands if the ice cubes melt. Be ready to wash hands right away. This will be messy! Plastic table coverings or plastic swimming pool Red powdered tempera paint Ice cubes White paper Paint shirts Towels Hand wipes or a sink to wash hands The Plagues 173

12 s n a c k: Bugs Before serving any food, always check with caregivers for kids who have food allergies. Provide an alternative if necessary. We are going to make frogs for our snacks today. God sent so many frogs to plague the Egyptians that there were frogs everywhere! Hand each kid a vanilla wafer on a napkin and have frosting within reach. Show them how to spread a little frosting on the bottom of their vanilla wafers. Set two pretzel twists with the loopy side out on the napkin and set the vanilla wafer frosting side down on the pretzels. The loopy sides of the pretzels will be the legs. Use a little frosting to attach the raisins to the top of the vanilla wafer for eyes. You could use chocolate chips or small candy for the eyes instead of raisins. Enjoy your frogs! They will taste lots better than real frogs! Vanilla wafers Frosting Mini pretzel twists Red juice Cups Plastic knives Napkins Raisins, chocolate chips, or small candy God also turned the river red. Our juice makes us think of the red river that God made. God can do anything! Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time Have the group stand in a circle. Give everyone a fly swatter. These fly swatters make me think of the flies that God sent to plague the Egyptians. We re going to use the fly swatters to bat the beach ball around the circle. Say Good-bye to whoever is hitting the ball. God is with you always,. See you next time! After kids say good-bye to each kid, teach them to sing these words to the tune of If You re Happy and You Know It. Beach ball Fly swatters If you re free and you know it Dance like me. If you re free and you know it Dance like me. 174 Preschool Leader Guides

13 I am free as I can be. God is watching over me. If you re free and you know it Dance like me! Think of other ways to celebrate being free. Clap, jump, and shout Hurray! Prayer Time Kids will toss the beach ball around to pray. We are going to use our beach ball to pray. When a friend tosses the beach ball to you, say thank you to God for watching over us. When everyone has had a turn, we ll say, Amen! If your group hasn t already received this rotation s Family Page, send one home with each family. Family Pages Beach ball The Plagues 175

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15 PRESCHOOL LEADER GUIDE The Plagues (Exodus 7:14 12:32) Lesson At-A- Glance Chart Week 2 Lesson Focus: Bugs, frogs, and flies Gather (10 minutes) Center Time Kids play with bugs and color Bible story pictures. Circle Time Kids welcome one another with a fly swatter and answer riddles. Prayer Time Kids say a buzzing prayer. Coloring Pages The Plagues B Toy insects and frogs, magnifying glasses, plastic jars, butterfly nets, bandanas, real bugs (optional), blank paper, markers or crayons New fly swatters Open the Bible (10 minutes) The Plagues Storytelling Kids hear the story of The Plagues and use bandanas to interact with The Plagues. Spark Story Bible Bandanas Activate Faith (25 minutes) Game Fly Swatter Relay Kids play with fly swatters. Art Clay Bugs Kids make bugs out of clay. Snack Locust Legs Kids eat celery sticks. Fly swatters, cotton balls, bucket or basket Clay, chenille craft stems, small paper plates Celery, cream cheese, green food coloring, green juice, cups, plastic knives, napkins The Plagues 177

16 Lesson At-A-Glance Chart Week 2 Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time Kids say good-bye, sing a song, and bounce a beach ball with fly swatters. Prayer Time Kids pray using a beach ball. Family Pages Beach ball, fly swatters Beach ball Visit for more Spark content. Watch a short Lesson Prep Video that will prepare you and give you confidence to explore this Bible story with the kids you are leading. You will also find 6 Coloring Pages to use during Gather Time and a downloadable Family Page for this rotation s story filled with ideas for families to use to explore this story and live out their faith at home. 178 Preschool Leader Guides

17 PRESCHOOL LEADER GUIDE The Plagues (Exodus 7:14 12:32) Week 2 Gather (10 minutes) Center Time You may choose to set up one or both of these creative play centers where kids can play as they arrive in your classroom. Have helpers in each center to help children with the activities. Kids can stay in one center or travel to both. Playing with Bugs Let the kids use the magnifying glasses to study the insects. Have the kids tie the bandanas around their neck or heads like bug hunters. Use the butterfly nets to pretend to catch butterflies. Have the kids count and sort the bugs. They can pretend to have the insects fly around the room. If you have real insects for the kids to study, be sure the kids know that the insects need to stay in their containers. Coloring Center Provide copies of The Plagues Coloring Page B, blank paper, and markers or crayons for each kid. Be sure to write their names on their drawings before moving to Circle Time. Coloring Pages The Plagues B Toy insects and frogs Magnifying glasses Plastic jars Butterfly nets Bandanas Real bugs (optional) Blank paper Markers or crayons When all kids have arrived and have had time to participate in at least one center, say, I am going to count while we get ready for circle time. God sent 10 plagues to the people of Egypt. We are going to clean up and get ready while I count to 10. One. Two... Circle Time Have the kids sit in a circle. Hand one kid a fly swatter, you keep the other. There are all kinds of flies and bugs in our story. Does anyone know what this is? It s a fly swatter. We are going to welcome each other with a fly swatter welcome. I ll start. Say to the kid with the other fly swatter, Welcome. God loves you! We ll gently swat the fly swatters and pass them to the next kids. Continue until everyone receives a fly swatter welcome. New fly swatters God sent 10 plagues to convince Pharaoh to let the people go. One of the things God sent was tiny. It can fly. It makes a buzzing sound. They like to land on our food at picnics. Who can tell me what they are? Flies, that s right. Another thing that God sent is a jumping animal. They have really long back legs. They are green, croak, and like the water. Who can tell me what they are? Frogs! Another plague that God sent was a ton of tiny, tiny, bugs like the ones that sometimes crawl into our hair and fly around our ears. They rhyme with bats. Who knows what they are? Gnats! Yuck! The Plagues 179

18 Prayer Time Let s share a bug prayer. After each thing I say, we ll all buzz or make any bug sound that we can think of. We will end by saying, Amen. Dear God, (buzz) Thank you for watching over us. (buzz) Thank you for freeing Moses and his people. (buzz) We love and praise you for being strong and mighty. (buzz) Amen. Open the Bible (10 Minutes) The Plagues Storytelling Give each kid a bandana. I gave you bandanas today, because there seem to be a lot of bugs in here. You can use your bandana to swat away the bugs or use it to tie around your head to keep the bugs off of you. Moses goes to talk to Pharaoh about letting the people go, but Pharaoh says no every time. Before Moses even leaves the palace, there are already frogs hopping around everywhere. Look at them jumping all over. Let s pretend to swat those frogs with our bandanas. When Moses comes back, Pharaoh says no again. This time, there are gnats buzzing everywhere. Will you make a noise like a tiny gnat? Let s wave our bandanas to see if we can get rid of them. They are everywhere. They are bugging my eyes. They are bugging my ears. Go away gnats! Take a minute to enjoy escaping the gnats. Spark Story Bible Bandanas When Moses comes back, Pharaoh says no again. Now there are flies everywhere. They are buzzing around my head. They are buzzing around yours. There are flies everywhere. Let s buzz like flies and swat them before they eat our snacks! Give the kids a minute to swat flies. I wonder what else will happen before Pharaoh lets the people go. Let s read the rest of the story in our Spark Story Bible. Get comfy and settle down after all those bugs! Take out your Spark Story Bible and open to The Plagues on pages Read the story out loud and point to the corresponding pictures. Look for Squiggles the caterpillar in each picture. Ask kids what they think Squiggles is feeling or doing. Encourage them to make a face or move like Squiggles. Ask the following questions, allowing time for kids to answer: What is something that God sent to convince Pharaoh to free the people? (the plagues) What do you think the people thought when they saw all those frogs? 180 Preschool Leader Guides

19 Activate Faith (25 minutes) g a m e: Fly Swatter Relay Scatter the cotton balls on the ground. Put the kids in teams. Give each team a fly swatter. Show the kids a cotton ball. We are in Egypt and there are bugs everywhere! These are the bugs. There are tons of them! We need to gather them up and put them in the basket. Use your fly swatter to scoop up a bug and carry it to the basket as fast as you can. When you are done, pass the fly swatter to the next kid and sit down. Then we will know when everyone has had a turn. Continue to play until all the kids have had a turn. Scatter the cotton balls and play again if you have time. Fly swatters Cotton balls Bucket or basket a r t: Clay Bugs Set Up: Cut the chenille craft stems into 3-inch (7.5 cm) lengths. Give each kid a ball of clay and a length of chenille craft stem. We are going to work with clay today. We are going to make bugs. Clay needs to be warmed up so it gets soft. Let s roll it in our hands. When it gets soft, you can roll it on the table to make one big ball for your bug s body and a smaller ball for the head. Then we will bend our chenille stem to make feelers. Poke your antennae into the head of your bug. Let s set our bugs on the paper plate so they can dry and harden. Clay Chenille craft stems Small paper plates s n a c k: Locust Legs Set Up: Cut the celery into sticks. Use the food coloring to tint the cream cheese green. Before serving any food, always check with caregivers for kids who have food allergies. Provide an alternative if necessary. God sent locusts or grasshoppers to torment the Egyptians. There were grasshoppers everywhere. They ate everything! Our snack today looks like grasshopper legs. Doesn t that sound good? Pass out the celery sticks and green cream cheese. Let the kids spread the cream cheese with the plastic knives. Enjoy your grasshopper legs. What color are grasshoppers? Pour green juice into cups. We are having grasshopper juice to drink! Yum! Yum! Celery Cream cheese Green food coloring Green juice Cups Plastic knives Napkins The Plagues 181

20 Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time Have the group stand in a circle. Give everyone a fly swatter. These fly swatters make me think of the flies that God sent to plague the Egyptians. We re going to use the fly swatters to bat the beach ball around the circle. Say Good-bye to whoever is hitting the ball. God is with you always,. See you next time! After kids say good-bye to each kid, teach them to sing these words to the tune of If You re Happy and You Know It. Beach ball Fly swatters If you re free and you know it Dance like me. If you re free and you know it Dance like me. I am free as I can be. God is watching over me. If you re free and you know it Dance like me! Think of other ways to celebrate being free. Clap, jump, and shout Hurray! Prayer Time Kids will toss the beach ball around to pray. We are going to use our beach ball to pray. When a friend tosses the beach ball to you, say thank you to God for watching over us. When everyone has had a turn, we ll say, Amen! If your group hasn t already received this rotation s Family Page, send one home with each family. Family Pages Beach ball 182 Preschool Leader Guides

21 PRESCHOOL LEADER GUIDE The Plagues (Exodus 7:14 12:32) Lesson At-A- Glance Chart Week 3 Lesson Focus: Sick animals Gather (10 minutes) Center Time Kids play with bugs and color Bible story pictures. Circle Time Kids welcome one another with a fly swatter and pretend to have a cold. Prayer Time Kids say a buzzing prayer. Coloring Pages The Plagues C Toy insects and frogs, magnifying glasses, plastic jars, butterfly nets, bandanas, real bugs (optional), blank paper, markers or crayons New fly swatters Open the Bible (10 minutes) The Plagues Storytelling Kids hear the story of The Plagues and pretend to be plagued animals. Spark Story Bible Activate Faith (25 minutes) Music Ten Little Plagues Kids sing a song. Art Clothespin Flies Kids make a fly out of a clothespin. Snack Animal Crackers Kids eat animal crackers for a snack. Clip clothespins, black paint, paint containers, paint brushes, paint shirts, wiggle eyes, vellum (or other stiff, translucent paper), pencils, stapler Animal crackers, apple juice, ice cubes, cups, napkins The Plagues 183

22 Lesson At-A-Glance Chart Week 3 Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time Kids say good-bye, sing a song, and bounce a beach ball with fly swatters. Prayer Time Kids pray using a beach ball. Family Pages Beach ball, fly swatters Beach ball Visit for more Spark content. Watch a short Lesson Prep Video that will prepare you and give you confidence to explore this Bible story with the kids you are leading. You will also find 6 Coloring Pages to use during Gather Time and a downloadable Family Page for this rotation s story filled with ideas for families to use to explore this story and live out their faith at home. 184 Preschool Leader Guides

23 PRESCHOOL LEADER GUIDE The Plagues (Exodus 7:14 12:32) Week 3 Gather (10 minutes) Center Time You may choose to set up one or both of these creative play centers where kids can play as they arrive in your classroom. Have helpers in each center to help children with the activities. Kids can stay in one center or travel to both. Playing with Bugs Let the kids use the magnifying glasses to study the insects. Have the kids tie the bandanas around their neck or heads like bug hunters. Use the butterfly nets to pretend to catch butterflies. Have the kids count and sort the bugs. They can pretend to have the insects fly around the room. If you have real insects for the kids to study, be sure the kids know that the insects need to stay in their containers. Coloring Center Provide copies of The Plagues Coloring Page C, blank paper, and markers or crayons for each kid. Be sure to write their names on their drawings before moving to Circle Time. Coloring Pages The Plagues C Toy insects and frogs Magnifying glasses Plastic jars Butterfly nets Bandanas Real bugs (optional) Blank paper Markers or crayons When all kids have arrived and have had time to participate in at least one center, say, I am going to count while we get ready for circle time. God sent 10 plagues to the people of Egypt. We are going to clean up and get ready while I count to 10. One. Two... Circle Time Have the kids sit in a circle. Hand one kid a fly swatter, you keep the other. There are all kinds of flies and bugs in our story. Does anyone know what this is? It s a fly swatter. We are going to welcome each other with a fly swatter welcome. I ll start. Say to the kid with the other fly swatter, Welcome. God loves you! We ll gently swat the fly swatters and pass them to the next kids. Continue until everyone receives a fly swatter welcome. New fly swatters God was angry that Pharaoh would not let the people go. God made Pharaoh s animals sick. Let s pretend we are sick. We can pretend that we have the sniffles. I want to lie down. I am tired. What else do you do when you have a cold? Should we sneeze? Don t forget to cover your mouth! The Plagues 185

24 Prayer Time Let s share a bug prayer. After each thing I say, we ll all buzz or make any bug sound that we can think of. We will end by saying, Amen. Dear God, (buzz) Thank you for watching over us. (buzz) Thank you for freeing Moses and his people. (buzz) We love and praise you for being strong and mighty. (buzz) Amen. Open the Bible (10 Minutes) The Plagues Storytelling God made lots of animals. We re each going to choose an animal that lives on a farm. Who can think of an animal that lives on a farm? Sheep, cows, goats, horses all live on farms. Do you know what sound your animal makes? Let s all make the sound of our animal. Give the kids a minute to moo and neigh, baa and oink! Spark Story Bible Wow! It really sounds like a farm in here. One time, when God was trying to convince Pharaoh to let the people go, God made all of the Egyptians animals sick. If I say the name of the animal you were earlier, you can fall over and pretend to be sick. If you were a sheep, you can pretend you are sick. If you were a goat, you can be sick. If you were a cow, a horse, a rooster or a chicken, you can pretend you are sick. Continue until all the kids are lying on the ground. Now all of the animals are sick. Do you think Pharaoh let the people go? Let s read about Moses and the plagues in our Spark Story Bible to find out. Sit up again so you can listen. Take out your Spark Story Bible and open to The Plagues on pages Read the story out loud and point to the corresponding pictures. Look for Squiggles the caterpillar in each picture. Ask kids what they think Squiggles is feeling or doing. Encourage them to make a face or move like Squiggles. Ask the following questions, allowing time for kids to answer: What happened to the animals in Egypt? (God sent a plague to make them sick.) Would you like to live on a farm? Why? If you live on a farm, what do you like about it? 186 Preschool Leader Guides

25 Activate Faith (25 minutes) m u s i c: Ten Little Plagues Sing this song to the tune of Ten Little Indians. One little, two little, three little plagues, Four little, five little, six little plagues, Seven little, eight little, nine little plagues, Ten little plagues God sent. One was frogs and one was locusts, There were flies and hail and blood, Once God made the animals sick And darkness everywhere! One was boils and one was gnats, Once God made the children sick. God made Pharaoh free the people. God rules over all. One little, two little, three little plagues, Four little, five little, six little plagues, Seven little, eight little, nine little plagues, Ten little plagues God sent. a r t: Clothespin Flies Set Up: Cut the vellum into oval shapes for the wings. Each kid will need two. One of the things God sent to plague the Egyptians was a huge swarm of flies. Hand each kid supplies. Help them put paint shirts on. We are going to paint our clothespins black to look like fly bodies. After the kids are done painting, set the clothespins aside to dry. You can take your paint shirts off. Give everyone their two wings. Show the kids how to use the pencils to draw veins on the wings. When the clothespins are dry, glue the wings and eyes to finish the flies. You can staple the wings to make sure they stay. Don t swat one of these flies! Clip clothespins Black paint Paint containers Paint brushes Paint shirts Wiggle eyes Vellum (or other stiff, translucent paper) Pencils Stapler The Plagues 187

26 s n a c k: Animal Crackers Before serving any food, always check with caregivers for kids who have food allergies. Provide an alternative if necessary. Pass each kid some animal crackers and a cup of juice with ice. God sent a plague to make the animals sick. The Egyptians could not make them well. God was very angry with Pharaoh. God would not give up. What animals do you have on your napkin? God sent hail to rain down on Egypt. The ice in our drinks reminds us of the hail God sent from the sky. Animal crackers Apple juice Ice cubes Cups Napkins Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time Have the group stand in a circle. Give everyone a fly swatter. These fly swatters make me think of the flies that God sent to plague the Egyptians. We re going to use the fly swatters to bat the beach ball around the circle. Say Good-bye to whoever is hitting the ball. God is with you always,. See you next time! After kids say good-bye to each kid, teach them to sing these words to the tune of If You re Happy and You Know It. Beach ball Fly swatters If you re free and you know it Dance like me. If you re free and you know it Dance like me. I am free as I can be. God is watching over me. If you re free and you know it Dance like me! Think of other ways to celebrate being free. Clap, jump, and shout Hurray! Prayer Time Kids will toss the beach ball around to pray. We are going to use our beach ball to pray. When a friend tosses the beach ball to you, say thank you to God for watching over us. When everyone has had a turn, we ll say, Amen! If your group hasn t already received this rotation s Family Page, send one home with each family. Family Pages Beach ball 188 Preschool Leader Guides

27 PRESCHOOL LEADER GUIDE The Plagues (Exodus 7:14 12:32) Lesson At-A- Glance Chart Week 4 Lesson Focus: It s dark! Gather (10 minutes) Center Time Kids use doctor kits to take care of stuffed animals and color Bible story pictures. Circle Time Kids welcome one another with a fly swatter and make shadows with a flashlight. Prayer Time Kids say a buzzing prayer. Coloring Pages The Plagues D Stuffed animals, toy doctor kits, bandages, face masks, blank paper, markers or crayons New fly swatters, flashlight Open the Bible (10 minutes) The Plagues Storytelling Kids hear the story of The Plagues and use flashlights and a blanket to mimic the plague of darkness. Spark Story Bible Flashlight, blanket or bedsheet Activate Faith (25 minutes) Game Let Them Go Oh, No! Kids play a Red Light, Green Light game. Art Glow Bracelets Kids make ankle bracelets with glow-in-the-dark beads. Snack Cover the Sun Kids eat cheese and crackers. Costumes or simple props for Moses and Pharaoh Glow in the dark pony beads, chenille craft stems or rattail lacing, containers for beads Round crackers, cheese slices, napkins, water, cups, round cookie cutter (or use the top of a spice bottle or jar) The Plagues 189

28 Lesson At-A-Glance Chart Week 4 Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time Kids say good-bye, sing a song, and bounce a beach ball with fly swatters. Prayer Time Kids pray using a beach ball. Family Pages Beach ball, fly swatters Beach ball Visit for more Spark content. Watch a short Lesson Prep Video that will prepare you and give you confidence to explore this Bible story with the kids you are leading. You will also find 6 Coloring Pages to use during Gather Time and a downloadable Family Page for this rotation s story filled with ideas for families to use to explore this story and live out their faith at home. 190 Workshop Leader Guides

29 PRESCHOOL LEADER GUIDE The Plagues (Exodus 7:14 12:32) Week 4 Gather (10 minutes) Center Time Take Care of Animals Set Up: Set the animals and doctor items where the kids can play with them. Tell the kids that the animals are sick and need someone to take care of them. Encourage them to use the supplies to tend to the animals. Invite the kids to wear the masks as they work with the animals. Coloring Center Provide copies of Coloring Page The Plagues D, blank paper, and markers or crayons for each kid. Be sure to write their names on their drawings before moving to Circle Time. Coloring Pages The Plagues D Stuffed animals Toy doctor kits Non-latex bandages Clean face masks Blank paper Markers or crayons When all kids have arrived and have had time to participate in at least one center, say, I am going to count while we get ready for circle time. God sent 10 plagues to the people of Egypt. We are going to clean up and get ready while I count to 10. One. Two... Circle Time Have the kids sit in a circle. Hand one kid a fly swatter, you keep the other. There are all kinds of flies and bugs in our story. Does anyone know what this is? It s a fly swatter. We are going to welcome each other with a fly swatter welcome. I ll start. Say to the kid with the other fly swatter, Welcome. God loves you! We ll gently swat the fly swatters and pass them to the next kids. Continue until everyone receives a fly swatter welcome. Turn the flashlight on and put your hand in front of it. What happens when I put my hand in front of the flashlight? It makes a shadow, doesn t it? Once, God made the sun go away and there were shadows everywhere. It was dark. Pharaoh still did not let the people go. Let s all make shadows with our hands and the flashlight. Make sure that everyone gets a turn to make a shadow. New fly swatters Flashlight The Plagues 191

30 Prayer Time Let s share a bug prayer. After each thing I say, we ll all buzz or make any bug sound that we can think of. We will end by saying, Amen. Dear God, (buzz) Thank you for watching over us. (buzz) Thank you for freeing Moses and his people. (buzz) We love and praise you for being strong and mighty. (buzz) Amen. Open the Bible (10 Minutes) The Plagues Storytelling Set Up: Drape the bed sheet so that the kids can sit under it. Turn on your flashlight. God sent many plagues to the Egyptians. One time, God sent something to cover the sun so that all of Egypt was in darkness. Let s pretend the flashlight is the sun. Cover it with your hand. The people in Egypt couldn t see anything. They couldn t see their families. They couldn t see their friends. They couldn t see their animals. They couldn t even see across the street to their neighbor s house. It was dark everywhere. The people were very frightened. They did not know if the sun would ever shine again. How would their crops grow? How would they find their animals? Would they ever be able to travel to see friends and neighbors again? This was very scary. God kept Egypt dark for three days. Then God let the sun come out. Uncover the flashlight. Do you think that Pharaoh let the people go? Spark Story Bible Flashlight Blanket or bed sheet Let s read in our Spark Story Bible to find out what happens next. Would you like to stay in the dark to read the story? Or should we come out into the light? Take out your Spark Story Bible and open to The Plagues on pages Read the story out loud and point to the corresponding pictures. Look for Squiggles the caterpillar in each picture. Ask kids what they think Squiggles is feeling or doing. Encourage them to make a face or move like Squiggles. Ask the following questions, allowing time for kids to answer: How long was it dark in Egypt? (three days) What would be the scariest thing if the sun went away? 192 Workshop Leader Guides

31 Activate Faith (25 minutes) g a m e: Let Them Go Oh, No! For this Red Light, Green Light-type game, choose one kid to be Moses and another to be Pharaoh. Give them simple props or costumes. Have the other kids stand across the room from Pharaoh and Moses. You are going to try to sneak past the Pharaoh to get to Moses. Pharaoh will stand between Moses and the rest of the kids. Pharaoh is watching over his slaves. He can see them working. Moses will say, Pharaoh, let my people go. When Pharaoh turns around to listen to Moses, he will have his back to you and the rest of you can try to sneak up to them. Then Pharaoh will turn back around and say, Oh, NO! If Pharaoh sees you moving, you will have to go back to the beginning. If you make it to Moses, you get to be the next Pharaoh. The second one to get past Pharaoh will get to be the next Moses. Continue playing until all the kids get to be Moses or Pharaoh. Costumes or simple props for Moses and Pharaoh a r t: Glow Bracelets Set Up: Fill the bead containers with the glow-in-the-dark pony beads and set them where the kids can reach them easily. Cut the lacing materials or give each kid a chenille stem. One of the plagues that God sent made the sun disappear, so there was darkness everywhere. The people were very frightened when it was dark like nighttime, in the middle of the day. Let s string these beads and make a bracelet, to remind us of the time when it was dark in the middle of the day. Help the kids string the beads and twist the chenille stem to make a bracelet. If using the lacing, help kids tie their bracelets around their ankles or wrists. Put all beads away after use, and make sure kids don t place the beads in their mouths. Glow-in-the-dark pony beads Chenille craft stems or rattail lacing Containers for beads s n a c k: Cover the Sun Before serving any food, always check with caregivers for kids who have food allergies. Provide an alternative if necessary. Pass out two crackers, a slice of cheese on a napkin and a cup of water to each kid. Let the kids use the cookie cutter or spice jar cover to cut a circle out of their cheese. Let s set a cracker on our napkin. Does everyone have a circle of cheese? Let s pretend the cheese is the round sun. Set your sun on one of your crackers. One day, the sun was shining brightly in Egypt. Then God sent a plague to cover the sun. Use another cracker to cover your sun. Now it is dark all over Egypt. Let s eat our crackers and sun snack. The people in Egypt did not like it when the sun was covered. They wanted to see the sun again. You can eat the rest of your cheese. Round crackers Cheese slices Napkins Water Cups Round cookie cutter (or use the top of a spice bottle or jar) The Plagues 193

32 Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time Have the group stand in a circle. Give everyone a fly swatter. These fly swatters make me think of the flies that God sent to plague the Egyptians. We re going to use the fly swatters to bat the beach ball around the circle. Say Good-bye to whoever is hitting the ball. God is with you always,. See you next time! After kids say good-bye to each kid, teach them to sing these words to the tune of If You re Happy and You Know It. Beach ball Fly swatters If you re free and you know it Dance like me. If you re free and you know it Dance like me. I am free as I can be. God is watching over me. If you re free and you know it Dance like me! Think of other ways to celebrate being free. Clap, jump, and shout Hurray! Prayer Time Kids will toss the beach ball around to pray. We are going to use our beach ball to pray. When a friend tosses the beach ball to you, say thank you to God for watching over us. When everyone has had a turn, we ll say, Amen! If your group hasn t already received this rotation s Family Page, send one home with each family. Family Pages Beach ball 194 Workshop Leader Guides

33 PRESCHOOL LEADER GUIDE The Plagues (Exodus 7:14 12:32) Lesson At-A- Glance Chart Week 5 Lesson Focus: God s way hurray! Gather (10 minutes) Center Time Kids use doctor kits to take care of stuffed animals and color Bible story pictures. Circle Time Kids welcome one another with a fly swatter and share a cheer. Prayer Time Kids say a buzzing prayer. Coloring Pages The Plagues E Stuffed animals, toy doctor kits, bandages, face masks, blank paper, markers or crayons New fly swatters Open the Bible (10 minutes) The Plagues Storytelling Kids hear the story of The Plagues and pretend to be the Israelites. Spark Story Bible Bible time costumes Activate Faith (25 minutes) Art Hurray Tambourines Kids make praise tambourines. Music Tambourines Kids use tambourines to praise God. Snack Mini Cupcakes Kids eat mini cupcakes. Small paper plates, chenille craft stems or twist ties, curling ribbon, jingle bells, markers, stickers, paper punches, scissors Tambourines from the Hurray Tambourines Art Activity, kids music CD, CD player Mini muffins or cupcakes, frosting, sprinkles, juice or water, cups, napkins, plastic knives The Plagues 195

34 Lesson At-A-Glance Chart Week 5 Send (5 minutes) Good-bye Time Kids say good-bye, sing a song, and bounce a beach ball with fly swatters. Prayer Time Kids pray using a beach ball. Family Pages Beach ball, fly swatters Beach ball Visit for more Spark content. Watch a short Lesson Prep Video that will prepare you and give you confidence to explore this Bible story with the kids you are leading. You will also find 6 Coloring Pages to use during Gather Time and a downloadable Family Page for this rotation s story filled with ideas for families to use to explore this story and live out their faith at home. 196 Preschool Leader Guides

35 PRESCHOOL LEADER GUIDE The Plagues (Exodus 7:14 12:32) Week 5 Gather (10 minutes) Center Time Take Care of Animals Set Up: Set the animals and doctor items where the kids can play with them. Tell the kids that the animals are sick and need someone to take care of them. Encourage them to use the supplies to tend to the animals. Invite the kids to wear the masks as they work with the animals. Coloring Center Provide copies of Coloring Page The Plagues E, blank paper, and markers or crayons for each kid. Be sure to write their names on their drawings before moving to Circle Time. Coloring Pages The Plagues E Stuffed animals Toy doctor kits Non-latex bandages Clean face masks, one per kid Blank paper Markers or crayons When all kids have arrived and have had time to participate in at least one center, say, I am going to count while we get ready for Circle Time. God sent 10 plagues to the people of Egypt. We are going to clean up and get ready while I count to 10. One. Two... Circle Time Have the kids sit in a circle. Hand one kid a fly swatter, you keep the other. There are all kinds of flies and bugs in our story. Does anyone know what this is? It s a fly swatter. We are going to welcome each other with a fly swatter welcome. I ll start. Say to the kid with the other fly swatter, Welcome. God loves you! We ll gently swat the fly swatters and pass them to the next kids. Continue until everyone receives a fly swatter welcome. New fly swatters Let s learn a cheer that we can do together. Repeat each line after me. God has a good way! We follow God every day! Hurray! Hurray! Hurray! The Plagues 197

36 Prayer Time Let s share a bug prayer. After each thing I say, we ll all buzz or make any bug sound that we can think of. We will end by saying, Amen. Dear God, (buzz) Thank you for watching over us. (buzz) Thank you for freeing Moses and his people. (buzz) We love and praise you for being strong and mighty. (buzz) Amen. Open the Bible (10 Minutes) The Plagues Storytelling Help the kids put on their costumes. Let s gather round. You look wonderful in your costumes. But you do not look happy. You look sad. Could it be because you are slaves and have to work hard all day long? Do you work in the fields with the plants? Do you take care of Pharaoh s animals or his palace? Encourage the kids to look sad and to pretend to work. That must be it. Don t worry. God is with you. Keep working. Spark Story Bible Bible time costumes You look so tired! Moses is asking Pharaoh to let you go. God sends plagues to help Pharaoh make up his mind. God sent the bugs and flies. Maybe this time Pharaoh will let you go. Oh, no! Not again. He says no. Keep working. God sends the hail and the red water. God makes the animals sick. Surely Pharaoh will let you go. Not yet. Keep working. Finally, God sends the sickness and sores. That will certainly persuade Pharaoh to let you go. Moses comes with good news. You can stop working! Pharaoh has let you go! You are free. Now you look happy. Now you can cheer. Let s quick go home and pack up all our things before Pharaoh changes his mind. Cheer while you pack! Let s see what the Spark Story Bible says about the Plagues that God sent. Would you like to leave your costumes on? I think you can listen with your costumes on. Take out your Spark Story Bible and open to The Plagues on pages Read the story out loud and point to the corresponding pictures. Look for Squiggles the caterpillar in each picture. Ask kids what they think Squiggles is feeling or doing. Encourage them to make a face or move like Squiggles. 198 Preschool Leader Guides

37 Ask the following questions, allowing time for kids to answer: Why did God need to free the people? (They had to work for the Egyptians as slaves) What is your favorite kind of work? Activate Faith (25 minutes) a r t: Hurray Tambourines Set Up: Cut the chenille stems in fourths. Cut the ribbon into short streamer lengths. Punch 6 holes around the edges of the paper plates. Set the items where the kids can reach them easily. Hand each kid a paper plate. Let the kids use the markers and stickers to decorate their paper plates. When Pharaoh finally freed the people, they were so happy. They sang and they danced. They praised God at the top of their voices. We are making tambourines that we can use to praise God, just like the Israelites. Help the kids use the chenille craft stems or twist ties to attach a few jingle bells to their plates. Help them tie some streamers of curling ribbon to their praise tambourines. Small paper plates Chenille craft stems or twist ties Curling ribbon Jingle bells Markers Stickers Paper punches Scissors m u s i c: Tambourines Play the CD and let the kids dance and play their tambourines. We can praise God like the Israelites did. They were so happy to praise God when they were finally free. We are happy to praise God, too! Play with the tambourines and dance as time allows. Tambourines from the Hurray Tambourines Art Activity Kids music CD CD player The Plagues 199

38 s n a c k: Mini Cupcakes Before serving any food, always check with caregivers for kids who have food allergies. Provide an alternative if necessary. Pass out the cups of juice and cupcakes or muffins with napkins. Let the kids frost the cupcakes and sprinkle the decorations on them. The Israelites were so happy to be free. They sang and danced and cheered. Then they packed up their stuff so they could leave Egypt forever. We can celebrate like the Israelites when we eat our special cupcakes. Yay, God! Send (5 minutes) Mini muffins or cupcakes Frosting Sprinkles Juice or water Cups Napkins Plastic knives Good-bye Time Have the group stand in a circle. Give everyone a fly swatter. These fly swatters make me think of the flies that God sent to plague the Egyptians. We re going to use the fly swatters to bat the beach ball around the circle. Say Good-bye to whoever is hitting the ball. God is with you always,. See you next time! After kids say good-bye to each kid, teach them to sing these words to the tune of If You re Happy and You Know It. Beach ball Fly swatters If you re free and you know it Dance like me. If you re free and you know it Dance like me. I am free as I can be. God is watching over me. If you re free and you know it Dance like me! Think of other ways to celebrate being free. Clap, jump, and shout Hurray! Prayer Time Kids will toss the beach ball around to pray. We are going to use our beach ball to pray. When a friend tosses the beach ball to you, say thank you to God for watching over us. When everyone has had a turn, we ll say, Amen! If your group hasn t already received this rotation s Family Page, send one home with each family. Family Pages Beach ball 200 Preschool Leader Guides