MARCH: In The Beginning APRIL: The Savior MAY: I Love My Family
Concept Area: Creation In the Beginning Session Title and Scripture Memory Verse Life Application Week of March 7 The Creation Genesis 1:1 2:3 Genesis 1:1 I can know that God created the world from nothing. Week of March 14 In God s Image Genesis 2:4-24 Genesis 1:27 I can praise God for creating me in His image. Week of March 21 A Tragic Choice Genesis 3 Deuteronomy 6:18 I can make good choices. T E A C H E R H E L P S Be watching for the new and improved learner guides! They will be here in Fall 2010, with heavier paper stock, crisper colors, and easier to manage. For children who are reluctant to talk, adapt some activities that allow children to respond through non-verbal ways of communication, such as physical gestures or write-on/wipe-off boards. Consider using the God s Creation Quick Scene bulletin board set (005191582) as part of your focal wall this month. March 2010 5
Bible Passage Genesis 1:1 2:3 Level of Biblical Learning (Creation) God created the world from nothing. Bible Truth God created everything. Life Application I can know that God created the world from nothing. Memory Verse In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1 (KJV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 (HCSB) Week of March 7, 2010 In the Beginning Personal Bible Study No matter what Bible version you use, almost all begin with these words: In the beginning God The word translated formless is the Hebrew tohu and means formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness and has been translated as chaos, confusion, desolation, meaningless, or futile things. God didn t just create the world. He gave a cosmic object lesson of what He can do. On the surface, just reading the words of Genesis 1 is like surviving a hurricane and saying, It was windy. For just a moment, meditate on the enormity of what happened. Hold a blank sheet of paper in your hand. Now make something out of it. The possibilities could have me staring into space for hours. And, to think, I started with something; God began with nothing. God spoke and all the details came instantly to completion. At His command there were colors, textures, circulatory systems, brain functions, and planet rotations that are so set and predictable that their locations in the sky have served as GPS devices long before computers. God was not surprised by any of it. And each and every thing was declared Good! by the One who created it. Now consider the orderliness of God s well-constructed plan. Creation was built from the first rays of light to land foundations, to a full-blown ecosystem. With each living element of creation, God designed and directed its purpose. Every theory that counters the biblical account of creation is just that theory that cannot be proven by any scientific method. On the seventh day God rested. When I was a child, Sundays were predictable: Sunday School, worship, lunch, Mom and Dad took a nap. (We had to play quietly.) Today Sunday looks more like just another day. The root of the word shabbat is cease and desist type rest. I think we are missing God s message. God s plan includes a day to cease and desist from the average, ordinary daily upkeep that is our life routine. God blessed and declared this day as set apart from the others. It is God s invitation to stop what you re doing and concentrate on Him. The kids you teach may be coming from a variety of experiences. You have the opportunity to focus on the awesomeness of God and the truth in His Word. Lead the children you teach to praise God the Creator and celebrate His wonderful creation. 6 Bible Teaching for Grades 1-3 and 4-6
God Created the World In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Imagine a time when everything was black. Darkness was everywhere. God looked out over the darkness and said, Let there be light, and there was light. God named the light day and the darkness night. This was the first day. On the second day God separated the waters and placed the sky between. On the third day God told the water to gather together. Dry land appeared, and God called it earth. He called the waters seas. God saw it was good. He said that the earth should grow trees and other plants with seeds. On the fourth day God created the lights in the sky the sun to rule in the day and the moon to rule in the night. God also created the stars. God saw that it was good. On the fifth day God said, Let the waters be filled with living animals and let the birds fly above the earth. God created the fish and the birds and saw that it was good. On the sixth day God created the animals that live on the land and all things that crawled on the earth. He saw that it was good. Next God made man in His own likeness, to rule over all of the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, and the animals on the earth. God saw all that He had made and was very pleased. Everything was complete. So God rested on the seventh day. He blessed the seventh day and said that it would be holy, because He rested from His work on this day. Genesis 1:1 2:3 P R E P A R E T O T E A C H Grades 1-3 Grades 4-6 Preview and Power Up: A large piece of colored paper, play dough Plug In: Pack Items 1, 14, 15, and 16 Personalize (Choice 1): Several flower seed packages, one egg carton per child, potting soil, strips of paper Personalize (Choice 2): Pack Item 14, mailing labels, empty plastic drinking bottles, small funnels, star sequins, silver and blue glitter, measuring spoons and cups, light corn syrup, warm water General Supplies learner guides tape white paper markers pencils scissors glue construction paper ruler index cards Preview and Power Up: No additional resources are needed. Plug In: Pack Items 1, 14, 15, and 16; slips of paper; a small basket or other container Personalize (Choice 1): Pack Items 14, 17 Personalize (Choice 2): Pack Item 18, heavyweight paper, stickers, various flower seeds Week of March 7, 2010 7
Prepare to Teach Grades 1-3 (Preview): Tape a large piece of colored paper to the wall. Print the words tree, flower, bird, fish, dog, cow, and people randomly around the paper. G r a d e s 1-3 As each child arrives, give him a marker and a piece of white paper. Instruct him to choose a word from the wall and illustrate that word. The boys and girls may draw as many pictures as they would like. When they complete each picture have them attach the picture near the word they chose. Option: Guide the boys and girls to complete Consider using additional pictures as time allows. God s Creation Foam Shapes What does each of these things (005191525), represent? Creation Stickers Ask the children to think of what (005191541) or each of these things needs in order God s Creation to live and flourish. (Sun, water, Stickers (005191555). 1 Preview the food.) Instruct the boys and girls to think of a symbol that represents each need they identified. Choose a child to draw that symbol somewhere on the colored piece of paper. To help kids make the connection that each item they drew needs all of those things to grow and flourish, have the boys and girls use a marker to draw a line from their pictures to each of the symbols drawn. Bible Study Use with children who arrive early. G r a d e s 4-6 Urge the early arrivers to play a game of Simon Says. Explain that the commands will all have to do with finding the books of Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) and that the children should only do what Simon says to do. Start the game by saying: Simon says, Find Exodus. Give the children time to locate the book. Then say: Find Genesis. If no one attempts to locate the book, continue playing, naming a different book of law each time. If a child begins to find the book, he is out and becomes the next Simon. Monitor the game, choosing the next Simon whenever more than one child fails to do what Simon says or does what he does not say. Remind the children to only call out books of Law for this game. Challenge the Simons to add chapters and verses to increase the difficulty of the game. 8 Bible Teaching for Grades 1-3 and 4-6
G r a d e s 1-3 Place the balls of play dough on a table. Instruct the children to make some type of animal out of their play dough. Allow the children time to work on their creations. After 3-5 minutes, call time. Each child will tell the others about her creation. Ask the children to create something new from their play dough. Explain that they can create a plant, a different animal, a person, a fruit or vegetable, or something else of their choice. Again, allow the children time to create and tell the others about their creations. God chose to create the world and everything in it. Today you will learn that God created everything out of nothing! Prepare to Teach Grades 1-3 (Power Up): Form equally-sized balls of play dough, one per child. Teaching Tip (Power Up): You may assign each child to create a specific item the first time. The second time, he may create something of his choice. 2 for Power Up Bible Study 5-10 minutes Start at the time designated by your church for Sunday School to begin. G r a d e s 4-6 Ask the children to write the numbers 1-8 on a sheet of paper. Explain that each child will work with a partner to complete this activity. Challenge the children to find the recipe cards placed around the room. Ask them to decide with their partner what each recipe would make and write what they think it makes on their paper beside the corresponding number. Guide the children to place the recipe back where they found it and move to the next one. Allow several minutes before revealing the recipe titles. By reading the list of ingredients, which recipes do you think you might be willing to eat? People use many ingredients to make good things to eat. Recipes can not be made out of nothing. Today you are going to learn that God created the world out of nothing! Prepare to Teach Grades 4-6 (Power Up): Copy 8 recipes from a cookbook onto index cards (CD-ROM). Two or three should be familiar to the children, and the rest should not. Write corresponding numbers on the cards. Place the recipes around the room. Week of March 7, 2010 9
Prepare to Teach Grades 1-3 (Step 1): Display the March Title Banner (Pack) on the focal wall. (Step 3): Cut the construction paper into 4-inch squares. Tape a square to the seat of each chair, one chair per child. Place the chairs in a circle. G r a d e s 1-3 1 Introduce the unit. Invite the children to sit in the circle of chairs. Read today s session title aloud. 2 Hear the Bible story. Today s Bible story comes from Genesis 1. The word Genesis means beginnings. Encourage the children to find Genesis 1 in their Bibles. Display today s teaching picture. Tell today s Bible story in your own words. 3 Learn the memory verse. Call attention to today s memory verse and read it aloud. Encourage the children to repeat the verse. Play Creation Tunes Medley (Track 3) as the kids walk around the circle of chairs and sit in the closest chair when the music stops. Call out a color. Have the child with the matching color square stand and lead the group in saying today s memory verse. 4 Introduce today s life application. Begin with Day 1 and continue through Day 6. Select a child to identify what God created each day. Ask the children to identify what 3 3 Plug In G r a d e s 4-6 1 Begin at the beginning. Display the March Title Banner. Point out today s session title. Display today s teaching picture. For the next three weeks, you will look at the beginning of the entire world. Today, you will learn how God created the earth and everything in it from nothing. 2 Grasping Genesis 1:1. Call attention to today s memory verse. Lead the children to read Genesis 1:1 with you. Ask each child to choose a word from the basket and read it aloud. Have kids stand in a line in verse order and repeat the verse several times. You don t need to wonder how the world was created. The Book of Genesis tells about the beginning of the world. Today you will discover that not only did God create the world from nothing, but He created it in perfect order! 3 Discover Genesis. Invite the boys and girls to find Genesis 1 in their Bibles. Open your Bible to Genesis 1 and tell the Bible story in your own words. 10 Bible Teaching for Grades 1-3 and 4-6
God used to create each thing. Lead them to answer, Nothing! Direct attention to Genesis 1 and guide children to find the things God created on each day. Call attention to the teaching picture. What did God use to make His creations? God created the place that all living things would need before He created animals and people. God created all of this from nothing. 5 Review the Bible story. Review the story using today s review questions from page 30. to Bible Study 25-30 minutes Group the children together to study the Bible content and to worship. Talking Point Genesis means beginnings. 4 Review Genesis. Give each of seven children a Scripture reference index card. Tell children to locate the Scripture passage and read the Scriptures in order. Pause after each and make sure the children understand what specifically happened on each day. 5 Introduce the life application. Form three groups and give each group one of these assignments: Day 1 and Day 4, Day 2 and Day 5, Day 3 and Day 6. Give five minutes for children to talk about how God s creations 6 Sing and pray. Talking Point Today you learned that God created all things from nothing. Only God could create such a wonderful world. Lead the children to sing Creation Song (Track 2). Encourage the children to pray the memory verse as a thank-you prayer to God. 7 Prepare for Personalize groups. Introduce today s Personalize groups. Encourage each child to select an activity that will help them remember that God created the world from nothing. on the two days they have been assigned are connected to one another. Ask the children to share their answers with the entire group. God had a plan when He first created the world. God s plan of creation worked perfectly in order for life to continue. God still has a plan for each person today. 6 Offer the Personalize choices. Introduce today s Personalize choices and encourage the children to select an activity that will help them remember that God created the world from nothing. Prepare to Teach Grades 4-6 (Step 1): Display the March Title Banner (Pack) on the focal wall. (Step 2): Print one word from Genesis 1:1 on each slip of paper. Fold the papers and place them in the basket. (Step 4): Print the following Scripture references each on a separate index card: 1. Genesis 1:1-5; 2. Genesis 1:6-8; 3. Genesis 1:9-13; 4. Genesis 1:14-19; 5. Genesis 1:20-23; 6. Genesis 1:24-31; 7. Genesis 2:1-3. Teaching Tip Grades 4-6 (Step 2): If you have a group smaller than 10, print some phrases on the paper slips rather than just one word. (Step 4): Give each child a Creation bookmark (005191786). Week of March 7, 2010 11
Teaching Tip Grades 1-3 (Choice 2): Add the glitter into the bottles yourself before the session. G r a d e s 1-3 Choice 1: Personal Flower Garden Lead the children to complete the Grown by God activity on their Church pages. Display the seed packages. The Bible says that the earth brought forth seed-bearing plants and trees. When the Bible says after its own kind, it means that when you plant tomato seeds, tomato plants will grow. Give the children the supplies for their flower gardens and talk about each seed package and what it will grow. Talking Point What do plants need to grow (water, sunshine) Guide the boys and girls to plant seeds in their egg cartons with the potting soil. Instruct boys and girls to print the memory verse on paper strips and glue them to the tops of their egg cartons. Encourage each child to apply what she learned today by sharing the story of creation with a family member or friend. Remind children that God created the world and everything in it out of nothing. 4 Personalize G r a d e s 4-6 Choice 1: Creation Cards Play Creation Song (Track 2) as you lead the children to complete the Church page activity How Well Do You Know Your Universe? Lead the children to locate Psalm 19:1-4 in their Bibles and read it together. Talking Point Even the heavens and the skies know that God is their Creator! Play a guessing game with the Creation Cards using the following steps: One child will choose a card and give one hint about the picture on her card. The other children will take turns guessing the part of creation, the day it was created, and how it was created. After each guess, the child holding the card may shake her head yes or no or write the correct answer on the board. Encourage the children to create a list of God s creations around them and locate each thing in their Bibles to see on which day it was created. Underneath the list, they should write: God created the world from nothing! Choice 2: Seed Packets Read together on the Church page How Did It Happen? 12 Bible Teaching for Grades 1-3 and 4-6
Choice 2: Star Shine Bottles Help the boys and girls complete the Grown by God activity on their Church pages. Lead the children to print Genesis 1:1 on a mailing label and place the label on a bottle. Use a funnel to place several star sequins and a teaspoon of glitter in each bottle. Assist the children in finishing their Star Shine Bottles using the following steps: Add about four ounces of light corn syrup. Fill to two-thirds full with warm water. Place a small amount of white glue on the threads of the cap and tightly secure the cap to the bottle. Allow the children to shake their bottles vigorously to mix everything well. Discuss God s creation from nothing. Remind children that God thought of everything people would need before He created them. Identify what part of creation the Star Shine bottles represent. (God created the stars in the sky on the fourth day.) Lead the children to sing Creation Song (Track 2). Encourage children to share their Star Shine Bottles with friends or family members. Prepare to Teach Grades 4-6 (Choice 1): Separate the Creation Cards. (Pack) (Choice 2): Copy one Seed Packet Pattern (Pack) per child on heavyweight paper. the Bible Study 20-25 minutes Each teacher should lead a Bible-learning, life-application activity from the choices given. God created each of these things out of nothing. All life began with God. Distribute the seed packet supplies. Lead the children to print Genesis 1:1 on the front of the packets and decorate the packets by adding stickers, drawing pictures, or writing phrases such as God created the world from nothing! Help the boys and girls assemble the packet as shown. Encourage the boys and girls to plant the seeds at home with the help of an adult. The children can apply what they learned by telling how God created the world from nothing while they are planting their seeds. Parting Notes Grades 1-3 Grades 4-6 Encourage the children to make a list of the things they see this week that God created. Explain that boys and girls will need to be ready to share some of their ideas in next week s Preview activity. Week of March 7, 2010 13