Begin: Guide reads the background, scripture & prays for the class Unwrap-Opening Activity 10:00-10:10 Set the Altar 10:10-10:15 Investigate: Tell & Wonder about the Story 10:15-10:30 Learn By doing & Snack 10:30-10:45 Music (check weekly Sunday School Email for Times) Dismiss: Review the Cornerstone & Closing Prayer This lesson will help children understand that God made us and loves us. 24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind. And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; 28 God blessed them. 29 God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. 31 God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Full passage on Page 5 of this lesson plan.
The story of God s creation of the universe is central to Christianity. Human beings were made to represent God on earth as they were given the special position of serving as stewards over the rest of creation. Our 4-year-olds and Kindergarteners are constantly discovering God's creations as they explore the natural world. And we can help them discover the loving creator God who made it all. In the beginning, there were no blue skies, no cuddly babies or barking dogs. There was nothing at all. But then God began to create. God spoke and out of nothing came the sun, the moon, the earth, the mountains, the valleys, the plants and the animals. God's loving hands created everything around us. God made humans with a lot of love and care. Our hope is that children can begin to understand that they are valuable to God because each child is unique and special to the Creator. Have playdough out for the children to play with, mold and shape. When it s time to transition to the Bible story, instill the idea that God is the potter, and we and all of the world are like God s clay because God created and shaped EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. OR Coloring Sheet (included at end of lesson plan on page 6) 2
Pick up a Bible and show the class where Genesis is. Point out that the Bible has two main parts: OLD TESTAMENT and NEW TESTAMENT. Show where each is located. Say Today s Bible story is one of the FIRST ONES in the bible, so it s easy to find and a perfect place to start on our FIRST DAY of Sunday School! Read Genesis 1:1-31, tell the story in your own words or read the Creation story from a children s story bible in your classroom. God made EVERYTHING, and was God s gift to us. God gave it to us to eat, to care for and to enjoy it s beauty. Did God mold each tree with God s hands like you did with the playdough today? Nope! God did something even more surprising, and something that only God could do: God SPOKE these things into being. All God had to do was say Let it be and then each thing was. God created such amazing things. God designed the color of every insect, the flavor of every fruit, the scent of every flower, and the shape of every animal. God chose every single SOUND in nature the wind, a lion s roar, a kitten s meow; the thunder s boom. WOW! God had to do so much work to make our world! You might make lists with them of how many different sounds they can name from God s creation. Continue the lists with different types of animals, flowers, vegetables, fruits, season, etc. that they can name. Of all the seasons God made, I wonder which one you enjoy the most and why? Everything God created was pleasing to him and was GOOD. God said so himself. So, I bet it s important to Him that we are gentle with nature. You take good care of all other gifts you are given, yes? Birthday gifts and Christmas gifts? Well, this world was God s HUGE gift to us, and we need to take good care of it, too. Wonders I wonder why God decided to make everything so colorful, beautiful and interesting? God could have made it easy and made everything the same color and shape and size. I wonder how God chose the colors for things, why is the sky blue? I wonder why God didn t make all of the food look and taste the same? I wonder what your favorite fruit is? Aren t you glad that God designed it to taste so delicious? I wonder if littering makes God sad. If yes, why do you think so? I wonder if saying grace at dinner to thank God for our food is a part of being glad for all that God created? I wonder if being gentle with our pets at home and helping feed them, brush them, walk them, snuggle with them is part of caring for God s creation? 3
Play creation hopscotch. Lay out construction paper on the floor depicting each day of creation (see example at end of lesson) and use blue painters tape to secure it to the floor. Let the children hop through each square, calling out each part of the creation story as they go. CRAFT IDEA: Coffee filter earth craft Materials: coffee filters, markers (in your classroom), spray bottles filled with water (we have a supply at the church that you may borrow by request). Instructions: Have the children use green and blue markers to color their coffee filter, then help them mist it with water so that the colors fade into an earth-like image. Creation Hopscotch Draw similar images on construction paper and tape on the floor with blue painters tape. Transition times can be difficult. Help your lesson flow smoothly by giving children a two-minute warning when you re wrapping up an activity. Also, it is helpful to have the same attentiongetting signal and use it consistently with your teaching team members. Turning on and off the lights, have a special bell, create a clap sequence are all potential signals that a transition time is coming. See images for both ideas on the next page. Say: Today we learned that God made us and loves us. Call: The Lord be with you. Response: And Also with you. Let us pray Thank you, God, for all of creation and especially for creating and loving me. Thank you for the light and the darkness, the moon and stars, all the water around us, the animals and people too. Amen. 4
1In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, Let there be light ; and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 6 And God said, Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. 7 So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8 God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. 9 And God said, Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it. And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth. And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky. 21 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth. 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind. And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. 27 So God created humankind in God s image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. 29 God said, See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 5
Coffee Filter creation hopscotch 6
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