DLTK's Sunday School Lessons
God Made Our World
by
Sunday School Teacher's Guide - this is just one possible lesson plan. Visit the Creation Section for further ideas (including a snack recipe) to supplement this or purchased plans.
Introduction:
Why is the sky blue? Where do babies come from? Why do dogs bark? These are all questions that every young child asks. Preschool thru Grade School children 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.
The message: God made our world.
Make sure you repeat the message many times during the lesson. Send the Creation Take Home Sheet home with the children to encourage parents to reiterate the message during the week. It includes a poster at the bottom that the children can color and hang on their wall or refrigerator.
Suggestion: One viewer suggested creating a small 8 1/2 x 11 inch frame using a piece of construction paper as matting. Cut 2 inch strips of cardboard (old cereal boxes work well!). Glue the strips around the outside of the construction paper as a frame. Allow the children to paint, rubber stamp or use stickers to cover the frame. Put two brass fasteners through the construction paper. Each week, when the children bring home and complete their Take Home sheet they can add it to their frame. The brass tacks allow you to pile the sheets together to look at over and over again (and they save fridge space!) God bless you, Sarah, for taking the time to share your ideas!
Another viewer suggested: When you teach Genesis 1, use color scratch pads as a craft. You can buy them on Amazon, or Oriental Trading Company. The pads seem black, and when the children scratch them with a stick, color appears; it's like creation.
Preview of the lesson:
Some people like to do craft time first and story time second and some like to switch it around. I like the first option, myself.
Always consider offering Mini Book, Coloring Pages or Creation Printable Activity Sheets for children who aren't interested in participating in the group activity (or if you get done the group activities very quickly and need something to fill in the spare time). Everyone has a need for "alone time" once in awhile. Also, sending home the Mini Book, Coloring Pages or Creation Printable Activity Sheets with the Take Home Sheet provides parents with much needed help in reinforcing the lessons. You can make a nice little booklet each week with the take home sheet on top -- I promise that most parents will appreciate the effort!
Description |
Time Allotted |
Supplies |
| Welcome!
Receive name tags. |
5 minutes | Sunshine name tags, marker, safety pins or tape. |
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Craft time! Preschool: Make pet rocks. Have a jar of rocks for the children to sort through. Let them choose their favorite. They can then paint it, cover with glitter, add wiggly eyes, etc. To create their own pet rocks. God made our world - God made rocks. Kindergarten and Grade 1: Creation Mobile. How you do this depends on the size of the group. My preferred method is to give each child one of the mobile pieces to make. When the mobile is all put together, hang it up in the church or classroom. Grade 2 and 3: Tissue paper earth suncatcher. Provide each child with white glue, green and blue tissue paper and a margarine or ice cream container lid (depending on how large you want your earth to be). Squeeze white glue onto the container lid to cover it completely with a thin layer (it takes a fair amount of glue, so if you have a large class, you'll want to keep the lids small). Rip the tissue paper free hand into continent and ocean shaped pieces. You may want a picture or globe of the earth available for them to refer to. Gently lay the pieces onto the glue. Squeeze another thin layer of glue over top. |
15 to 30 minutes depending on your adult/child ratio |
Preschool: rocks, tempra paint, glitter, wiggly eyes
Kindergarten/Grade 1: See creation mobile craft instructions for the templates and materials list. Grade 2 and 3: green tissue paper, blue tissue paper, margarine or ice cream container lids, glue (can be watered down 1/2 and 1/2), popsicle sticks for spreading the glue. |
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Bible Story Time: Preschool: You can read a very abbreviated version of the creation story, but I really like reading the Of All the Creatures Rhyme a number of times for this age group. (read it once, then read it a second time showing the actions, then read it a third time doing the actions with them). You can also try the Creation Felt Board activity (if you have a felt board) Kindergarten and Grade 1: Read the Children's Version of the Creation story. (or read from your own store bought children's bible). You can also try the Creation Felt Board activity (if you have a felt board) Grade 2 and 3: it's tough to know when it's the right time to start readings from the Bible, but if the children have been read a children's version of the creation story in the past, I believe this is a good age to introduce the King James (or your preferred) bible reading. |
10 minutes | Our mini books or Coloring Pages can be distributed to the children so they are able to read along. Print the pages, staple them together in order and let the kids know when to turn the page. The handouts can be taken home to color in. |
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Closing: OPTIONAL: depending on the time remaining, allow the children to brainstorm about some of their favorite things that God has created. Write them down on a white board (or similar). Reiterate the "God Made Our World" message. Preschool: God made trees rhyme (I've done it in the past to the tune (ish) of Frere Jacques). That allows you to say the line and them to repeat it. Kindergarten thru Grade 3: Creation Song (you can hand out the words or hang them up somewhere. The last two lines are the same in every verse, so the kids will catch on to them after a verse or two) |
5 to 15 minutes | Words to:
Standard ending song: "We Love to Learn Together" |