Zacchaeus and the Sycamore Tree

(Luke 19)

When I first saw this craft on Pinterest, I knew exactly what to do with it!




This craft screams Zacchaeus to me. Click here to see the source for this brilliant craft, Pikadilly Charm. There are plenty of treasures on their site, so please do check them out.

Materials needed:

1 lunch size paper bag per child
Scissors for each child
Good old fashioned Elmer's Glue (glue sticks do not work well for this)
Construction paper (green for summer tree or gold, red, & yellow for fall tree)

Prep. before class:

Fold back the edge of a piece of construction paper about half an inch. Cut leave shapes on fold line. Keep folding paper and cutting shapes until there is a nice size pile.

Alternative: Pikadilly Charm did not precut the leaves as I have done here. They let the kids tear pieces of paper to use as leaves. Next time, I will do it that way as well. The torn paper also made a pretty tree, and I like that fact that 100% of the project is done by the kids that way. I chose to precut because I was concerned about time. In retrospect, it really wouldn't have taken any more time for the kids to hand-tear the leaves.  

Instructions:

1. With Paper bag folded flat, cut slits from the top of bag to about an inch and a half from the folded bag bottom. The closer the cuts end to the bottom of the bag, the shorter the tree trunk will be.

2. Open the bag so it is standing.

3. Twist the uncut portion of bag into a trunk while flattening the bottom of bag to make a platform. 

4. Twist two pieces of cut bag together to make branches until all pieces are twisted...

...like this.

5. Glue leaves into place.

NOTE:  All images, text and printables contained herein are copyright protected. This material is for your personal use only. I encourage you to print or pin from this site whenever you would like as long as it is credited and linked back to EasyBreezySundaySchool.blogspot.com. Failure to link back and credit my site constitutes a copyright violation.  Thanks so much!

God's Gifts

(Deuteronomy 6-10)

Today's lesson is about being thankful for all of God's blessings. Our lives are filled with gifts from God and Deuteronomy reminds us of this. At first glance, it may appear that this lesson will not be specific enough to develop a solid class plan. In actuality, it's wide open for a host of easy crafts.

I have always wanted to paint rocks. And with all the Pinterest posts on painted rocks, I couldn't resist any longer. Since class time is limited, my daughter and I gave each rock a nice coat of bright paint the day before so all the kids would have to do is draw/paint their favorite gifts from God on the rocks. As I've mentioned before, I'm not a fan of paint during Sunday school, so I supplied the kids with sharpies and they worked great on top of the paint.

Materials Needed:

            Rocks                       Paper towels             Paint brushes
          Acrylic paint            Sharpies                    Cup of water to clean brush(es)

NOTE:  All images, text and printables contained herein are copyright protected. This material is for your personal use only. I encourage you to print or pin from this site whenever you would like as long as it is credited and linked back to EasyBreezySundaySchool.blogspot.com. Failure to link back and credit my site constitutes a copyright violation.  Thanks so much!

BINGO!

Bingo is an easy go-to game that kids of all ages enjoy. One of my favorite Sunday school resources is DLTK and they just so happen to have a wonderful FREE bingo generator. Click on DLTK BINGO to go there.  

I previously used construction paper circle punches for bingo pieces, but they didn't hold up well over time, so I decided to do something a little more fun and durable. I found these happy buttons at Michaels for $5.99 a bag. The screw top container is a recycled plastic trail mix jar and the other one is something I've had for years... and years.

The cute little label is another free download. It can be found at Sister of a Soldier. 

Blessings!

NOTE:  All images, text and printables contained herein are copyright protected. This material is for your personal use only. I encourage you to print or pin from this site whenever you like as long as it is credited and linked back to EasyBreezySundaySchool.blogspot.com. Failure to link back and credit my site constitutes a copyright violation.  Thanks so much!

Balaam's Donkey Sees An Angel

(Numbers 22-24)

I found a really cute donkey craft (Thank You, Pinterest!) that will work for a lot of different lessons. Just off the top of my head, it will work for The Birth of Jesus (Matthew1; Luke 2), Easter (Matthew 21; Mark 11; Luke 19; John 12), and Balaam's donkey (Numbers 22: 21-39). Unfortunately, I do not own the copyright to this craft, so I cannot show you a picture. However, I can supply you with the link! :-) The instructions include a free downloadable donkey image. This is a keeper!

Happy teaching!



NOTE:  All images, text and printables contained herein are copyright protected. This material is for your personal use only. I encourage you to print or pin from this site whenever you would like as long as it is credited and linked back to EasyBreezySundaySchool.blogspot.com. Failure to link back and credit my site constitutes a copyright violation.  Thanks so much!

Moses and the Ten Commandments

(Exodus 20:1-21)

This week we study Moses and the Ten Commandments. This is an extremely easy craft I like to use because it reinforces memorization. Some kids get really artsy and shade the tablet edges to give it a 3D effect.

Materials:

Brown paper bags or brown wrapping paper
Markers, colors, pens or pencils
Scissors
A bible for each child, if possible

Before Class Prep:

1. Fold paper in half. 
2. Freehand the shape of half of the tablet on the paper leaving one edge along the fold. 
3. Cut out the tablet being sure not to cut on the fold line. 
4. Open the paper like a book.

Although I used a roll of brown paper wrapping, I drew my tablet about the size of a normal grocery bag. This gave the kids ample space to write out all ten commandments and it makes an impressive presentation this large. I find it easier for time's sake to pre-cut the tablets before class day.

Instructions:

Help each child locate the Ten Commandments in a bible. Ask them to copy the commandments onto their tablet using their preferred writing utensil. This will take a while for most kids, so allow at least twenty minutes for third and fourth graders.

Now the fun part...ask them to wad the paper into a ball. Next, smooth it out to their liking. Voilà! The Ten Commandments.

NOTE:  All images, text and printables contained herein are copyright protected. This material is for your personal use only. I encourage you to print or pin from this site whenever you would like as long as it is credited and linked back to EasyBreezySundaySchool.blogspot.com. Failure to link back and credit my site constitutes a copyright violation.  Thanks so much!

Jacob Returns Home

(Genesis 32-33)

In honor of football season, we played Bible Football today. This game can be played with any lesson, and with any number of players.

Materials Needed:

• Six to ten questions and answers relating to the story.
• (Click here for Jacob Returns Home Q&As.)
• Each question (not answers) printed on a different colored piece of paper. Two sets are needed if playing in teams.
• (Click here for Jacob Returns Home playing board pages.)
• Packaging tape to attach pages to tabletop.
• Tablecloth (two if playing in teams) to cover the game board until time to play.
• Paper footballs - One for each player.
• (Click here for a youtube video on how to fold paper footballs, or search "How to fold a paper football" for other videos/methods.) 

Before Class Prep.:

Using the packaging tape, attach the colored pages with questions to the top of the table as shown:

Cover the table with a decorative tablecloth so the game board is hidden.

Hide the footballs in a container or drawer because they are very distracting to the kids. :)

Time To Play:

When it is time to play, move the table so the short end is against the wall or dry erase board to act as a backboard and unveil the game board. Fans will go wild with amazement because they didn't know something was being hidden!

Write each player's name on the dry erase board for score keeping. A goal may also be added if an extra level of difficulty is desired. More on that below.

Allow each child to pick a football.

Instructions:

Players take turns flicking their football onto the colored pages. As they land on a question, players answer the question. Each player must answer each question correctly one by one. As each child gives the correct answer, write the number of the question on the board under their name. This helps keep track of who has answered which questions. If any question is answered incorrectly, the player must try for that question again on a different turn. The first to answer all the questions correctly wins.

If the class is large, and two tables are available, this game may be played in teams. If using the team method, be sure to print two sets of question pages. With two game boards, the teams race against each other. Each team, not each player, has to answer all the questions correctly. I recommend having two adults present for team play. Have one adult per team to keep track of correct answers. Teams play at the same time, so it can get hectic if there is only one adult trying to keep up with both teams.

For an additional challenge, draw a goalpost on the dry erase board at the end of the table. The players try to hit between the goal arms after all questions are answered in order to win the game. Warning: this is fun for teens, but age twelve and below may find this too difficult.

Rules To Establish Pre-game:

1. What methods of flicking the football are allowed?
2. How will miss-hits be handled? (e.g., How many attempts can be made before the turn is over?)
3. If the football goes off the table, does the player get to try again?
4. What happens when it lands on a question that the player has already answered correctly? (e.g., better luck next time or try again now?)

Hint: I have found that allowing ONLY one attempt per turn, no matter what the error, prevents any question as to fairness. This also keeps the game moving along at a nice pace.

Hope your class gets a Kick out of this game! Yeah, that's right... third grade humor.

Have a blessed week.

NOTE:  All images, text and printables contained herein are copyright protected. This material is for your personal use only. I encourage you to print or pin from this site whenever you would like as long as it is credited and linked back to EasyBreezySundaySchool.blogspot.com. Failure to link back and credit my site constitutes a copyright violation.  Thanks so much!