10/27/15

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

Mark 10: 42-56



Today we learned that blind Bartimaeus was healed by Jesus because Bartimaeus had such strong faith.

An easy activity to go along with this lesson requires very little prep. and allows the children to explore the challenges of being blind.






Materials:

One scratch kit found at Hobby Lobby:              



Blindfolds found at Dollar Tree:


This was a great lesson to talk about many topics. We first discussed people we encounter in our lives today begging on the side of the road. This is who Bartimaeus was—a beggar.

Next, we moved into sharing our experiences with people who are blind. Blind people typically have extraordinary hearing. This is probably how Bartimaeus knew it was Jesus who was walking nearby.

We wrapped up the lesson by talking about what it means to have faith.

I'd like to take a moment for a word of caution here. I would not suggest ever blindfolding all the students at once, unless there are other adults around as, hmmmm, witnesses. As a parent, I would be very upset with any adult who blindfolded my child, and everyone else in the room, except themselves. As a teacher, I wouldn't ever want my actions to appear questionable. Therefore, I asked two other adults to step into the room for the few minutes we were working with the blindfolds.

Each child was given a scratch card & a wooden stick. They were asked to draw any picture they liked, blindfolded. They enjoyed the challenge and we had a great time seeing how talented they all were without the help of their eyesight. 

This would also be a great time to talk about what sounds they heard while blindfolded. I planned to have that discussion, but we moved on into a game and I forgot. I'll post the game another time.



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!


10/3/15

Create a board game in minutes!

Mark 10: 13-16
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me...."







In today's lesson the disciples try to turn the children away when they come to see Jesus. Jesus becomes agitated with them saying, "Let the children come to me...."

Even though this story is only three verses long without many details, it can still be turned into a fun board game. And with the help from a few online sources, it can be done in a matter of minutes!

Materials:

Card stock (for the board)
Printer
Blank board game printable from Lovetoknow 
Clip art of Jesus 
     Two of my favorite bible clip art sources:
        Bible People from The Activity Mom
        Free Bible Clip Art from Phillip Martin Clip Art
Small items for game pieces
A spinner or die

Instructions:

This is so easy! 

1. Follow the above link to the blank board game selections from Lovetoknow. Choose the game board desired and download. 

2. Go to one of the clip art sources above. Download a clip art of Jesus.

3. Open the game board in Photoshop or similar program.

4. Open the clip art of Jesus file and drag to the game board, placing it in the last game space.

5. Add items to the game board to make players lose a turn, go back, go ahead, etc.

It may be difficult to read the ones I used in the picture above. They are listed below in the order they appear on the game board:
            
             Your mother guides you to Jesus. Slide ahead
              3 spaces.

             There are so many people in the crowd that you
              trip, losing your place in line. Go this way.

             One of the disciples tells you to go away. Go
              around.

              A kind old man steps aside to let you through.
              Go ahead 5 spaces.

              Jesus calls you forward. Move ahead.

              One of the disciples chases you. Go back, but 
              do NOT take the detour.

               A disciple returns you to your mother. Go back.

               You can almost see Jesus. Slide through the 
               crowd, advancing 4 spaces.

               Jesus tells the disciples to let you come to Him.
               Move ahead 3 spaces.

6. Print your newly created game on the card stock.

Playing The Game:
Each player takes turns spinning the spinner, or rolling the die, to determine the number of spaces to advance. The first player to reach Jesus wins.


We used peg people I painted a few years ago for another game as our player pieces, but anything could work. Our Bingo Buttons would work just as well.







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!