Activity C2 - Lesson 6: Dry Bone People

Sunday Schoolhouse Series Activity - Green Unit C2
Lesson 6: Ezekiel's Vision of the Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37:1 - 14)

Create Dry Bone People - Materials Needed:
- Dry pasta in miscellaneous shapes (wheel, elbow, etc.)
- Card stock or heavy paper
- Glue (not glue sticks)
- Markers

Give each student a piece of construction paper. Have the children write part of the memory verse at the bottom of their paper: Thus says the Lord God to these bones:
"Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live." - Ezekiel 37:5 ESV 
Then give each student a small pile of dry pasta. Explain that the pasta is like the pile of bones in today's story. When God breathed on them, they miraculously came to life! Challenge students to use the pile of dry pasta to make a skeleton person (or several people). Wheel pasta could be used for the head, elbow macaroni for arms, etc. Use the glue to attach the pasta to the paper.

Activity: Amazing Bones Trivia
As kids work on the project above, share some of these interesting facts about bones. Or for older students, you could make these facts into a trivia quiz:
a) A baby has about 300 bones at birth
b) An adult has about 206 bones. What happened to those "extra" bones the adult had as a baby? Some of them fused together to make larger bones.
c) Your spine isn't one long bone at all; in fact, it is made up of 26 separate bones called vertebrae.
d) The smallest bone in your body is located in your head, behind your eardrum. It is called the stirrup bone and is only 2.5 mm long.
e) The longest bone in the body is located in your leg, going from the pelvis to the knee. It is called the femur.
It is amazing how God brought all of these bones together to form a human being!

Activity C2 - Lesson 5: Hidden Messages

Sunday Schoolhouse Series Activity - Green Unit C2
Lesson 5: Handwriting on the Wall (Daniel 5:1 - 30)

Create Hidden Messages - Materials Needed:
- Heavy white paper (one per student)
- White Crayons
- Watercolor paints
- paper cups with water (one per student or couple of students)
- paintbrushes
- paper towels

Give each student a piece of white paper. Distribute the other supplies evenly, asking kids to share if necessary. Invite older kids to write the Bible verse on their paper using white crayon: "Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!" (1 Chronicles 16:11). Younger kids can simplify their message by writing, "Seek the Lord!" or by drawing a large cross with a circle around it. Ask all students to prop their papers up against a wall. Then tell them to walk to the other side of the room. Can they see the writing clearly?
Next invite students to paint over their messages with dark colored watercolor paints. As they work, their words will become visible. Discuss with the students how it might have felt to see handwriting appear on a blank wall, as happened in today's story. King Belshazzar didn't see God or try to obey God's laws, even though he knew about God. Belshazzar was more interested in impressing his friends. Remind the kids that God cares about them and their choices matter to Him.

Activity - "Say What?"
Before kids arrive, write this phrase on the board: "Od-gay ares-cay bout-aay our-ay oices-chay." Invite kids to see if they can crack the code and translate the phrase. Crazy guesses are okay. Finally, explain that the words are written in "pig Latin", where the first letter of each word is put a the end of it, and the sound "ay" is added (the phrase says: "God cares about our choices." Today's story was about a king who learned this lesson through a strange message written on the wall of his palace.

Activity C2 - Lesson 4: Mosaic - Reformed Picture

Sunday Schoolhouse Series Activity - Green Unit C2
Lesson 4: Jeremiah: Potter and the Clay (Jeremiah 18:1 - 11)

Create Mosaic: Reformed Picture - Materials Needed:
- One sheet of drawing paper per student
- Four sheets of construction paper per student (each a different color)
- Glue or glue sticks
- Pencils

Explain that a mosaic is a picture made from bits and pieces of broken things (usually colored tile). Today, the kids will "re-form" bits of torn paper into a mosaic of their own. Give each student a sheet of drawing paper and a pencil. Ask kids to draw the outline of a vase or pot. Next, give everyone four sheets of colored construction paper. Tell the kids to rip their colored papers into many smaller pieces. When they have a pile of paper in front of them, ask how they might "re-form" this messy pile, in order to make it into something beautiful. Instruct the kids to spread glue inside the outline of their drawing. Next, press small pieces of paper onto the glue, filling the drawing, but leaving the background color to show between the torn paper. The kids can make stripes or mix the colored papers to give their pots a speckled look. Talk about the biblical story of the potter and clay as you work. Explain that if God looks at his people and sees mess (like those ripped pieces of paper), he does something about it.

Activity - Re-Formed:
Give each student a small lump of clay. Invite them to form their clay into the shape of a snake. After they have done this, ask what they think about the snake in the Bible (Genesis 3). Tell the kids to squish the clay and "re-form" it, making it into a useful item (a pot, cup, etc.).

Activity C2 - Lesson 3: Caring and Sharing Bags

Sunday Schoolhouse Series Activity - Green Unit C2
Lesson 3: Elijah & the Widow of Zarephath (1Kings 17:1 - 16)

Create a Caring and Sharing Bag - Materials Needed:
- Small paper lunch bags (one bag per student)
- Assorted, wrapped candies (or other non-perishable treats)
- Markers or crayons
- Hole punch
- Ribbon or yarn
- Scissors

Give each kid a paper bag. Invite them to write, "God loves you - and so do we!" on one side of the bag (near the bottom). Have kids decorate the bag with cheerful pictures and symbols like crosses and hearts, etc. When kids are finished, divvy up the treats equally, and have the children put them in the bags. Fold the top of the bag down, and use a hole punch to make two holes - one on each side of the top of the bag. Give each student a piece of ribbon or yarn. Have them thread it through the holes and tie the ends in a bow. This will keep the bag closed. Explain that these gifts will be used to cheer up people in the congregation who are having a hard time. By sharing something they like, the kids will bring joy to someone else. Say a prayer with the class, asking God to bless those who receive these gift bags. Then, put the bags in a larger container and give them to the pastor. Whenever he or she visits someone, the pastor (or another church visitor) can bring a gift bag from the children of the church!

Activity: Share and Share Alike
Bring a box or cookie tin, with small trinkets or treats (one per student). Also bring a CD or MP3 player to play music. Invite students to sit in a tight circle, playing music as kids pass the box around. At random, stop the music quickly; whoever has the box takes out a prize. Finish the game when half the students have prizes. Then give those kids a choice: they can keep their treat, knowing that several classmates have nothing; or they can return their item to the box and start again trusting that by doing so everyone will get something in the end.