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.