April
Bluebird by Esther Bender, illustrated by Edna Bender.
Herald Press, 1995.
Theme: God as Creator of the Small Things
Materials: Feathers, Magnifying glasses, Microscope (optional)
Summary: One snowy April, when a boy and his sister find a beautiful
bluebird that died from the cold, they take it to an artist who creates
a wood carving of the bird.
Procedure: Hand each child a feather. Ask them to examine the
feather with their eyes, calling out what they see. Then, pass around magnifying
glasses and ask the children to examine the feathers again. What else do
they see? If possible, now put a feather under a microscope and let each
child briefly look again. What can they see now?
You might choose to make booklets about what the children see. On page
one, have them draw a picture of what they see with their eyes and write
a description. Page two, have them draw and write about what is viewed
under the magnifying glass. On page three, draw and write about what is
seen under the microscope.
Read the story aloud, pausing on the section where the children in the
book examine the bird under a microscope and the boy thinks, "Everything
is made of smaller things. And smaller things are made of smaller, smaller
things." Ask an "I wonder" question: "I wonder what the smallest thing
is?" And, "I wonder if God cares about the small things?"
When you’ve finished the book, talk about how important the bird carving
must be to the artist. Then, consider how much more important nature must
be to God, the artist of all creation.
FIAR Connection: Daniel’s Duck, Volume 3; consider the work that goes
into carving a piece of art. Talk with the children about the importance
of observation as they produce artwork about nature.
And
It Was Good illustrated by Harold Horst Nofziger,
text based on NRSV Bible, Herald Press, 1993.
Theme: Creation, Genesis 1-2
Materials: Overhead projector, white sheet, tissue paper, construction
paper, transparencies/colored markers
Summary: Tells the Old Testament story of God’s creation of the
world.
Procedure: Nofziger has combined beautiful illustrations with
very simple text. Just a basic reading would add to children’s understanding
of the creation story.
Additional ideas to include older children: Provide older children (fourth
grade and up) with an overhead projector and a wide variety of weights
of paper—tissue paper, construction paper, transparencies/colored markers.
Assign each child to one or two (or more) days of creation. Ask them
to use the paper to represent their day on the overhead.
For example:
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Day one: overhead covered in black paper (or even turned off), overhead
covered with white tissue paper (or turned on)—this is a good day to assign
to preschoolers who like to turn buttons on and off.
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Day two: layers of blue tissue paper could be cut to represent waves
and sky, similar to Nofziger’s illustration.
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Day three: dark paper for earth contrasted against blue tissue for
seas; cutouts representing a variety of plant life.
Assign one child to read the book (or scripture) as the other children
take turns displaying their "day" on the overhead. If desired, they may
also want to set their presentation to music.
Rather than projecting the overhead onto a regular white screen, I prefer
to put the projector behind a sheet. This way, the children can work unseen
and the audience can listen to the words and see the overhead pictures
displayed without being distracted by movement from the presenters. If
a doorway is unavailable, the sheet could be suspended instead.
Provide the older children with time to plan and practice their presentation.
Invite younger children, neighbors, and grandparents to watch.
I’ve found that allowing older children to plan and develop such a presentation
solidifies their own knowledge of scripture.
Acting Out Stories With Your Children: As you prepare a Bible story
to share with your children, read it for action. Then, try to think of
ways to include children in that action. If you are reading about the escape
from Egypt, go on a journey around the house. If you are reading about
Jesus and the storm, have everyone sit on a blue blanket and move like
you would in a storm. Ask the children to move their arms like the wind.
Have them sway back and forth as they would if the seas were getting choppy.
They can rub their hands together or pat their knees to make the sound
of rain. Make the Bible story real.
Old
Turtle by Douglas Wood. (Pfeifer-Hamilton Publishers,
1992.)
Theme: environment, the depth and breadth of God
Summary: Creation argues about the qualities of God, each insisting
that God is most like the qualities that he possesses. For example, the
breeze whispers that God "is a wind who is never still." The fish say,
"God is a swimmer, in the dark blue depths of the sea." Old Turtle stops
the argument saying God is all these things and, even more, "God is."
Then the people come, "a message of love from God to the earth." But
gradually the people forget why they’ve come. They hurt the earth and one
another. The earth cries out, each part of creation now telling human beings
how they see God in aspects of creation outside themselves. The stone says,
"I sometimes feel her breath, as she blows by." The breeze replies, "I
feel his presence as I dance among the rocks."
The people listen, ultimately seeing God in the earth and in one another.
Procedure: Although this beautiful book could be simply read
and enjoyed, it would also be ideal for a group of children to present.
Each child actor takes on the persona of a part of creation, carrying
a simple prop or wearing a simple costume. Suggested props/costumes:
Breeze: wave a few blue paper streamers or a fan
Stone: hold a rock, or kneel down dressed in a gray bathrobe.
Mountain: hold a cardboard cutout of a mountain, or cover a hat
with fiberfill batting
Fish: move hands like a fish, or cover blue bathrobe with fish
cutouts.
(Prepare a variety of creation members, as many as you have child actors.
It isn’t necessary to portray every part of creation listed.)
As the story is read aloud, each part of creation speaks her lines.
Younger children could be asked to make small movements with each part
of creation: blow like the breeze, hold their hands in a point like a mountain,
or move their hands like a fish.
A group of older children or adults stand as people are introduced to
the earth. They argue amongst themselves and cast aside the other parts
of creation. The oldest person present stands and says, "Stop!" speaking
old turtle’s lines. At the conclusion, this person smiles. Use the gifts
in your family to bring this story to life. |
