Teaching Kids the Bible

2 year old - Ephesians 4:32 - Hide the Word - October

2015-07-16T22:45:00.000-05:00

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

The one sheet for Ephesians 4:32 is here. It has a list of several things to do with a two year old for this verse.

To be quite honest, some kids could get this pretty easily, as we had several 2 year olds who were actually 3 by October. They could say this to the teacher easily. However, some kids were not able to say the entire verse in its entirety. These kids said a modified version of the verse successfully. We tried to keep the big picture in mind when teaching children. We do make sure they know where the verse is found.

One of the verse activities the two year old class did was bingo daubers on construction paper. Our construction paper lost a tragic fight, and we only have a portion of the decorated construction paper remaining. However, we do have enough for you to get an idea of what the project was.

You can get bingo daubers from Dollar Tree, Walmart, or (probably) any other big box store. I found my classroom set at Dollar Tree for $1 each. I have found that small people from about 12 months up through and including first grade enjoy bingo daubers. The smaller people were very exuberent with the bingo daubers and mine got the ink ev.ery.where. Especially after he used it like lipstick. My warning is just this: be watchful.

2 year old - Matthew 28:19

2015-07-13T21:45:00.000-05:00

Here's another verse that we don't do as part of our Hide the Word program, but it's still a good verse. (Again, aren't they all?)

Matthew 28:19: Go, therefore, and make disciples of all men.

It's a simple foot worksheet that my two year old exuberantly painted with a circular sponge. Again, not ground breaking for the pre-reader level, but the whole class had lots of fun painting with the Crayola washable paints they used in class that night.

I hope this encourages all of you to get messy with your little people. It's not so scary!

2 year old - Galatians 5:13 - Hide the Word - December

2015-07-08T22:20:00.000-05:00

Galatians 5:13 - Serve one another in love.

As a reminder (for me, as much as anyone else), each month of Hide the Word Memory Work has what I have been calling a "one page," a single sheet that lists some of the ideas for that verse. Usually any worksheets Kim and I created are also attached to the one page.

The one page for Galatians 5:13 can be found here.

On the one page, it refers to tracing the child's hand on a piece of construction paper, gluing a plate with the Bible verse written on it between the hands. Here's the picture. My son brought this home after his in class goldfish snack. And I can't throw it away. Again, those hand tracings grab my heart!

Also, the document refers to washing the disciples' feet. The 2 year old class taught this lesson as part of John's gospel. The teacher actually took a shoe and sock off each of the children and washed the foot ("Cold, mom."). The children colored the paper with the verse on it, then the teacher glued the feet to the paper and the paper to the bowl. She had painted the blue in bowl for water in advance.

2 year old - Micah 6:8

2015-07-05T21:31:00.000-05:00

Hello! You know life sometimes gets away from us, and children grow up way too fast. We will try to do better at keeping up the blogging work.

This verse will get us restarted. It's not an actual verse we learn in our Bible classes for little people, but it's an awesome verse (but which one isn't?).

Since my son came to us, I have found that if something has his hand or foot print on it, I can't throw it away. Or give it away. I might have a problem as he gets older. Or if he has a sibling. But tracing of his hand and foot is why this worksheet gets top billing.

My little person traced his hand and foot for this (or, more likely, had it traced for him) in his 2 year old class. He colored this especially for me, and it will never leave my house.

Eating our way through the 10 plagues

2014-01-25T23:22:00.000-06:00

***Full disclosure: we did not think of this really really cool activity to do, but we have done this for several years and our classes have loved it. We hope your classes love it, too.***

Eating through the 10 Plagues

We have taught this lesson to several groups of children over several years and we love teaching it. The children in our first grade class are in the summer between kindergarten and first grade when this lesson rolls around, and are super excited to eat food in Bible class. The teenagers and adults we made this for were also super excited and ate all our food right up.

These pictures are from the lesson we taught to teenagers and adults. We prepared for 50 people to eat the plagues. An endeavor like this takes alot of prep work and a team behind the scenes. Above, the ladies are preparing for plague 10.

This is what 10 plagues for 50 people looks like laid out on two 10-foot tables.

We gave each participant his own plate and a bottle of water, just in case. Each of my four adult helpers had small plates or cups with the plague food in it. See, in the picture of the tables above, each plague number has four little plates above it, one for each helper. As Jeremy and Mike taught the lesson, the helpers circulated through the tables and passed out the plague food. Above, Mike gamely takes a bite of the first plague - the River Nile turns to blood. It's sardines in tomato sauce, ya'll. Seriously.

Some of our participants...

When we taught the lesson with first graders, we emphasized that the plagues showed God's mighty power and ability to control everything. When we taught the same piece of scripture for teenagers and adults, we emphasized that God was using his power and strength to show the impotence of the Egyptian gods.

This lesson is powerful, but eating through the plagues needs to be accompanied by more discussion, drawing emphasis from the text based on age appropriate needs.

Of course, please be aware of food allergies. Before we teach this lesson, we send home a list of ingredients for parent approval. We do have to make changes occasionally because of food allergies, and parents have always been gracious and appreciative of the chance to protect their children while still allowing them to participate in a fun activity.

2nd grade - 2 Thessalonians 3:3 - Hide the Word - December

2013-12-01T21:49:00.000-06:00

2 Thessalonians 3:3 – But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

The one page of ideas for this verse can be located here.

The take home activity can be found here with different words, but the same concept. Pages 8-13 are the sheets for the children to hold up for this activity.

One of the activites, a perforation, has instructions that can be found here. Pages 3, 4, and 5 have the blackline masters for perforations.

The second page is the certificate to pass out to the children when they say the verse for the first time. Feel free to dress up the certificate.

Page 7 is the verse poster for this verse. We hang ours in the classroom as we introduce the verse.

Page 6 is a verse poster for the children to decorate while you discuss the verse with the class.

2nd grade - 1 Timothy 4:12 - Hide the Word - November

2013-12-01T21:16:00.000-06:00

1 Timothy 4:12 – Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

Here is the one page idea sheet of activites for this verse.

Kids love to write on real objects. They think it's fun and really can't get enough of it. I know, I think it's silly, too, and I don't understand. I actually scoffed at the ideas to write memory verses on real objects, but the kids really seem to be interested in it, and use the object. All that to say, write this verse on sun glasses. The kids love the shades, and they learn the verse. You can find more information about writing the verse on sunglasses here.

The spin-a-verse activity is more fully described here. Please allow the children to decorate the paper plates with stickers, glitter, glue, markers, crayons, whatever. These white plates hurt my heart.

Page two in the packet is the certificate to give the children when they say the verse for the first time. Please copy onto pretty cardstock and decorate with stamps or stickers.

Page three can be copied onto cardstock and used to play concentration. It can also be used to create the spin-a-verse as discussed above and further in the packet.

Page four is the verse poster for this verse. We have these hanging in the classroom. We hang them as we discuss the verse for the first time.

2nd grade - 2 Timothy 2:15 - June - Hide the Word

2013-12-01T21:02:00.000-06:00

2 Timothy 2:15 – Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

Here is the one page of ideas for this verse.

Of course, this verse lends itself to workman fun games and ideas. The send home activity idea for this month is the hammer sequence you can find here.

The phrase cards referenced in the one page of ideas can be as simple as hand written phrases on note cards or as involved as computer produced worksheet. Pages 4 and 5 of the one page packet can be used for this.

Page two is the certificate to pass out to the children when the child says his verse for the first time.

The third page is the description of the work man hat the children can write on and wear. Be sure to get a class photo!

Page six is a worksheet for the children to decorate. You can use a die cut hammer to glue to the top of the page.

Take lots of pictures of your little workmen who do not need to be ashamed and who can correctly handle the word of truth.

2nd Grade - 1 Peter 5:8 - July - Hide the Word

2013-11-27T22:28:00.000-06:00

Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Here's the one page of ideas for this verse.

The second page of the packet is the certificate to give the children when they say the verse for you the first time. We copy this onto card stock and decorate with stamps or stickers.

Page three contains instructions to create a lion puzzle.

Page 4 and 5 contain instructions for a class activity. The children or the teacher can cut the lines apart. If a class set is used, each child gets one line. They put each verse line in order. Do several times. If each child has his own set, put the strips in order several times together. Glue it to a construction paper after sequencing several times. Allow the child to decorate the construction paper.

Page 6 is the verse poster to hang in the classroom when you introduce the verse.

The home activity for this month is lion die cuts. Instructions and photos are here.

2nd Grade - 1 Corinthians 16:13 - September - Hide the Word

2013-11-27T22:13:00.000-06:00

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13

Here is the one page of ideas for 1 Corinthians 16:13.

The second page of the packet is the black line master of the certificate given to each child when they first say the verse.

The third page of the packet is the description of the tile coaster activity for this verse.

Page four is the verse poster. At the beginning of every month, we hang this page in the classroom when we discuss the verse. We cut it apart and have the children put the sentence strips in order.

First Grade - 1 John 3:1 - February - Hide the Word

2013-11-18T21:25:00.000-06:00

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God. 1 John 3:1

Here is the one page of ideas for this verse.

The headband with heart ears is explained here. The headband here also has a cut up sentence on it for the children to sequence. Make sure you take lots of pictures of the children with their headbands on!!

Be sure you see heart things on sale, you stock up on all things hearts for use with this verse and other verses about love.

First Grade - 2 Timothy 2:22 - July - Hide the Word

2013-11-18T11:31:00.002-06:00

2 Timothy 2:22 - Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Here is the one page of ideas for this verse.

The playing card game is described more fully here. The kids seemed to really enjoy it.

The fill in the blank verse worksheet for download is here.

First Grade - 1 John 3:11 - October - Hide the Word

2013-11-15T22:53:00.000-06:00

This is the message you heard from the beginning, we should love one another. 1 John 3:11

Here is the one page of ideas for 1 John 3:11.

The instructions and photos of the photo sequence memory verse game are here.

The instructions for the plaster hearts magnet are here. Be sure to NOT double the recipe, as for whatever reason it doesn't work well.

Here are the shrinky dink instructions.

First Grade - 1 Samuel 16:7 - September - Hide the Word

2013-11-15T22:41:00.000-06:00

"Man looks at the outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

Here is the one page of ideas for this verse.

You can locate the mirror and hearts information here.

The information about the x-ray lesson is here.

The ultraviolet bead lesson is so cool and is here. You can purchase the ultraviolet beads here.

The heart cookie cutter information and instructions are here.

First Grade - Matthew 5:44 - November - Hide the Word

2013-11-15T22:33:00.002-06:00

"But I say unto you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Matthew 5:44

Here is the one page of ideas for this verse.

The clothespin game is explained with pictures here.

The shrinky dink activity is explained here. We don't (yet) have the photos of the first grade doing it, so this is an older grade's verse, but the instructions are the same, of course.

This post here is the instructions and information about the wreath activity.

First Grade - 1 John 4:4 - June - Hide the Word

2013-11-15T22:20:00.000-06:00

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

This is the one page of ideas for this verse.

See the sample here of the glow in the dark paint project. The verse is different, but the idea is the same. Please be sure you don't have the children paint every single word. That doesn't work well and will make everyone frustrated!

This is the photo of the mat with shapes for the children to match.

Here is a photo of the toilet paper tubes, also called the cylinder shuffle.

3rd Grade - Ephesians 4:31-32 - January - Hide the Word

2013-11-06T00:01:00.000-06:00

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32

This is the one page of ideas for this verse.

See the picture here for the sample of the mail out. Be sure to crumple those hearts!

Here is the photo of the sample of the trash can poster. The black line master for the trash can can be found here. Also attached to this worksheet are the sort words.

The attachment here has several worksheets attached. The first page shows the magnets you can make. The black line master for this is here. The second page of the worksheet is a color sheet. The third page of the attachment is the lesson we taught. It does have a more lengthy lesson, but it can be broken up into several smaller chunks if you prefer.

The picture of the trash can with the verse written on it is here. I scoffed at writing the verse on real things, but the kids really seem to love it.

3 year old - Matthew 19:14 - May - Hide the Word

2013-11-05T23:44:00.000-06:00

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me . . . for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Matthew 19:14

See here for the one page of ideas.

See the pattern of paper dolls here, and the final product here.

Enjoy!

3 year old - Matthew 17:20 - March - Hide the Word

2013-11-05T23:38:00.003-06:00

I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed. . . nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20

Here's a one page of list ideas for this verse.

See a picture of the send home puzzle with the verse on it here.

See a picture of the plaster plaque with a little one hand print here. You can also add a mustard seed in the palm of the painted hand for scale.

3 year old - Matthew 22:37 - January - Hide the Word

2013-11-05T23:32:00.000-06:00

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Matthew 22:37

Here's the one page of ideas for Matthew 22:37.

See the heart magnet that we sent home with each child. So cute!

We also used the Old Testament Take Home Books that Move by Carson-Dellosa publishers. You can find that book here.

3 year old - 2 Corinthians 9:7 - July - Hide the Word

2013-11-05T23:21:00.004-06:00

God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

Here's the one page of ideas for this verse. Enjoy!!

3 year old - Proverbs 20:11 - September - Hide the Word

2013-11-05T23:16:00.001-06:00

Even a child is known by his actions. Proverbs 20:11

This is the one page of ideas for Proverbs 20:11.

Here's a photo of the take home for this verse.

Enjoy this verse with your class!!

3 year old - Nahum 1:7 - December - Hide the Word

2013-11-05T23:06:00.000-06:00

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him. Nahum 1:7

Attached is the one page of ideas for Nahum 1:7.

The second page is a sheet of words for the tents. Fold a piece of carstock in half and attach the words to one side as a take home for the children. See a sample picture here.

3 year old - October - Luke 6:31 - Hide the Word

2013-11-05T22:58:00.000-06:00

Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:31

This is the one page of ideas for Luke 6:31.

Here is where you can find the ruler for the send home for the month.
Scripture Adventures is a book that had alot of ideas for this particular verse. We used it extensively for this verse.

Enjoy this verse with your children!

3rd grade - Galatians 6:2 worksheets - Hide the Word

2013-11-05T22:46:00.002-06:00

Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

Here are the worksheets for Galatians 6:2.

The first page is a sheet to illustrate the verse.
The second page in the packet is an idea sheet for Galatians 6:2. We used this idea sheet when we taught this in a class, so it's a little longer than other idea sheets.
The third page in this packet is a service project homework coupon. Each child takes home one (or more) of the coupons. They fill out the coupon, and bring it back to class for extra homework points or a small prize.
Finally, the fourth page is a box you can create to help the children learn the verse. You can use this as a "roll the blank" game. Follow the link for the instructions to this game. It's super easy to do in class or at home.