Jacob's Children

Genesis 29 and 30:1-24

This binder project requires a bit of reading on the part of the leader from the blessings of Jacob on his children found in Genesis 49, since the majority of those blessing correspond to the banners for the 12 tribes of Israel.  The children simply match the son of Jacob with the tribe's banner(s) on the printout found here.  Note that the banners next to each other go together, so some of the tribes have only one banner while some have two and some even have three.  The answer key can be found here, and I also have uploaded it to this blog for ease with credit going to nyut545e2 at www.docstoc.com (more information about the tribes can be found at the original website found here.)

Answer Key

Our activity requires good weather outside and bit of preparation.  Each set of printouts found here and here gives 24 sets of playing pieces, so consider your needs and plan accordingly.  After printing out your playing pieces, cut the faces apart into approximately equal squares.  Then staple the face of Jacob over each of the girls' faces so that Jacob hides either Leah (with the glasses since her eyes were weak) or Rachel (no glasses.)  These playing pieces (a complete set of Jacob with either Leah or Rachel) are hidden outside ahead of time.  The children are given a small lunch bag for gathering their playing pieces, much like an Easter egg hunt.  Once the playing pieces are all found, the children go inside and score their pieces.  Since Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, Rachel playing pieces are worth 2 points while Leah playing pieces are only worth 1 point.  The original website for the pictures are at the end of this blog.

Rachel
Leah
Jacob

Jacob's Ladder

Genesis 27:41-46 and 28

Our binder project for this lesson includes a comic by Jeff Larson.  His website of Biblical comics can be found here.  We also included a maze courtesy of www.sermons4kids.com with the original website found here.  The download is available here.

The activity for this lesson is very difficult at first, but the children did suprisingly well and were appreciative enough that the outcome was worth the effort.  We created a ladder from beads to duplicate the ladder Jacob saw in his dream.  As the leader for this craft, I attempted this stitch 3 or 4 times before I felt comfortable enough to teach it.  We used Cross Stitch thread because of its thickness and durability, as well as cross stitch needles that were less likely to prick little fingers but could still be threaded and maneuvered through beads easily.  We chose to use the left-over beads from our bracelet craft (when Isaac & Rebecca married) since they were large enough for little fingers to handle, although I also brought my own stash of smaller beads for the more daring children and they managed just wonderfully with them!  The instructions I used were courtesy of http://jewelrymaking.about.com with the original link found here.  The picture below is courtesy of the same website.

As an alternative, longer beads can be used (or simply single beads) with the instructions from http://beadwork.about.com and the orignal link found here.  The picture below is courtesy of the that website.

Note:  I found it very helpful to begin the project by clearly stating that this craft was probably over the children's heads and that we could quit the project if anyone felt overwhelmed or frustrated, but that I knew they had the ability if they were patient and listened carefully to the instructions.  This warned them of the difficulty they might experience, and although each child did require some one-on-one help at some point, I found they all listened carefully and persevered quite well when they experienced trouble.  My own children still have this craft sitting around their room and were quite proud to show it to their friends.  Well worth the trouble! 

Jacob Deceives Isaac

Genesis 27:1-41

It is important in this lesson to emphasize the difference between the birthright which Esau sold to Jacob in the previous chapter and the blessing which Jacob stole from Esau.  The birthright is the double-portion of the inheritance, meaning that if a man had four sons he would divide his inheritance into five portions and give two full portions to his eldest son.  The blessing designated a specific son as the head of the household and generally accompanied the birthright.  While I do not belong to the Church of Christ, they have an excellent explanation of the two terms found here. 

Our binder project shows the changes a man can make in his appearance, just as Jacob changed his appearance (as well as smell and feel) to resemeble Esau.  The body template is courtesy of www.firstpallette.com with the original website found here and the downloadable version found here.  To prepare, print out a few copies of the body template for each child (we chose five copies for each child), then staple them together at the top, middle, and bottom along the left hand edge to give them support.  Be sure to still punch holes in the left margin so they can be placed in the binder.  The children color each page to be a specific theme of their choosing, such as a clown, ninja, beach bum, cowboy, etc., then cut the bodies apart at the two drawn lines being sure NOT to cut beyond the line on the left side of the page.  The example below the template is courtesy of the original website.

Our activity fast became a favorite!  Since Jacob tricked Isaac, we chose a craft that tricked others--fake spilled chocolate milk.  The children mixed 2 parts glue with 1 part acrylic paint in a bowl (brown for the chocolate milk, but some children chose other colors.)  Then we poured some of the mixture into a disposable cup and the rest onto wax paper, setting the cup into the middle of the puddle.  We let the project sit for the week, then pulled the entire set off the wax paper very carefully as some still had small wet areas.  The end result can be seen below.

Jacob and Esau

Genesis 25:19-34

We chose to divide this lesson into two separate binder projects, although we studied the entire lesson at the same time.  The first binder project emphasizes that, although they were twins, Jacob and Esau had very little in common.  This project is courtesy of http://homeschooling.about.com with the original website found here and the downloadable version found here.

The second binder project emphasizes Esau's disregard for his birthright, which also came with spiritual responsibilities for which he had little interest.  This project is courtesy of http://www.sermons4kids.com with the original website found here.  You can also download the worksheet here, although it is important to note that we did not include the word bank at the bottom of the original.

Our activity was inspired by the game Feed the Kitty by Gamewright (see the picture below courtesy of Amazon.com.)  First we had the children cut out the die template as seen in the picture below and downloadable here, then we helped them tape it into a cube (tape works much better and easier than glue.)  We distributed 40 uncooked pasta shells to each child to represent Jacob's stew, leaving 40 in the middle of the table as a discard pile.  Everyone plays at the same time, rolling their single die and performing the activity shown on the face of the die.  The 'NO' sign (line through the circle) means you do nothing--like a 'resting space.'  The hand means you give a pasta shell to any other player--simply dump it in their pile of pasta.  The empty bowl means you ate your stew so give a shell to the discard pile.  The soup in the bowl means you were given a refill so take a shell from the discard pile.  Play continues until one person is completely out of pasta shells, but that person must call out before another player hands them a pasta shell or play continues.  The original websites for the clipart used in the die is found at the end of this blog.

 

Isaac Deceives Abimelech

Genesis 26:1-33

This lesson is difficult to place chronologically.  According to its position in the Bible, Jacob & Esau have already been born...but I believe it is more likely to have occurred before their birth.  You are, of course, free to place this lesson wherever you believe it best fits.  We followed the exact same binder lesson concept as when Abraham lied to Abimelech, since this same king was deceived by both father and son.  The color version is downloable here and the black/white here, while the original website for the rodeo picture is found here and the ferry picture is found here.  Thanks again to Highlights magazine for their kid-friendly web pages!

Again, our activity simply went a step further than our binder project.  The first sheet is downloadable here and the second  here.  Hints to these clues can be found on the original Highlights websites listed above.

Abraham Dies--End of Section

Genesis 25:1-11

This lesson ends another section of our Bible study.  Our binder project is Abraham's Family Tree which can be downloaded here.  All pictures used on this page are from www.edupics.com with their original websites listed at the end of this blog.

Our activity for this lesson is similar to our last end of section activity.  The sheet found here was printed for each child.  The children colored the pictures and marked the back of each picture with their initials.  Then each child cut the pictures apart and put them in chronological order as quickly as possible.  When the children are efficient at these pictures, the pictures from the previous section can be mixed as well.  When not in use, the pictures are stored in a sheet protector with a single piece of double-stick tape at the top in the middle to hold the sheet protector closed and keep the pictures safely tucked inside.  The original website for the pictures are the bottom of this post.

What the pictures represent and their chronological order are found below in order from left to right and top to bottom.
Woman & boy looking sad WITH Woman, man & baby=Isaac in, Ishmael out (10)
Egyptian=Abraham lies to Pharoah (2)
Man and God's finger=God chooses Abraham (1)
Man, boy, altar, God's finger=The Sacrifice (11)
Prisoner=Lot taken captive (3)
Tithing (4)
Woman, man, camel, well=Rebecca & Isaac (the tombstone on the well cover refers to Sarah's death) (12)
Football field=Abraham bargains for Sodom (7)
Woman with baby in cradle=Hagar and baby Ishmael (5)
King=Abraham lies to Abimelech (9)
City burning=Sodom destroyed (8)
Girl & boy eating=Angels visit with Abraham, predict Isaac's birth, Sarah laughs (6)

Sarah Dies--Isaac Marries

Genesis 23:1-2 and 24:1-66

This lesson is a bit long, so it's important to keep the story moving and re-emphasize key points during the activity instead of bogging down the storyline with a myriad of details all at once.  The binder project is courtesy of www.biblewise.com witth the original website found here.  The downloadable version for the binder is found here.

Our activity was a simple bracelet (or as many bracelets as the children could manage in the time alotted) since Rebekah was given bracelets among other items as gifts from Abraham's servant.  We chose to use Bead n Stretch instead of string or leather because it gave a little forgiveness if the children accidentally made their bracelets a little too small.  We simply cut a very long piece of the Bead n Stretch, then put a single folded piece of tape on one end to keep the beads from falling off.  Once the children had threaded their beads and we had double-checked the length, we tied the ends of the Bead n Stretch together twice and then dabbed a touch of superglue on the knot to hold it.  A minute later the glue was dry and the children were happily sporting their story illustrations.  Be sure to allow plenty of extra Bead n Stretch when you cut the length for the children so you can easily tie the knot without losing the beads.  The pictures below are courtesy of www.walmart.com