Joseph's Coat of Many Colors

Genesis 37

The binder project for this story can be as simple or as complicated as you choose.  Print out two copies of the page found here for each child.  One page should have holes punched in the margin for the binder.  The other page is for the coat pieces which are cut apart and glued onto the first page much like a puzzle.  Our children do not enjoy cutting so we cut the pieces ahead of time and put them into envelopes, but we also shaded the back of each coat a different color so the children's pieces could be separated if they accidentally mixed them together.  Printing the picture in black and white increases the complication, while cutting more than one shape in the same piece decreases the complication.  As a guide, our children were ages 8-13 and it took them 20-25 minutes to complete the puzzle in black and white with all shapes separated into individual pieces.  We found the best way to complete the puzzle was to find the location of one shape at a time and glue that single shape into place.  Children who attempted to place all of their pieces and then glue them were frustrated when a slight gust of wind from someone passing by or from their sleeve brushing the page moved their pieces.  The original website for the picture is found here.

Our project was very simple, and the kids loved it!  We gave them sheets of computer paper, acrylic craft paints, a disposable plate for mixing paints, Q-tips, and a number of wet wipes and let them paint their own 'coat of many colors.'  For the more active children, we cut holes in a plastic garbage to slip over them to protect their clothing.  We bought the cheaper acrylic paints from Walmart for 57cents a piece, so the craft was not very expensive, required very little preparation and was a huge hit! 

Rachel Dies, Benjamin Born

Genesis 35:16-20

The binder project for this lesson downloadable here illustrates that our decisions affect the decisions we make later in life, just as every turn in a maze leads to more turns.  Rachel died in childbirth possibly because they moved when she was so far along in her pregnancy. It isn't too much of a stretch in imagination to link the need for moving with the actions of Simeon & Levi at Shechem. Our decisions matter, and can change the course of our lives and the lives of others.  Thanks to http://nrich.maths.org for the maze, with the original website found here.

The activity for this lesson requires a Chutes & Ladders game board by Milton Bradley.  If you don't own a copy, there are a variety of boards available on google images including the one below (courtesy of artsandgamecraft.wordpress.com)  To make the game life-sized, we handed each child some cardstock paper until someone was responsible for all 25 sheets.  Then we all folded our sheets in half both ways so we could cut along the folds and have 4 playing cards for each sheet of paper.  We assigned one row of spaces (such as 1-10 or 61-70) to each child with the following instructions:

**For spaces that have no activity, simply write the number of the space in the upper right-hand corner.

**For spaces at the bottom of a ladder, write the number of the space in the upper right-hand corner AND draw a huge smiling face on the card with the number where the ladder ends written as a mustache on the face (example, space 21 would have a smiling face with a mustache saying 42)

**For spaces at the top of a ladder, write the number of the space in the upper right-hand corner AND a draw a huge smiling face on the card with the number where the ladder began written as a goatee or a chin (example, space 42 would have a smiling face with a goatee or chin saying 21)

**For spaces at the top of a slide, write the number of the space in the upper right-hand corner AND a huge frowning face with the number of the slide's end as a mustache (example, space 95 would have a frowning face with a mustache saying 75)

**For spaces at the bottom of a slide, write the number of the space in the upper right-hand corner AND a huge frowning face with the number of the slide's beginning as a goatee or chin (example, space 75 would have a goatee or chin saying 95)

Place all squares on the ground in order, but in any shape...they do not need to form a square like the original gameboard does. Give each child a die and a small cup or plate to roll the die on, then let all players play simultaneously.  It is important to note that this game is best played indoors with a lot of floor space, or outside when there is no wind as the card stock squares tend to easily fly in the breeze.

The Story of Dinah

Genesis 34

This lesson requires a bit of sugar-coating for the younger children, but we included it because the attack on Shechem caused the moved from Bethel which caused Rachel's death in childbirth.  The binder project could also be considered a bit harsh for younger ones, so of course use good judgement in deciding whether or not to include this lesson in your program.  The instructions for this sheet are simple.  According to the Bible, every man in Shechem was killed while all women, children and livestock were captured.  We asked the children to draw X's over the eyes of all the men to indicate their death, and to draw handcuffs (or pawcuffs) on all the women, children and animals to indicate their capture.  Since the Bible later describes the Israelites as counting their men beginning at age 20 (see their counts during the Exodus and throughout their travels in Canaan) this is the approximate age we used for boys becoming men, however the clipart children should clearly be children.  The sheet can be downloaded here.  The clipart is courtesy of http://www.hasslefreeclipart.com.

The craft is courtesy of J.E. Morris' blogspot--an alligator puppet with moveable joints, requiring crayons or markers, scissors, paper fasteners, and the template found here at its original website or  in document form instead of pdf.  The alligators can be made to fight, to run away, or to faint from fear as the people of Shechem may have done, although all of our alligators lived a very happy life with the children in our class.  The dancing alligator picture below is also courtesy of J.E. Morris.

Jacob and Esau Reunite

Genesis 33

This binder project is courtesy of www.sky.cgi.org with the original website found here and the downloadable sheet found here.  Simply find the animals that are hidden in the picture.

Our craft is courtesy of www.anotherdonkeydesign.blogspot.com with the original website found here.  The idea is to make a toilet paper roll of a person (Esau or Jacob, although we allowed the kids to choose whatever person or theme they wanted) with an expression that changes, just as God changed Esau's heart.  The children used acrylic craft paints to decorate the outside of the toilet paper roll, cutting out the space for the face (we chose to do this part ourselves with a razor blade, although scissors will work as well.)  We gave each child a piece of card stock paper cut to the depth of the toilet paper roll, then they rolled that into a tube and taped it so it could fit inside the toilet paper roll.  We also chose to tape a popsicle stick to the inside of the card stock tube so the entire tube could be easily turned inside the toilet paper roll.  The kids then drew different expressions on the part of the card stock that showed through the hole in the toilet paper roll, turning the card stock to make a new expression, ect.  The picture below is courtesy of the original website.

 

Jacob Wrestles God

Genesis 32:22-32

This lesson's binder project was fairly simple, leaving a bit of extra time for the craft.  The sheet is downloable here with the original website for the picture found here.

Our craft is a game of thumb wrestling, since Jacob wrestled with God.  Print one sheet found here for each child on card stock.  The children can color them them, then cut them out being sure to leave enough paper on the animals so they fit nicely on the child's thumb when taped.  The animals at the top of the page are to be cut out as a square, but with the edges that extend out to be cut long enough for overlapping and taping.  The animals at the bottom of the page are to be cut out and folded in half so the complete animal is on each side of the thumb.  Simply wrap tape completely around the sides of the animals as many times as necessary.  The original website for the first set of animals is found here courtesy of www.franktesting.co.uk while the original website for the second set of animals is found here courtesy of http://cf.ltkcdn.net.

Rachel Steals Household Idols

Genesis 31:17-35

We chose not to discuss the reason Rachel claimed she could not get up when her father searched her tent, but simply said that she claimed she was too tired.  Use your own discretion in teaching this lesson, but it is notable that Laban's family supposedly worshipped the true God which was the reason Rebecca told Isaac that Jacob should seek a wife there...yet Laban's family obviously held their household gods in high regard.  Our binder project emphasizes the difference between our one God (in the form of the Trinity) and many other religions' beliefs in many, many, MANY gods!  We chose to use some Greek gods whom we believed could be easily matched to their 'fortes'.  The sheet is downloadable here with thanks to http://library.thinkquest.org for the information and pictures with the original website found here.  Starting at the top left hand corner (the god with the shield) and continuing clockwise (to the woman in purple with long dark hair) the answers are as follows:  Ares, Hades, Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Artemis, Zeus, Iris, Persephone, Apollo, Hermes, Hestia, Poseidon, Athena, and Hera.

 

Our activity for this lesson was Capture the Flag since it requires "stealing" and a bit of stealth.  The directions for this game are courtesy of www.fungameskidsplay.com with the original website found here.  If your children are too young for this game, you can instead play a simple game of hide-and-seek.  Another option is to bring one item for each child to hide within designated boundaries.  All of the children hide their items at the same time, simultaneously watching the other children while trying themselves to not be watched.  Once all items have been hidden, everyone searches for all of the other items.  The player who find the most items is the winner, or any player whose item is not found could also be declared the winner.

 

 

CAPTURE THE FLAG

 

What you need to play: 2 flags - make flags from bandanas or old cloth. Object of the game: Capture the other teams flag and return it to your home base. Set up Capture the flag: Separate children into 2 teams. Each team determines their territory and boundaries. Usually one team takes the front yard and the other team takes the backyard. Each team decides where their jail and flag will be located.

The flag must be visible - it can not be moved. There is a safety zone around the flag ( a 10 - 15 ’ circle). The flags team may not enter this circle unless the other team enters first.

How to play: Send part of the team to “enemy territory” to capture their flag. The team members left behind guard their flag. If you are caught (tagged) by the opposite team you have to go to their jail. The only way out of jail is to be tagged again by one of your teammates. (Only one person in the jail can be set free at a time.) After capturing the flag the team member must make it back to his territory - without being caught - to win. If someone has the flag and he is tagged - the person goes to jail and the flag is returned to it’s original location.

OptionsSpies and Lookouts When teams are placing their flags spies can be sent out to see where the flag is located - and look-outs can be sent out to catch the spies.
Jail Chain If the jail is far from the boundary line players can form a human chain from the jail heading towards the boundary. The more people in jail then easier it is to get rescued.
Jail Break With mutual consent teams can both yell “Jail Break!!” and prisoners are all free to run back to their home territory. 





Laban Cheats Jacob

Genesis 31:1-18

This binder project requires a little more investment from the children than some of the others, so it is important to be clear in giving directions to avoid frustration.  The concept is not difficult, but there are a few steps to making it happen.  We printed both sheets found here and here on cardstock paper.  You will also need some items for coloring (markers, crayons, or colored pencils), scissors and paper fasteners.  First of all, the children are allowed to color the print-outs with one condition...the sheep and the goats that are opposite of each other cannot match.  The concept here is that whatever Jacob earned (found on one side of the circle) was not what Laban paid him (found on the other side of the circle.)  We suggested using stripes or dots or leaving some of them blank, but ultimately we left it  up to each child.  The children then cut out the entire circle from the first sheet which featured the words "Jacob Earned But Now", and they also cut out the blank wedges from each side of the circle up to but NOT including the middle circle where a small slice is cut for the paper fastener.  In the picture below, the wedges to be cut out have been shadowed, although they are not that way on the sheet you will print out.

The second sheet is left completely in tact except for a small slice in the middle of the circle. 

The paper fastener is fed through the cut-out circle and then through the intact sheet of paper so that the top circle rotates on top of the intact sheet.  Viola!  The original websites for the pictures are found at the end of this blog, and the final project is seen below.
 

Our activity required some preparation time, but mostly in the form of cutting circles.  We chose to make our own game similar to Connect 4 by Milton Bradley representing Jacob's life which is now full of strategy, conflict and intrigue--not only between himself and Laban, but between his wives, his children, and even still between himself and his brother Esau.  The game board can be downloaded here with the original website found here courtesy of www.jeffsgames.co.uk.  The game pieces we used were all courtesy of www.hasslefreeclipart.com and are downloadable here for Beaver and Iguana, here for Dog and Dolphin, here for Monkey and Zebra, here for Pig and Squirrel, here for Turtle and Snake, and the circle template if you wish to make more game pieces is found here.  We chose to print all game pieces and the board on card stock, then laminate them using clear shelf paper before cutting out the circles. The instructions below are courtesy of Milton Bradley, with full instructions found here.  Remember that all game pieces must be played in the bottom-most available circle of a column, as if gravity would pulling it down in the real game.