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!