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.
Faces
Goat
Sheep
Circle
