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.
