Ministry-To-Children.com » Felicia Mollohan

Burning My Candles This Christmas

Felicia Mollohan — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:43:28 +0000

Do you have anything that you put away for a “special” day? While unpacking my Christmas decorations, I pulled out my candles and starting putting them on the table and around the house. As I unpacked one of the candles, I noticed that it had melted because it had been in storage where it was hot. I have had some of these candles for many years and I have yet to light them.

I stopped and thought about this for a moment. “Why do I have candles if I’m not going to use them for their designated purpose?” My thoughts, previously, have been that I don’t want to ruin them so that I would have them for a special time. A special time? Why wouldn’t every Christmas be a special time? I stopped then and there and decided to burn my candles this Christmas.

That may seem like a simple thought, but it was huge in my mindset for this Christmas. We are on a very tight budget this year (as most people are) and I was worried about not being able to give our boys a special Christmas. I have decided to not just have a special day, but a special month. I have decided to make the “little” things more important this year. Have you noticed how the most important things get pushed aside for the all of the business of this time of year?

The reason why we have Christmas, after all, is because of Jesus Christ and His birth. That seems to be put aside for shopping, school programs and parties. We are going to be concentrating on Christ and making Christmas last all month long.

Here are some of what we are doing this month (most of which take little to no money):

putting up a piece of the nativity, one day at a time, so that we can talk about the Christmas story and why each piece is important
reading stories about Jesus’ birth
trying to memorize Luke 2 and video it to send to grandparents
making a puppet show about the Christmas story and video it to send to grandparents
talking about the symbols of Christmas and what they have to do with Jesus
learning Christmas carols
reading the Christmas story out of the Bible as a family
picking out an Angel Tree card and having the boys help pick out the gift
making Christmas cards
doing Random Acts of Kindness
driving around town looking at Christmas lights
having the children decorate the tree (it always looks better that way)
watching Christmas movies that we already own or that are on television
using an advent calendar for a special activity for each day
since we homeschool, I am planning each day to have a Christmas theme (it just makes the learning more fun and exciting)
I wrapped Christmas books (that we already had) and the boys will be able to unwrap one each day. This way it’s more exciting to read some books each day. I will be putting one of the wrapped books in their stockings each day so that each morning they will have something to unwrap.
making Christmas cookies and giving them to friends
making ornaments for our tree
make a popcorn string for our tree

Let’s all burn our candles this year and make THIS year special!

Homeschooling a 2nd Grade with a 2 year old in the house

Felicia Mollohan — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 12:57:42 +0000

We are officially in our 2nd year of homeschooling now. I have a 2nd grade boy and a 2 year old boy. I think the most challenging part of homeschooling, so far this year, has been trying to homeschool my older son, while my younger son is around.

This is a new problem for us this year. You see, last year, my youngest took morning naps. This year he doesn’t take naps in the morning, which means he is up while we’re homeschooling. Here are some of the thoughts that I’ve had in order to fix this “problem”:

Pray – A Lot! This helps me to remember that God is really in control of our homeschool.
Read blogs of people who have toddlers and homeschool at the same time – This has really helped to realize that I’m not alone.
Change our homeschooling time to the afternoon – This won’t work because my oldest son and I are better focused in the morning time.
Put together “school” items for my younger child to do while I am working with my oldest. **Insert the Busy Basket!**

Busy Basket

I have certain toys and activities that are not always available to my younger son. He has too many toys, anyways, and most of these are items that I want to be able to do with him (parent supervision). As I was looking though some blogs on the internet, I thought of the Busy Basket. I put various activities that he is able to do by himself with little help from me into a basket. This basket is kept on a shelf and is only brought down during “school” time. I called it the Busy Basket, not because I just want my son to be busy (because I would like for him to be learning as well), but because it sounded so nice with the word basket.

He didn’t really like them on the first day, but on the second day he really explored all of the items in the baskets. I’m hoping this will continue to work well. I love him exploring things on his own and coming up with ways to use them. Here’s what I put in this one week’s busy basket:

foam numbers – I put magnets on the backs of these and put them on an old cookie sheet.
foam shapes
different colored poker chips – He really liked the sound these made!
1-9 numbered paper plates – He has really liked plates lately, so I figured this would be a hit.
measuring tape inside of a measuring cup
a bag of pom poms
penne noodles with pipe cleaners – These are sort of like lacing. He “laces” the pipe cleaner through the noodle. We use pipe cleaners because they are stiffer than yarn and easier for his little fingers. This is great for fine motor control.
bead jar – I simply put some large beads in an old (and cleaned out) children’s vitamin jar. He loves to unscrew the top and shake out the beads.
sponge blocks – I bought a package of 10 sponges from the Dollar Tree. I then cut each sponge into 4 pieces. This gave us 40 multi-colored blocks that were safe for our boy who likes to throw everything.

David and Jonathan Lesson about Friendship

Felicia Mollohan — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:09:55 +0000

This free Children’s Church lesson plan was first written for elementary aged students. It covers the story of the friendship of David and Saul’s son, Jonathan. Use this material in your children’s church.

Be sure to consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed. We’ve tried to include enough activities to allow some choice in your lesson planning. Look for additional teaching ideas and resources linked at the bottom of this page. Click here to browse all our children’s Bible lessons. There is also a preschool version of this lesson plan.

Bible Story: David and Jonathan
Scripture: 1 Samuel 18:1-4, 19:1-7, 20:12-42
Target Age Group: Kindergarten – 5th grade
Category: Children’s Church Lessons
Target Time Frame: 40 minutes
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please share your feedback and suggestions to improve this kids Bible lesson. Click here to leave a comment.

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate an understanding of the story by talking with a neighbor about the main events.

Items Needed:

Bible: 1 Samuel 18:1-4, 19:1-7, 20:12-42.
Play-dough, blocks, puzzles for the children to choose from
Jonathan’s Secret Code Sheet per child (download here) pencils
Whiteboard, whiteboard markers
Optional story booklet (download here)

Worship: Use David Songs (PDF) to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson. You can also browse our suggested kids worship songs.

Teaching Plan: David and Jonathan

Welcome Activity: Welcome activities are things to have out for the children to do as they are arriving for class. These activities will get them engaged as soon as they arrive and will help the transition from their parents.

Have a few choices available for the children to play with, like playdough, blocks and puzzles. Encourage the children to play together. As the children are playing together, comment how they are being good friends. Be specific with your praise. For example, “Julia, I really like how you gave your friends some blocks to use. That’s really being a good friend.”

Worship: David Songs

Lesson Introduction: Talk with the children about being friends. What makes a good friend?

What part of the Bible is 1 Samuel in? The Old Testament
What book of the Old Testament is 1 Samuel? #9

Read the Bible Story: 1 Samuel 18:1-4, 19:1-7, 20:12-42 (NIRV) aloud to the children. Prepare in advance and read the relevant passage with feeling and good storytelling skills. For younger children, you can use our printable story booklet (download here).

Discuss Bible Lesson: Be sure to bring out the main events.

David and Jonathan become friends.
Saul (Jonathan’s father) wants to kill David.
Jonathan saves David from being killed by his father.

Learning Activities

Printable Worksheet: Jonathan’s Secret Code Sheet (download here) Have the children work in pairs to complete the activity sheet

Activity: Bible Verse Memorization: “Jonathan and David became close friends. Jonathan loved David just as he loved himself.” 1 Samuel 18:1

Jonathan and David became close friends: shake someone else’s hand
Jonathan loved David: give someone else a hug
Just as he loved himself: give yourself a hug
1 Samuel 18: hold up ten fingers and then eight fingers
1: hold up 1 finger

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization.

Activity: Friendship Charades

“We have been talking about friends today. How many of you have friends? (allow for responses) What does it mean to be a good friend? (allow for responses…as the children are saying things, write them down on the white board) What do you like to do with your friends? (allow for responses…as the children are saying things, write them down on the white board)

We are going to practice the things you said about being a good friend and things you like to do with your friends. Let’s get started!”

Have the children act out the items you wrote down on the white board.
Make sure each child has a chance

Evaluation: Have the children talk with a neighbor to talk about the main events of the lesson.

“Reading Around the World” Program Idea

Felicia Mollohan — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:59:46 +0000

I have created this Summer Reading Program so that my son would read more during the summer months. We keep talking about how reading is an adventure so I came up with the Reading Around the World theme. He will be working towards goals which then gets him rewards. Here is a run-down of the program:

He will have a “passport” to “travel” around the world in order to keep track of the books that he reads.
He will visit different countries/continents throughout his journey.
While on the journey, we will be doing various activities that have to do with the country/continent he is working on the goal towards.
Along with the activities, we will be learning about the country: location, continent, surrounding places, animals that live there, weather, etc.

This is a simple plan for any parents or homeschoolers who want to encourage reading over the summer break. Here are the printables that go with this program:

Click here to download this in one ZIP file

Adventure Destinations: This is a list of the reading goals that I have made for him. He is going into the 2nd grade so his books are short…that’s why his ultimate goal is 200 book. We will also be reading some together. For each goal, we will have made it to the next place on his Adventure Around the World.

Book Report Form: We will be filling this form out for each book that he/we read. They are in the shape of a ticket. They will go inside of the Passport Cover.

Passport Cover: This is made 2 to a page. Cut in half around the middle (not up and down) and then folded to that it looks like a little folder for the Book Report Forms to fit inside of.

My Reading Adventure Book Counting Sheets: These are to keep track of the books that he is reading. He is get a stamp/sticker in each box when he finishes filling out a Book Report Form for each book he reads.

Reward Tickets: These are the flags of the country destinations (except for Antarctica, which is the shape of the continent). You can then write the reward on the flag. Our rewards are family movie night, family game night, ice cream, a toy from the local dollar store, etc.

Destination Activities: This is just a simple list of a few activities that we will be doing while we are learning about each country/continent.

What do you think of this summer reading program at home? Simply leave a comment here and let us know.

David and Goliath Preschool Lesson

Felicia Mollohan — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:17:23 +0000

Click above for a closer look at this optional coloring page.

This printable lesson plan is designed to teach preschool aged children the story of how David defeats Goliath. It could be used in any setting with children age 2-5 at church, including a preschool Sunday School class or a preschool children’s church class. This is a modified version of our kids David and Goliath lesson. Here is the link to browse all our preschool lessons.

We have included enough activities to offer some choice in your lesson planning. Below you will find craft, game, song, and memory verse suggestions. As always, consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed. Be sure to print off the storybook linked in the supplies below.

Bible Story: David and Goliath
Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:2-11, 16, 40, 45-50
Target Age Group: 2 year olds – 5 year olds
Learning Context: Preschool Ministry or Sunday School
Target Time Frame: 40 minutes
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please share your feedback and suggestions to improve this kids Bible lesson. Click here to leave a comment.

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate an understanding of the story by reenacting the story.

Items Needed:

Bible, 1 Samuel 17:2-11, 16, 40, 45-50
“David and Goliath” Story Booklet
6 lunch bags, 6 items with different textures (cotton balls, yarn, etc.)
1 paper lunch bag per child (cut off the top half of the bag), crayons, 5 rock shapes cut out of construction paper per child, glue, marker
Picture of a large head, tape, styrofoam balls, blindfold, marker

Additional Downloads:

David Songs (PDF)
David and Goliath Booklet (PDF)
Optional “David the Shepherd Boy” coloring page

Worship: You can print off these “David Songs” to use to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson.

Teaching Plan: David and Goliath

Bravery Bags – Have different lunch bags with items hidden in them. Put things with different textures like: cotton balls, yarn, paper, etc. Have the children put their hand in the bags, without looking, and guess what is in the bags. Talk with them about being brave putting their hand in the bags with out knowing what’s in there.

Worship: David Songs

Bible Lesson Introduction: Talk with the children about being brave. What does it mean to be brave? Who do they think is brave?

Bible Lesson
Read 1 Samuel 17:2-11, 16, 40, 45-50 (NIRV) aloud to the children. There is also a book that you can print out that has the story along with simple pictures to help the children understand what is being read.

Read the verses (story) to the children. If you are using the print out story, point to the pictures as you read the story so that the children can better understand what you are saying.

2 Saul and the army of Israel gathered together. They camped in the Valley of Elah. They lined up their men to fight against the Philistines. 3 The Philistine army was camped on one hill. Israel’s army was on another. The valley was between them.
4 A mighty hero named Goliath came out of the Philistine camp. He was from Gath. He was more than nine feet tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a coat of bronze armor. It weighed 125 pounds. 6 On his legs he wore bronze guards. He carried a bronze javelin on his back. 7 His spear was as big as a weaver’s rod. Its iron point weighed 15 pounds. The man who carried his shield walked along in front of him.
8 Goliath stood and shouted to the soldiers of Israel. He said, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? I’m a Philistine. You are servants of Saul. Choose one of your men. Have him come down and face me. 9 If he’s able to fight and kill me, we’ll become your slaves. But if I win and kill him, you will become our slaves and serve us.” 10 Goliath continued, “This very day I dare the soldiers of Israel to send a man down to fight against me.”
11 Saul and the whole army of Israel heard what the Philistine said. They were terrified.
16 Every morning and evening Goliath came forward and stood there. He did it for 40 days.
40 Then David picked up his wooden staff. He went down to a stream and chose five smooth stones. He put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag. Then he took his sling in his hand and approached Goliath.
45 David said to Goliath, “You are coming to fight against me with a sword, a spear and a javelin. But I’m coming against you in the name of the Lord who rules over all. He is the God of the armies of Israel. He’s the one you have dared to fight against.
46 “This very day the Lord will hand you over to me. I’ll strike you down. I’ll cut your head off. This very day I’ll feed the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air. I’ll feed them to the wild animals. Then the whole world will know there is a God in Israel.
47 “The Lord doesn’t save by using a sword or a spear. And everyone who is here will know it. The battle belongs to the Lord. He will hand all of you over to us.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet him. 49 He reached into his bag. He took out a stone. He put it in his sling. He slung it at Goliath. The stone hit him on the forehead and sank into it. He fell to the ground on his face.
50 So David won the fight against Goliath with a sling and a stone. He struck the Philistine down and killed him. He did it without even using a sword.

Read the story again, but this time have the children do the following motions:

David: squat down like you are short
Goliath: stand on your tip-toes to be tall

Discuss the Bible Reading
When you are finished reading the story the second time, ask the children the following questions so that you can know they understood it.

“Who was in the story?” David, Goliath
“Was Goliath good or bad?” Bad
“What did David do to Goliath?” He beat him
“How did David defeat Goliath?” With 1 stone and a slingshot

Bible Lesson Craft / Activity

Activity: David’s Bag

Give each child a lunch bag and let them decorate it
While the children are decorating their bags, walk around and make sure that each child’s name gets written on their bag
Then, lay out the rock shapes and let the children choose 5 for their bag
Let the children glue their rocks to the inside of their bags

Activity: Bible Verse Memorization
“So David won the fight against Goliath with a sling and a stone.” 1 Samuel 17:50a

So David: put hand out showing someone who isn’t very tall
Won the fight: raise arms above head as though you won something
Against Goliath: put hand out showing someone who is very tall
With a sling: act like you are pulling a sling back
And a stone: hold up 1 finger
1 Samuel 17: hold up ten fingers and then seven fingers
50: hold up five fingers on one hand and make a “0” with the other hand

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization at this age.

Evaluation: Have the children reenact the story together. Put them in pairs and have them take turns being David and Goliath.

David and Goliath Bible Lesson

Felicia Mollohan — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:07:38 +0000

Click above for a closer look at this optional coloring page.

The story of David his victory of Goliath is one of the most popular in the Old Testament. This free Children’s Church lesson plan will help you teach it to your children. It was originally written for elementary aged students. It would be ideal in your children’s church or Sunday School class.

Be sure to consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed. We’ve tried to include enough activities to allow some choice in your lesson planning. You can also browse all our children’s Bible lessons. There is also a preschool version of this lesson plan.

Bible Story: David and Goliath
Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:2-11, 16, 40, 45-50
Target Age Group: Kindergarten – 5th grade
Learning Context: Children’s Church
Target Time Frame: 40 minutes
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please share your feedback and suggestions to improve this kids Bible lesson. Click here to leave a comment.

Items Needed:

Bible: 1 Samuel 17:2-11, 16, 40, 45-50. There is a detailed explanation below to help bring out some of the important parts of the story.
6 lunch bags, 6 items with different textures (cotton balls, yarns, etc.) for bravery bags
A drawing of a person 9 feet tall on a large piece of paper (or just put a picture of a giant head 9 feet up on a wall), markers . You could also mark this out with masking tape on the floor.
Cotton balls, tape, marker, blindfold
Paper, markers/crayons

Additional Downloads:

David Songs (PDF)
David and Goliath Booklet (PDF)
Optional “David the Shepherd Boy” coloring page

Worship: Use David Songs (extra print out) to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson.

Teaching Plan: David and Goliath

Worship: David Songs

Bible Lesson Introduction: Talk with them about being brave putting their hand in the bags with out knowing what’s in there.

Bible Lesson

What part of the Bible is 1 Samuel in? The Old Testament
What book of the Old Testament is 1 Samuel? #9

Read 1 Samuel 17:2-11, 16, 40, 45-50 (NIRV) aloud to the children.

Discuss Bible Lesson
2 Saul and the army of Israel gathered together. They camped in the Valley of Elah. They lined up their men to fight against the Philistines. 3 The Philistine army was camped on one hill. Israel’s army was on another. The valley was between them.

Saul and the Israelites were set up to fight the Philistines.
They are on either side of a valley – 1 army on each side.

4 A mighty hero named Goliath came out of the Philistine camp. He was from Gath. He was more than nine feet tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore a coat of bronze armor. It weighed 125 pounds. 6 On his legs he wore bronze guards. He carried a bronze javelin on his back. 7 His spear was as big as a weaver’s rod. Its iron point weighed 15 pounds. The man who carried his shield walked along in front of him.

This guy was a giant! He was over 9 feet tall!
He wore armor that weighed 125 pounds – that’s like a small woman!
His sword weighed 15 pounds – that’s a small baby.

8 Goliath stood and shouted to the soldiers of Israel. He said, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? I’m a Philistine. You are servants of Saul. Choose one of your men. Have him come down and face me. 9 If he’s able to fight and kill me, we’ll become your slaves. But if I win and kill him, you will become our slaves and serve us.” 10 Goliath continued, “This very day I dare the soldiers of Israel to send a man down to fight against me.”
11 Saul and the whole army of Israel heard what the Philistine said. They were terrified.
16 Every morning and evening Goliath came forward and stood there. He did it for 40 days.

Goliath came and shouted at the Israelites for 40 days.
Back then, sometimes battles were fought 1 man to 1 man – not army to army.
No one wanted to fight Goliath.

40 Then David picked up his wooden staff. He went down to a stream and chose five smooth stones. He put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag. Then he took his sling in his hand and approached Goliath.

David tells Saul (17-39) that he will go out and fight Goliath.
He is armed with a wooden staff, 5 stones and a slingshot!

45 David said to Goliath, “You are coming to fight against me with a sword, a spear and a javelin. But I’m coming against you in the name of the Lord who rules over all. He is the God of the armies of Israel. He’s the one you have dared to fight against.
46 “This very day the Lord will hand you over to me. I’ll strike you down. I’ll cut your head off. This very day I’ll feed the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air. I’ll feed them to the wild animals. Then the whole world will know there is a God in Israel.
47 “The Lord doesn’t save by using a sword or a spear. And everyone who is here will know it. The battle belongs to the Lord. He will hand all of you over to us.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet him. 49 He reached into his bag. He took out a stone. He put it in his sling. He slung it at Goliath. The stone hit him on the forehead and sank into it. He fell to the ground on his face.
50 So David won the fight against Goliath with a sling and a stone. He struck the Philistine down and killed him. He did it without even using a sword.

David wins!
Notice how he had 5 stones, but it only took 1 stone. With God on your side – you always win!

Bible Lesson Activities

Activity: Giants

“Goliath was a giant – literally! He was 9 feet tall! Let’s see how tall that is. (pull out the paper and tape it on the wall)

David was only a boy and a shepherd. He was so small compared to Goliath. He looked at Goliath and probably got a little scared. But, David had one thing that Goliath didn’t. He had God on his side. When we have God on our side, we can face any giant.

We all have giants in our lives. Now we don’t have 9 foot tall men with armor and a sword, but we do face giants. A giant is something that seems too big for us to handle by ourselves. It may be a math test, a friend that is mad at us, or trouble at home. I want you all to think about a giant that you have in your life. Then you’ll all be able to write that giant on our Goliath poster.”

Give the children a little time to think
Let the children walk up and write their “giant” on Goliath

“How does God help us with our problems? (allow for responses – probably like, pray, reading the Bible, sending friends/family to help) Now let’s go through these “giants” and see how God can help us.”

Go through the list, reading them and then write over them “GOD”

Activity: Bible Verse Memorization
“So David won the fight against Goliath with a sling and a stone.” 1 Samuel 17:50a

So David: put hand out showing someone who isn’t very tall
Won the fight: raise arms above head as though you won something
Against Goliath: put hand out showing someone who is very tall
With a sling: act like you are pulling a sling back
And a stone: hold up 1 finger
1 Samuel 17: hold up ten fingers and then seven fingers
50: hold up five fingers on one hand and make a “0” with the other hand

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization.

Evaluation: Have the children draw a picture of the Bible story.

King Saul Lesson for Children’s Church

Felicia Mollohan — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:44:22 +0000

This free Children’s Church lesson plan was first written for elementary aged students. It covers the story of when Samuel anointed Saul to become the first king of Israel. Use this material in your children’s church.

Bible Story: Saul Becomes King
Scripture: 1 Samuel 8:1-9, 19-22, 9:1-2, 10:1, 17-24
Target Age Group: Kindergarten – 5th grade
Learning Context: Children’s Church
Target Time Frame: 40 minutes
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please share your feedback and suggestions to improve this kids Bible lesson. Click here to respond

Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate an understanding of the story by drawing pictures of the main parts of the story.

Items Needed:

Bible: 1 Samuel 8:1-9, 19-22, 9:1-2, 10:1, 17-24. There is a detailed explanation below to help bring out some of the important parts of the story.
½ sheet of construction paper per child, magazines, glue, scissors
Construction paper shaped as crowns or pre-made blank crowns (made from construction paper), crayons, stickers and other decorating supplies, stapler, glue, marker. You can also use our printable crown template craft.
Whiteboard, whiteboard markers, paper, markers/crayons

Worship: Use Family Songs (extra print out) to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson.

Teaching Plan: Saul Becomes King

Have ½ sheets of construction paper, magazines, and glue available for the children. Tell the children that they are going to pretend to be the king (or queen) of their own country. Have the children look through the magazine and cut out any pictures of things they would have in their country. Let them glue the pictures onto their paper.

Worship: Family Songs

Bible Lesson Introduction: Have the children show their pictures, from the Welcome Activity, to the class and explain what they would have in their country and why they chose those items.

Bible Lesson

What part of the Bible is 1 Samuel in? The Old Testament
What book of the Old Testament is 1 Samuel? #9

Read 1 Samuel 8:1-9, 19-22, 9:1-2, 10:1, 17-24 (NIRV) aloud to the children.

1 When Samuel became old, he appointed his sons to serve as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his oldest son was Joel. The name of his second son was Abijah. They served as judges at Beersheba. 3 But his sons didn’t live as he did. They were only interested in making money. They accepted money from people who wanted special favors. They made things that were wrong appear to be right.
4 So all of the elders of Israel gathered together. They came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old. Your sons don’t live as you do. So appoint a king to lead us. We want a king just like the kings all of the other nations have.”
6 Samuel wasn’t pleased when they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So he prayed to the Lord.
7 The Lord told him, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. You are not the one they have turned their backs on. I am the one they do not want as their king. 8 They are doing just as they have always done. They have deserted me and served other gods. They have done that from the time I brought them up out of Egypt until this very day. Now they are deserting you too.
9 “Let them have what they want. But give them a strong warning. Let them know what the king who rules over them will do.”
19 In spite of what Samuel said, the people refused to listen to him. “No!” they said. “We want a king to rule over us. 20 Then we’ll be like all of the other nations. We’ll have a king to lead us. He’ll go out at the head of our armies and fight our battles.”
21 Samuel heard everything the people said. He told the Lord about it. 22 The Lord answered, “Listen to them. Give them a king.”
Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of you go back to your own town.”
1 There was a man named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. Kish was a very important person. He was the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror. Zeror was the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 Kish had a son named Saul. Saul was a handsome young man. There wasn’t anyone like him among the people of Israel. He was a head taller than any of them.
1 Then Samuel took a bottle of olive oil. He poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him. He said, “The Lord has anointed you to be the leader of his people.
17 Samuel sent a message to the people of Israel. He told them to meet with the Lord at Mizpah. 18 He said to them, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘Israel, I brought you up out of Egypt. I saved you from their powerful hand. I also saved you from the powerful hand of all of the kingdoms that had beaten you down.’
19 “But now you have turned your backs on your God. He saves you out of all of your trouble and suffering. In spite of that, you have said, ‘We refuse to listen. Place a king over us.’
“So now gather together to meet with the Lord. Do it tribe by tribe and family group by family group.”
20 Then Samuel had each tribe of Israel come forward. The tribe of Benjamin was chosen. 21 Next he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward, family group by family group. Matri’s group was chosen. Finally Saul, the son of Kish, was chosen. But when people looked for him, they realized he wasn’t there. 22 They needed more help from the Lord. So they asked him, “Has the man come here yet?”
The Lord said, “Yes. He has hidden himself among the supplies.”
23 So they ran over there and brought him out. When he stood up, the people saw that he was a head taller than any of them.
24 Samuel spoke to all of the people. He said, “Look at the man the Lord has chosen! There isn’t anyone like him among all of the people.”
Then the people shouted, “May the king live a long time!”

Discuss Bible Lesson
1 When Samuel became old, he appointed his sons to serve as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his oldest son was Joel. The name of his second son was Abijah. They served as judges at Beersheba. 3 But his sons didn’t live as he did. They were only interested in making money. They accepted money from people who wanted special favors. They made things that were wrong appear to be right.
4 So all of the elders of Israel gathered together. They came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old. Your sons don’t live as you do. So appoint a king to lead us. We want a king just like the kings all of the other nations have.”

Samuel was a great prophet who followed what God wanted him to do.
But, he didn’t raise his sons very well because they did what they wanted. They wanted to get rich.
Israel got worried about what was going to happen once Samuel died. They didn’t want his sons to lead them.
They ask for a king…so they could be like all of the other nations.
God didn’t want them to be like the other nations…just like God doesn’t want us like the world. He set them apart. He was their king!

6 Samuel wasn’t pleased when they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So he prayed to the Lord.
7 The Lord told him, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. You are not the one they have turned their backs on. I am the one they do not want as their king. 8 They are doing just as they have always done. They have deserted me and served other gods. They have done that from the time I brought them up out of Egypt until this very day. Now they are deserting you too.
9 “Let them have what they want. But give them a strong warning. Let them know what the king who rules over them will do.”

Samuel is upset that the people want a king.
He talks to God about it. God reminds Samuel that it isn’t about him…but about God. They have rejected God. Yikes!
God reminds Samuel about some of the other times that the people of Israel deserted Him. This was not the first time.
God was willing to give the people of Israel what they wanted…but with a strong warning of what was to come.

19 In spite of what Samuel said, the people refused to listen to him. “No!” they said. “We want a king to rule over us. 20 Then we’ll be like all of the other nations. We’ll have a king to lead us. He’ll go out at the head of our armies and fight our battles.”
21 Samuel heard everything the people said. He told the Lord about it. 22 The Lord answered, “Listen to them. Give them a king.”
Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Each of you go back to your own town.”

Samuel told the people exactly what God had said and they still wanted a king.
God said ok.

1 There was a man named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. Kish was a very important person. He was the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror. Zeror was the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 Kish had a son named Saul. Saul was a handsome young man. There wasn’t anyone like him among the people of Israel. He was a head taller than any of them.

God picked Saul from the tribe of Benjamin.
There were 12 tribes of Israel…this stems from the 12 sons of Jacob.
Benjamin was the youngest son of Jacob.
The tribe of Benjamin was the smallest tribe.
God doesn’t choose people based on what we as humans would choose someone. He has His own criteria.
The Bible says that “there wasn’t anyone like him among the people of Israel”…wow! Usually that means that he was a good person.
It also explains that Saul was very tall – “a head taller than any of them”.

1 Then Samuel took a bottle of olive oil. He poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him. He said, “The Lord has anointed you to be the leader of his people.

This is how they anointed someone to be king. A prophet would pour oil over their head.
What do you think Saul was thinking? When he woke up that morning, he didn’t realize that he would be king of Israel by the time he went to bed.

17 Samuel sent a message to the people of Israel. He told them to meet with the Lord at Mizpah. 18 He said to them, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘Israel, I brought you up out of Egypt. I saved you from their powerful hand. I also saved you from the powerful hand of all of the kingdoms that had beaten you down.’
19 “But now you have turned your backs on your God. He saves you out of all of your trouble and suffering. In spite of that, you have said, ‘We refuse to listen. Place a king over us.’
“So now gather together to meet with the Lord. Do it tribe by tribe and family group by family group.”
20 Then Samuel had each tribe of Israel come forward. The tribe of Benjamin was chosen. 21 Next he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward, family group by family group. Matri’s group was chosen. Finally Saul, the son of Kish, was chosen. But when people looked for him, they realized he wasn’t there. 22 They needed more help from the Lord. So they asked him, “Has the man come here yet?”

It is time for Samuel to tell the people of Israel who would be their king.
He has all of the people gather around and group themselves with their tribes.
Each tribe comes forward and Samuel chooses the tribe of Benjamin.
He then chose Saul. But he was missing.

The Lord said, “Yes. He has hidden himself among the supplies.”
23 So they ran over there and brought him out. When he stood up, the people saw that he was a head taller than any of them.
24 Samuel spoke to all of the people. He said, “Look at the man the Lord has chosen! There isn’t anyone like him among all of the people.”
Then the people shouted, “May the king live a long time!”

God told them where he was…hiding in the luggage!
What do you think Saul’s family was thinking then?

Bible Lesson Activities

Activity: Crowns

• Give each child a blank crown, Bible Verse and glue
• Let the children glue their Bible Verse onto their crown
• Let the children decorate their crowns
• As the children are decorating their crowns, walk around and make sure that each child’s name gets written on their crown
• As the children finish their crowns, staple them to fit their heads and let them wear them.

Activity: Bible Verse Memorization
“Then Samuel took a bottle of olive oil. He poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him. He said, “The Lord has anointed you to be the leader of his people. “ 1 Samuel 10:1

Then Samuel took a bottle of olive oil: act like you’re holding a bottle
He poured it on Saul’s head: act like you’re pouring it
And kissed him: make a kissing motion
He said, “The Lord: point up
Has anointed you to be the leader: salute (like in the army)
Of his people: point to others in the class
1 Samuel 10: hold up all 10 fingers
1: hold up 1 finger

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization.

Activity: Missing Halves

Split the children into groups.

Have each group act out the Bible Verse for the other groups.

As the children are acting – they must say the Bible Verse as a group

Evaluation:
Have the children brainstorm the main parts of the story. Write these on the whiteboard.

Split the children into groups.

Give each group a piece of paper and some markers/crayons.

Assign each group a part of the story. They must draw a picture representing their part.

Have the children put their pictures in order as the story happened.

Go through the story using the pictures as references.

Saul Becomes King (Preschool Bible Lesson)

Felicia Mollohan — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:35:17 +0000

This printable lesson plan is designed to teach preschool aged children about the story of how Saul became the first king of Israel. It could be used in any setting with children age 2-5 at church, including a preschool Sunday School class or a preschool children’s church class.

Bible Story: Saul Becomes King of Israel
Scripture: 1 Samuel 8:4-6, 19-21, 9:2, 10:1 & 24
Target Age Group: 2 year olds – 5 year olds
Learning Context: Children’s Church
Target Time Frame: 40 minutes
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please share your feedback and suggestions to improve this kids Bible lesson. Click here to respond

Items Needed:

Bible, 1 Samuel 8:4-6, 19-21, 9:2, 10:1 & 24
Print this free “Saul Becomes King” Story Booklet
½ sheet of construction paper per child, magazines, glue, marker to write their name on their paper. You can also use our crown craft project with printable template.
Construction paper shaped as crowns or pre-made blank crowns (made from construction paper), crayons, stickers and other decorating supplies, stapler, glue, marker

Worship: You can print off these “Family Songs” to use to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson.

Teaching Plan: Saul Becomes King

Have ½ sheets of construction paper, magazines, and glue available for the children. Tell the children that they are going to pretend to be the king (or queen) of their own country. Have the children look through the magazine and rip out any pictures of things they would have in their country. Let them glue the pictures onto their paper. Make sure that each child’s name gets written on their paper.

Worship: Family Songs

Bible Lesson Introduction: Have the children show their pictures to the class.

Bible Lesson: Read 1 Samuel 8:4-6, 19-21, 9:2, 10:1 & 24 (NIRV) aloud to the children. There is also a book that you can print out that has the story along with simple pictures to help the children understand what is being read.

Read the verses (story) to the children. If you are using the print out story, point to the pictures as you read the story so that the children can better understand what you are saying.

4 So all of the elders of Israel gathered together. They came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old. Your sons don’t live as you do. So appoint a king to lead us. We want a king just like the kings all of the other nations have.”
6 Samuel wasn’t pleased when they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So he prayed to the Lord.
19 In spite of what Samuel said, the people refused to listen to him. “No!” they said. “We want a king to rule over us. 20 Then we’ll be like all of the other nations. We’ll have a king to lead us. He’ll go out at the head of our armies and fight our battles.”
21 Samuel heard everything the people said. He told the Lord about it. 22 The Lord answered, “Listen to them. Give them a king.”
2 Kish had a son named Saul. Saul was a handsome young man. There wasn’t anyone like him among the people of Israel. He was a head taller than any of them.
1 Then Samuel took a bottle of olive oil. He poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him. He said, “The Lord has anointed you to be the leader of his people.
24 Samuel spoke to all of the people. He said, “Look at the man the Lord has chosen! There isn’t anyone like him among all of the people.”
Then the people shouted, “May the king live a long time!”

Read the story again, but this time have the children do the following motions:
Saul: salute (as though in the army)
Samuel: show praying hands

Discuss the Bible Reading
When you are finished reading the story the second time, ask the children the following questions so that you can know they understood it.

“Who was in the story?” Samuel, Saul
“What did the people of Israel want?” A king
“What did Samuel tell Saul?” He was going to be Israel’s first king

Bible Lesson Craft / Activity

Activity: Crowns

Give each child a blank crown, Bible Verse and glue
Let the children glue their Bible Verse onto their crown
Let the children decorate their crowns
As the children are decorating their crowns, walk around and make sure that each child’s name gets written on their crown
As the children finish their crowns, staple them to fit their heads and let them wear them.

Do this a few times with the children. Make it fun for them to do the motions and say the words. Involving them in active learning is essential for memorization at this age.

Bible Verse Activity: Peasant, Peasant, King (a.k.a. Duck, Duck, Goose)
• Have the children sit in a circle
• Have the children play Peasant, Peasant, King (just like Duck, Duck, Goose – just with different words)
• Talk with the children about Saul started out being a peasant (a regular citizen) to being the king – all in one day.

Evaluation: Have the children tell you the main parts of the story.

Reflections on Our First Year of Homeschool

Felicia Mollohan — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:25:29 +0000

I have been doing a lot of reflecting lately of our homeschool. I am always thinking about it. Am I doing enough? Am I doing it the right way? What could I improve? Is he learning what he needs to learn? Am I doing what God wants me to do? I think that it’s a good thing to reflect on what you’re doing, but then there is the point when you just need to accept it and move on.

Here’s what I’m talking about. I am the type of person who will over-think things to the point of being paralyzed to be able to do anything. I mean, I can get to the point where I am so obsessed about what I’ve done and what I think I should do next, that I won’t be able to do anything at all. That’s not a good thing. The problem that I have is that I don’t “do” homeschool like anyone else that I know. I am not a traditional teacher; never have been.

Even when I was teaching in the public schools, I didn’t use our textbooks all that much. We aren’t unschoolers because we don’t just do what he’s interested in even though I do create unit studies around things he likes and include the objectives he needs to learn. I’m not a workbook-teacher manual type of teacher. I am an activity driven, hands-on teacher who has an activity-driven, hands-on type of learner. Thank goodness we match! We have a routine, but a flexible schedule (if that makes any sense). We take advantage of teachable moments throughout each and every day. In the eyes of others, it looks like we aren’t “doing school”.

I am fighting a battle that I can never win. But, I don’t have to! I have come to the conclusion that we are doing what’s right for us and that’s great! I think too many homeschooling parents “do” homeschool the way their neighbor does it, and then wonder why it’s not working. Our homeschool is working and I need to stop obsessing about it!

As I look back throughout our first year of homeschooling, I have mixed feelings. I am proud of what we have accomplished and what my son has learned. We have grown closer as a family and that, to me, is priceless! We have done so many things and have learned a ton. Things weren’t as “organized” and “structured” as I would have liked, but it’s a work in progress. We were trying to figure out how we want to homeschool and what works for us. Juggling a little tot along with trying to “do school” was a challenge as well. I have learned that I need to “structure” some “unstructured” play for my little tot. What I mean by that is that I need to have some options for him. I also need to involve both boys in learning at the same time, as much as possible.

Summer is getting closer and I have been getting the question, “When are you ending for the year?” That took me off guard because I honestly I hadn’t even thought about it. I have come to the conclusion that we are going to continue through the summer, just with some breaks and flexibility built in. If an opportunity comes up to be able to “play” with our friends, we are absolutely going to take it. But, I know my boys and they also need some structure throughout the summer. So we will play and do school throughout the summer.

So what have I learned through this first year of homeschooling? Here’s a short list that I have come up with:

Pray for God’s guidance in our homeschool. He knows what’s best.
I am so glad that we homeschool because I get to have so much time with my family!
I need to stop obsessing about what others are doing.
We need to do what’s best for us.
Relax and enjoy!

Books of the Bible PowerPoint Review Slides

Felicia Mollohan — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 10:52:37 +0000

Click above to download this PowerPoint file

This is a PowerPoint Presentation that was made in order to help children learn the books of the Bible. The slides have been placed in groups in order for children to understand a little about the books as they learn the order.

Directions: Click on the preview image to the right to download this PowerPoint file. We’ve also converted it to a PDF format if you merely want to print the slides for use away from a computer.

A few activities for this PowerPoint Presentation:

Show it to a group of children and have them read them along with the presentation
Play the presentation, but pause it after each group and have the children try to remember what comes next

Print out the PowerPoint Presentation pages. Laminating the sheets would help them to keep longer. Here are a few activities to do with the printed out pages:

Put all of the pages on the floor and have the children put them in order
Hand out the pages to individual children and have them line up in order
Discuss why the books of the Bible are in those particular groups (example: Act is all about the New Testament church – that’s why it’s in the Church History group)
Put the pages in order in a line on the floor (or have the children do it) and then have the children step on them as they read them down the line
Put the pages all over the floor (out of order), call out a book of the Bible (or a group) and have the children find that page and go stand on it

Ministry-To-Children.com » Felicia Mollohan

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