This lesson plan is designed to teach preschool aged children about the story of Adam and Eve. This includes the first sin. 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. As always, consider your own ministry context and modify it as needed. Please leave any feedback or suggestions for improvement in the comment box at the bottom of this page. There is also an elementary version of this lesson plan.
Bible Story: Adam and Eve – Genesis 2:7,15-18,21-22 & 3:1-4,6,8-10,23
Learning Objectives: After this lesson, the children will demonstrate an understanding of the first sin by reenacting the story.
Target Age: 2 year olds – 5 year olds
Items Needed:
- [print_link] this lesson plan
- Bible, Genesis 2:7, 15-18, 21-22 & 3:1-4, 6, 8-10, 23
- Pre-cut strips of green construction paper, tape
- Green pipe cleaners (2 per child)
- “God” sign
- 1 lunch bag per child, 1 snake tongue cut out of green construction paper per child, 2 wiggly eyes per child, Bible Verse written on a slip of paper, glue, green crayons with label taken off, marker to write the children’s names
- Adam and Eve – The First Sin Story Booklets (PDF)
- Adam and Eve Songs (PDF)
- A is for Adam Bible coloring sheet
Worship: Use the “Adam and Eve Songs” (extra print out) to lead the children to sing before the Bible lesson
Teaching Plan: The First Sin
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.
Make a class snake. Have pre-cut green strips of construction paper and tape available for the children to make a chain snake. Loop the strips around each other to make the links in the chain. See if the children can walk it around the room.
Worship
Adam and Eve Songs
Bible Lesson Introduction
Pipe Cleaner Snakes – have various pipe cleaners available for the children to make snakes out of. The children can twist two pipe cleaners together or just one at a time. Encourage the children to make snake sounds.
Bible Lesson
Read Genesis 2:7, 15-18, 21-22 & 3:1-4, 6, 8-10, 23 (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.
7 Then the Lord God formed a man. He made him out of the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into him. And the man became a living person.
15 The Lord God put the man in the Garden of Eden. He put him there to work its ground and to take care of it.
16 The Lord God gave the man a command. He said, “You can eat the fruit of any tree that is in the garden. 17 But you must not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you do, you can be sure that you will die.”
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”
21 So the Lord God caused him to fall into a deep sleep. While the man was sleeping, the Lord God took out one of his ribs. He closed up the opening that was in his side.
22 Then the Lord God made a woman. He made her from the rib he had taken out of the man. And he brought her to him.
1 The serpent was more clever than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. The serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat the fruit of any tree that is in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We can eat the fruit of the trees that are in the garden. 3 But God did say, ‘You must not eat the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden. Do not even touch it. If you do, you will die.’ ”
4 “You can be sure that you won’t die,” the serpent said to the woman.
6 The woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good to eat. It was also pleasing to look at. And it would make a person wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. And he ate it.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking in the garden. It was the coolest time of the day. They hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
9 But the Lord God called out to the man. “Where are you?” he asked.
10 “I heard you in the garden,” the man answered. “I was afraid. I was naked, so I hid.”
23 So the Lord God drove the man out of the Garden of Eden to work the ground he had been made out of.
Read the verses (story) again, but this time have the children join you in making the following sounds and movements:
Page 1 – “He breathed the breath of life into him.” – blow into your palm
Page 2 – “But you must not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” – shake your finger and say “No no no!”
Page 3 – “So the Lord God caused him to fall into a deep sleep.” – lay your head on your hands and snore
Page 4 – “the serpent” – hiss each time you say it
Page 5 – “The woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good to eat.” – rub your stomach and say “yum yum”
Page 6 – “They hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” – cover your eyes with your hands and say “Oh no!”
Page 7 – “Have you eaten the fruit of the tree I commanded you not to eat?” – shake your finger and say “No no no!”
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?” God, Adam, Eve and the serpent
“What did God tell Adam not to do?” Eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (eat fruit from a tree)
“Did they listen?” No
Bible Lesson Craft / Activity
Use the following activities to reinforce the learning goals. If time is short, move on to the evaluation portion of the lesson plan.
Activity: God Says (a.k.a. Simon Says)
- Line the children up at one end the room
- Stand in front of the children
“In our Bible Story today, God told Adam and Eve that they couldn’t eat from a certain tree in the garden. But did they listen? (allow for responses) No. They didn’t listen. They didn’t follow the directions that God gave to them. We are going to play a game where you need to follow God’s directions.”
Tape the “God” sign onto the leader
“This sign says ‘God’. They will be God during this game. You need to do whatever ‘God’ tells you to do. Does everyone understand how to play the game? Great! Let’s play!”
Give the children simple directions, such as: touch your head, rub your tummy, clap your hands, etc.
Activity: Bible Verse Memorization
“Now the serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made.” Genesis 3:1 (Amplified Bible)
Have the children do the following hand motions along with repeating the words after you, to help them learn the Bible Verse:
Now the serpent: weave your hand in a “snake-like” form
was more subtle and crafty: point to your head (brain)
than any living creature of the field: act like an animal
which the Lord God had made: point to the ceiling
Genesis 3—hold 3 fingers up
1—hold 1 finger up
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: Lunch Sack Snake
“What animal is in our Bible Verse today? (allow for responses) Right a serpent. What do you think that a serpent is? (allow for responses) A serpent is another name for a snake. So basically, a snake is the smartest and sneakiest animal that God created. That’s what our Bible Verse really means. Each of you are going to make a serpent puppet to take home. Let’s get started.”
- Give each child a lunch sack and green crayon.
- Demonstrate to the children how to rub the green crayon on the lunch sack to make the snake green
- While the children are coloring, you can walk around and write their name on their snake
- Have the children glue the Bible Verse on the back of the snake
- Have the children glue the snake tongue under the flap on the front of the snake
- Have the children glue the wiggly eyes onto the front of the snake
- Have fun!!!
Evaluation:
Have the children reenact the story.
Need More Help? Then check out our Preschool Bible Lessons or Crafts for Sunday School.
If you have children who like coloring sheets, we also have this creation coloring page with Adam & Even in the Garden of Eden.
Maybe this statement should be qualified/more fully explained to the children: “So basically, a snake is the smartest and sneakiest animal that God created.”
“The” serpent (a particular individual animal) was a vehicle used by Satan to deceive Eve (and Adam also partook of the fruit when she gave it to him). It was Satan who spoke through “the” serpent, or it was Satan in the form of the serpent, not the snake acting on its own.
Saying that a snake is the smartest animal isn’t really true, and some savvy kids will question the statement and argue that pigs, horses, apes, etc., are proven to be more intelligent. That will get the discussion completely off the point, which was that Satan was behind the whole thing to win Adam and Eve away from God.
In any case, the serpent was punished by God for its part in the scheme and had to crawl on its belly and eat dust after that. (Did it have legs and look more like a dinosaur before then? I don’t know.) Did God judge all the serpents then, or just “the old serpent, the devil”?, and the rest of the snakes, or serpents, went on with their lives? Another “I don’t know”.
Thanks for all the work you do writing and publishing your material for us to use without cost. I appreciate it immensely!
Blessings,
Linda Carlson
Totally agree with you.
Another thing I think this is not the first sin. The first sin was committed by Lucifer.
Thank you for the insights. I agree with this perspective and would phrase it differently depending on the kids in my class. That’s what makes a good lesson even better – knowing the kids and presenting the truth in their context.
Thanks again for the encouragement and may God continue to bless your ministry.
Thank u so much, am blessed by this ministry and my kids as well. God bless you.