Thursday, May 30, 2013

The straws upon the gravel and the house upon the sand




Theme: Teaching the bible story of the wise man who built his house on the rock and the foolish man who built his house on the sand.


Supplies: 
1.        glue 
2.        straws 
3.        sand 
4.        rocks 
5.        water 
6.        2 containers with tall sides (I used two 9x13 baking pans)
7.        2 large towels 
8.        kids aprons 


Ahead of time:
Collect about 8 cups of gravel and 8 cups of sand into two separate containers.  Pour several cups of water in a third container.   Find plenty of straws, one box of 100 straws from a dollar store will work just fine. 
Before the children arrive, lay the towels out on the table.  Empty the rocks and sand into the two separate containers.   

Lesson Plan
Divide the kids into two groups.  Assign one group to the pan with the rocks and one group to the pan with the sand.  Give the kids aprons.  
Ask each of the groups to build a house on the surface with the straws and, if needed, the glue.  When the kids are finished ask them to step away.  Pour water all over the foundation of the houses. The house on the sand should fall while the house on the rocks stays firm.  If it does not fall, you might need to implement and earthquake.   Show them that the sand didn't hold up well. The rocks did.   


Ask the following questions: 1. Why is it important to put God's Word into practice? 2. How can God's Word make us stronger? 3. What kind of storms in our lives can God help us withstand? 4. Can anyone give any examples on how some people may be building their lives on a foundation of sand? 5. What are some ways we can build our lives on the rock?    


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