Bible Foundations Downloadable Sunday School by Nicole Tom

Preschool Bible Foundations

A Time to Plant • Lesson 1

Scripture: Genesis 1:11-12, 27-29; 2:8-9, 15

Objective: Each child will begin to understand that God made time and seasons. Bible Memory Verse: Ecclesiastes 3:1

Supplies ARRIVAL ACTIVITY q Fruit and vegetable seeds and seed packages q Tape q Prepared piece of poster board HomE LIVING CENTER q Fresh vegetables or pictures of vegetables q Aprons q Sun hats, gardening tools q Masking tape ART CENTER q Prepared carton garden q Plastic carton (sour cream, cottage cheese, etc.) for each child q Crayons or markers q Foil pie pans q Potting soil q Water q A few bean seeds for each child CIRCLE TIME q Prepared Visuals 1A BIBLE STORY q Prepared Visuals 1A and 1B

q Bible q Activity Sheets 1A q Crayons BIBLE MEMORY VERSE q Bible q Prepared Visuals 1C-1F BIBLE LEARNING ACTIVITY q Activity Sheets 1B q Crayons q A 20-inch piece of blue ribbon for each child q Glue CRAFT q Activity Sheets 1C q Carton gardens from the Art Center q Clear tape q Glue, scissors q Crayons or markers q Plastic wrap, rubber bands SNACK q Vegetables cut into small pieces q Flavored cream cheese or ranch dressing q Water q Plates, paper cups, napkins

Planning Tips Before the lesson, print and cut out the Activity Clock and hand from Visuals 1A. Attach the hand with a paper fastener. Tape a few fruit and vegetable seeds along the bottom of a piece of poster board. Tape the corresponding seed packages above each cluster of seeds to show the grown fruit or vegetable. Collect a pint-size cottage cheese or sour cream carton and a foil pie pan for each child. Punch several holes in the bottom of each carton. Fill one carton with potting soil and seeds or a small plant as a carton garden for the Art Center. Read through this lesson for additional preparation tips.

Bible Foundations Sunday School Curriculum Downloads Copyright © 2011 Christian Ed. Publishers • P.O. Box 26639 • San Diego, CA 92196 • 800-854-1531 ChristianEdWarehouse.com • Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson. Not for resale.

Summer Lesson 1 • Page 1

Lesson 1

Arrival Activity (5-10 minutes) Before the lesson, tape a few fruit and vegetable seeds along the bottom of a piece of poster board. Tape the corresponding seed packages above each cluster of seeds to show the grown fruit or vegetable. Greet each child as she arrives. Say, Hello, [Gretchen]. God made special times of the year for growing things. These special times are called “seasons.” God made spring and summer for planting seeds (point to the seeds) and He made fall for gathering the fruit and vegetables (point to the pictures of fruit and vegetables).

Learning Centers (15-20 minutes) HOME LIVING CENTER Show the children fresh vegetables or pictures of vegetables and talk about how vegetables grow in a garden or large field. Provide aprons, sun hats, and gardening tools (excluding any sharp or otherwise dangerous tools). Mark out your “garden plot” using masking tape on the floor. Let the children pretend to plant seeds, nurture growing plants, and harvest their crop together. Discuss each basic phase of the gardening process with the children. ART CENTER Before the lesson, prepare a carton garden. Show your carton garden. Say, God made spring and summer for planting seeds. This season is summer. Now is the time for you to plant seeds in a carton. Then, in time, your seeds will grow just like mine have. Let the children help spread newspapers over the area where they will work. Ask a volunteer to give everyone a plastic carton. Set each carton in a prepared foil pie pan. Let each child dip a small amount of potting soil into a carton. Then help him pour water to dampen the soil. Hand out a few bean seeds to each child. Show him how to use a finger to make a shallow hole for each seed. After putting the seeds in the holes, the children can smooth the soil over each hole. Be sure the child’s name is on his container. Talk about what the children need to do to help the plants grow.

Circle Time (10-20 minutes) PRAYER TIME Before the lesson, cut out the Activity Clock and hand from Visual 1A. Attach the hand with a paper fastener. As the children gather, encourage them to share their learning center experiences. Bible Foundations Sunday School Curriculum Downloads • ChristianEdWarehouse.com Copyright © 2011 Christian Ed. Publishers • Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson.

Summer Lesson 1 • Page 2

Lesson 1 Move the Activity Clock hand to PRAY. Then pray, thanking God for each of the children. Mention how God chose each and every one of them and that He has special plans for them. song TIME Move the hand on the Activity Clock (from Prayer Time) to SING. Say, It’s time now to sing. Sing PRAISE HIM, PRAISE HIM. Clap as you sing.

Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 3:1 — “To every thing there is a season.” (KJV) “There is a … season for every activity.” (NIV)

Bible Story (10-15 minutes) LISTEN TO THE BIBLE STORY Before the lesson, cut out the pictures from Visuals 1B (color them if you do not print them on a color printer). Talk about what people do to plant a garden: prepare the soil, make a shallow hole, add water, etc. Guide the children in pantomiming various planting actions as they sing the following words to the tune of HERE WE GO ‘ROUND THE MULBERRY BUSH: This is the way we plant a seed, plant a seed, plant a seed. This is the way we plant a seed, a seed that God created. Move the hand on the Activity Clock (from Song Time) to the LISTEN section. Hold your open Bible on your lap. Explain that the Bible contains God’s Words. Say, Now it’s time to be quiet and listen to a true story from the Bible. GOD MADE A GARDEN

Puffs of white clouds rolled across the blue sky (show the picture of the blue sky). Underneath the clouds, the brown ground stretched out as far as anyone could see — if anybody had been there, that is. But there wasn’t anybody on God’s ground yet. First, God planned to make a garden. God had some things to make for His garden. Then it would be time for people to live there. The Bible says that God made trees for His lovely garden (show the picture of trees). Tall trees and short trees; skinny trees and fat trees. Trees with big, green leaves and trees with skinny leaves. Trees that grew flowers and trees that grew delicious fruit! God made all kinds of trees. God made flowers for His garden, too (show the picture of flowers). He made big red flowers with gray-green leaves. He made tiny yellow flowers that snuggled beneath the trees. He made white flowers and pink flowers and lavender flowers and blue flowers and orange flowers. All the flowers looked beautiful in God’s garden. God made good things to eat, and He put them in His lovely Bible Foundations Sunday School Curriculum Downloads • ChristianEdWarehouse.com Copyright © 2011 Christian Ed. Publishers • Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson.

Summer Lesson 1 • Page 3

Review the BIBLE STORY Give the children crayons and Activity Sheet 1A. Move the hand of the Activity Clock (from the Bible Story) to the WORK section. Point out the clock and say, It is time to work at coloring some matching pictures. Help each child circle the two matching objects for each season and color them. As the children match each season’s pictures, remind them that God made the things they circled.

e a ch r T

garden, too (show the garden picture). He made tasty red radishes. He made crunchy green beans. He made sweet peaches, round and fuzzy. He made plump brown potatoes that grow underground. And he made long orange carrots! God made all kinds of good food to grow in His lovely garden. And then God said, “I need somebody to take care of My garden. I will make some people!” God made a man named Adam. Then He made a woman named Eve. “I want you to take care of My garden,” God told them. Adam and Eve learned all about God’s garden. They learned when it was time to plant seeds in the garden. They learned when it was time to pick fruit and vegetables in the garden. God had made everything just right! Adam and Eve were happy to live in God’s beautiful garden.

Lesson 1

THAT’S A NO-NO! The young child who is just learning language is apt to answer no to just about any request. This is all part of the child’s attempt to learn what it means to be an individual, and also because no is one of the few words he knows and understands. Your guidance should be firm, but suited to the child’s ability to understand and respond. Say, [Nathan], do not hit [Jasmine] with the block, because you will hurt [Jasmine]. If Nathan persists, remove the block or gently pick Nathan up and move him away from Jasmine.

Bible Memory Verse (5 minutes) Ecclesiastes 3:1 — “To every thing there is a season.” (KJV) “There is … a season for every activity.” (NIV) Before the lesson, print the Bible Words from Visuals 1C-1F onto card stock or heavy paper. (If you use the NIV verse, change the word “to” to “for.”) During the lesson, hold up the cards and point to the words and pictures as you say the Bible Words. Read the Bible Words aloud from your Bible. Explain that these are God’s Words and they are true. Next, ask several children to hold the cards as you say the Bible Words together. Remind them that God made all the seasons. Give each child a chance to hold one of the cards. Say the Words together after each round.

Bible Learning Activities (20-25 minutes)

Bible Activity Give each child crayons, a 20-inch piece of blue ribbon, and Activity Sheet1B. Let the children color the plants and trees. Explain that God made the plants and God made the seasons of the year in which different plants grow. Spread glue along the river and let the Bible Foundations Sunday School Curriculum Downloads • ChristianEdWarehouse.com Copyright © 2011 Christian Ed. Publishers • Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson.

Summer Lesson 1 • Page 4

Lesson 1 children glue their ribbons to the river (the ribbon does not need to lie flat – it can bend and twist). Bible Craft Before your lesson, make a sample farmer from Activity Sheet 1C. Cut out and color the farmer (front and back). Print your name on the bib. Tape the farmer’s arms around the carton garden as shown. Move the Activity Clock hand (from Review the Bible Story) to work and say, It’s time to work at making a farmer for your carton garden. The farmer will help you remember that God made the seasons. Hand out crayons, scissors, glue, clear tape, and Activity Sheets 1C. Help each child print her name on the farmer’s bib. Then help her cut out and assemble the farmer. Help the child cut out the Bible Words (with the Bible version you use) and tape them on the front of the carton. Cover the containers with plastic wrap held in place with rubber bands to keep the dirt from spilling on the way home. Encourage the children to help with clean-up. Bible Game Play a new version of Fruit Basket Upset. Give the name of a kind of seed (corn, bean, carrot, etc.) to each child. Use only three or four seed names, depending on the size of your group. Have the children sit on chairs arranged in a circle. You or a coworker should be It to begin the game. Have It stand in the center. Explain that you will say, “I’m going to plant (name two seeds, such as beans and potatoes) in my garden.” The children to whom you gave those names quickly exchange places before It gets one of their places. Whoever is left without a seat becomes It. The whole group exchanges places if It says, “Time to plant the whole garden!” You may need to help each It remember what to say. snack Before the lesson, cut clean vegetables into small pieces. Also bring flavored cream cheese or ranch dressing into which the children can dip the vegetables. Serve water to drink. Before eating, have the children wash their hands. Move the hand of the Activity Clock (from Craft Time) to PRAY and say a thank-you prayer for the food.

Closing Prayer (5-10 minutes) Pray, thanking God for giving us His special seasons. Hand out today’s craft and the completed activity sheets to each child. Bible Foundations Sunday School Curriculum Downloads • ChristianEdWarehouse.com Copyright © 2011 Christian Ed. Publishers • Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson.

Summer Lesson 1 • Page 5

Summer Visual 1A

Preschool Bible Foundations

Activity Clock Bible Foundations Sunday School Curriculum Downloads Copyright © 2011 Christian Ed. Publishers • P.O. Box 26639 • San Diego, CA 92196 • 800-854-1531 ChristianEdWarehouse.com • Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson. Not for resale.

Summer Visuals 1B

Preschool Bible Foundations

Creation Pictures Bible Foundations Sunday School Curriculum Downloads Copyright © 2011 Christian Ed. Publishers • P.O. Box 26639 • San Diego, CA 92196 • 800-854-1531 ChristianEdWarehouse.com • Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson. Not for resale.

Summer Visuals 1C

Preschool Bible Foundations

TO EVERY Bible Words Cards

Summer Visuals 1D

Preschool Bible Foundations

THING

THERE Bible Words Cards

Summer Visuals 1E

Preschool Bible Foundations

IS A SEASON. Bible Words Cards Bible Foundations Sunday School Curriculum Downloads Copyright © 2011 Christian Ed. Publishers • P.O. Box 26639 • San Diego, CA 92196 • 800-854-1531 ChristianEdWarehouse.com • Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson. Not for resale.

Summer Visuals 1F

Preschool Bible Foundations

ACTIVITY NIV Card

–Ecclesiastes 3:1 Bible Words Cards Bible Foundations Sunday School Curriculum Downloads Copyright © 2011 Christian Ed. Publishers • P.O. Box 26639 • San Diego, CA 92196 • 800-854-1531 ChristianEdWarehouse.com • Permission is granted to reproduce this lesson. Not for resale.

Preschool Bible Foundations

Summer Activity Sheet 1A

Name ____________________________

Spring Summer Fall Winter God Made the World Circle the two things that are the same in each row. Color the matching pictures so they look alike.

God planted a garden for Adam and Eve to enjoy. God also made the seasons — spring and summer and fall and winter (Genesis 1:11-12, 27-29; 2:8-9, 15).

Preschool Bible Foundations

Summer Activity Sheet 1B

Name ____________________________

A Time to Grow God made a time for each plant to grow. Color the plants and trees. Find the river that gives water to help the plants and trees grow. Then glue a blue ribbon along the winding river.

Summer Activity Sheet 1C

Preschool Bible Foundations

God Made the Seasons

“To every thing there is a season.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (KJV)

“There is a . . . season for every activity.” Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)

Cut out and color the farmer (front and back). Also cut out the Bible Words box. Print your name at the top of the farmer’s bib. Use clear tape to fasten the farmer’s arms around your carton garden. Tape the Bible Words box to the front of the carton to remind you that God made the seasons.