Another great bible lesson from the Old Testament is the story of Esther! Queen Esther is a great example of doing the right thing, no matter the consequences. I chose to put this story into my Bible Bundle because the story has a great lesson to teach our little ones!
Most bible stories are great for our little learners, and teaching them to apply the lesson is so important. All of my bible lessons have activities that teach our little ones how to apply the bible story to their every day life.
I also use an elementary classroom approach to the organization of the activities. A lot of volunteers are not classroom teachers, so the easy to follow lesson plans are so helpful!
ARRIVAL
Just like every week, the first 10-15 minutes of class the children come in and play with toys that are laid out on the table. It is a great time to reinforence how God wants us to treat our friends. It also gives me time to talk to the little ones about their day, welcome visitors and finish up prepping any materials.
INTRODUCTION
We then met on the carpet to discuss why we come to Bible class and sing and talk about our bibles. We open our class with a prayer. The kids love when we do a circle prayer. They want to pray for everything and everyone! We continued to discuss things that we pray for (family, thanks, help, etc.)
Next, we read the story of Esther in our Beginner’s Bible. We read how Esther became queen and her uncle, Mordecai, became the King’s next in command. However, that’s not the best part of the story. Esther learns that the king has ordered all Jewish people to be killed, and she has to stop it. She knew approaching her own husband could lead to her death, but she knew she had to save her people.
It’s a great story to teach our little ones that we have to do what’s right, no matter the consequence. The activities in this resource make it more applicable to our kids.
ACTIVITIES
During our whole group time, we complete an activity called Being Brave. Use a pocket chart of place the cards on the floor for all to see. Each card illustrates a task that could be scary, but we can do it because God gives us the courage and bravery to do hard things.
I created a scepter out of pipe cleaners for this next activity. With this scepter, we play “Hot and Cold”. The point of the game is to build trust that the clues given are correct, like Esther trusted that God will guide her in doing the right thing!
Next, we move around the room to various stations. One station learners get to make their very own scepter! You’ll need a dowel rod and some shiny pipe cleaners!
Another activity reading through examples and deciding if that person is doing right or wrong.
I provided some coloring pages and a memory verse page for either opening or closing activities. The memory verse page includes handwriting practice as well as a bracelet your learners can take home!