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God Made Families

[all Teacher's Guides] [Cain and Abel Index] [Children's Version] [Coloring] [Crafts] [Games and Puzzles] [Teacher's Guide] [Worksheets]

Teacher's Guide - this is just one possible lesson plan. Visit the Cain and Abel Section for further ideas to supplement this. You can also use the story of Abraham and Sarah, but I'll be pulling that into a lesson later on.

Introduction:

The Cain and Abel story can be a difficult one to teach children as it has a rather harsh ending. But step back a second before teaching it and consider similar current day situations. What child hasn't fought with their brother or sister or friends? What child hasn't been jealous of the attention shown to others?

The message: Preschool thru Grade 1: God made families. Grades 2 and 3: God made families so we could care for each other. Am I my brother's keeper?

I've split this message into two separate ones depending on the age level. For the younger children, the message continues the God as our loving creator theme from the first two lessons, this time in the form -- God made families. Make sure you repeat the message many times during the lesson. I'm pretty sure the kids won't finish coloring all of their family puppets during craft time, so you can send the unfinished ones home with them, including a little note that the message this week was "God Made Families".

For the older children, we expand on this message and ask the question "Am I my brother's keeper?". The question is a quotation from Genesis and has two parts. First, SHOULD we be our brother's (sister's) keepers? Second, how are each of us doing at it? Send the "Am I my brother's keeper?" Take Home Sheet home with the children to encourage parents to discuss the message during the week. It includes a poster at the bottom that the children can color and hang on their wall or refrigerator.

Preview of the lesson:

Some people like to do craft time first and story time second and some like to switch it around. I like the first option, myself.

Always consider offering Coloring Pages for children who aren't interested in participating in the group activity (or if you get done the group activities very quickly and need something to fill in the spare time). Everyone has a need for "alone time" once in awhile. Also, sending home the coloring pages with the Take Home sheet provides parents with much needed help in reinforcing the lessons. You can make a nice little booklet each week with the take home sheet on top -- I promise that most parents will appreciate the effort!

Description Time Allotted Supplies

Welcome!

Receive name tags. Have the children use crayons, markers, yarn and whatever other materials (such as wiggly eyes or buttons) you have available to personalize their name tag.

Sing the Learning our Names song

15 to 20 minutes

Family Portrait tags, scissors (or adults can precut), crayons, markers, yarn, safety pins or tape.

of 3Sunday School Curriculum - God Made Families

4/29/2012http://dltk-bible.com/guides/god_made_families.htm

Craft time!

Preschool thru Grade 1: Make family puppets. (attach popsicle sticks, drinking straws or unsharpened pencils to turn them into puppets or glue a small piece of coarse sandpaper to the back to turn them into felt board characters).

Grade 2 and 3: Make Family Trees. You can either have the children bring in photos of their immediate family or you can have them just write down the names. Print the detail sheets and let the children fill in what they know. Have them take home the detail sheets so they can "interview" their families about the missing information.

15 to 30 minutes depending on your adult/child ratio

Preschool thru Grade 1: family puppet templates, glue, crayons, scissors, OPTIONAL: scraps of yarn, fabric, felt, feathers, buttons, glitter, etc to decorate.

Grade 2 and 3: family tree templates, pencil crayons, glue, scissors, markers, optional: photos of family members

Bible Story Time:

Preschool and Kindergarten: You can read an abbreviated version of the Garden of Eden story, but I like reading the God made families - action rhyme a number of times for this age group. After the rhyme, ask the children about their families. Ask questions like "Why do you think God made mommies?" (if they have trouble answering, rephrase like "what is special about mommies?")

Grade 1: Read the Children's Version of the Cain and Abel story. (or read from your own store bought children's bible). There are some "today's life" stories included with the children's version. You can choose to read these to the children, but it will extend the time it takes to complete this section. You could print and send them home with the parents.

Grade 2 and 3: it's tough to know when it's the right time to start readings from the Bible, but if the children have been read a children's version of the story in the past, I believe this is a good age to introduce the King James (or your preferred) bible reading.

10 minutes

Our mini books or Coloring Pages can be distributed to the children so they are able to read along. Print the pages, staple them together in order and let the kids know when to turn the page. The handouts can be taken home to color in.

the mini books are coming soon!

Closing:

Preschool thru Grade 1: depending on the time remaining, allow the children to brainstorm about some of the things God did to make members of the families special. (what makes mommy special, big brothers, grandmas, etc)

Grade 2 and 3: depending on the time remaining, allow the children to brainstorm about some of the things they do to "be their friend, brother or sister's keeper?" and some of the things they do when they act jealous (like Cain was to Abel).

All Grades: Thank-you Jesus for my... (you can hand out the words or hang them up somewhere. The verses are very repetitive, so the kids will catch on to them easily)

Standard ending song: for example

We love to learn together, together, together We love to learn together And give thanks to God.

substitute "learn" for sing, pray, etc

(to the tune of The More We Get Together)

5 to 15 minutes

Brainstorm Board (chalkboard, whiteboard, posterboard,...)

Words to:

Thank-you Jesus for my...

standard ending song

of 3Sunday School Curriculum - God Made Families

4/29/2012http://dltk-bible.com/guides/god_made_families.htm

The Story of Cain and Abel Sometimes when we read the Bible, we wonder why God cared about some of the things He cared about. The story of Cain and Abel is one of those stories for some people.

A long time ago, just after Adam and Eve had to leave the garden of Eden, they were very sad about disobeying God. They asked God how they could show Him how sorry they were. God told them that they could show Him how they felt by sacrificing a lamb, which they did.

After awhile, Adam and Eve had two sons. Their first son was called Cain and their second was called Abel.

Cain was a farmer. He grew vegetables and grains. Abel was a shepherd who looked the family's herds. Cain and Abel were like most siblings -- they didn't always get along. But they were brothers and loved each other very much, despite their occasional fights.

Adam and Eve (their mom and dad) told Cain and Abel about the message God gave them that they should sacrifice a lamb to God to show how much they appreciated all He'd done and how sorry they were for their sins.

Abel was very concerned that his sacrifice be special to God. He chose his first and best lamb and offered it to the Lord. It was hard for Abel to give up his most prized possession, but it was important to him to try his best to do as God had asked.

Cain thought his little brother was a bit silly for giving up his best lamb. "Good grief," he thought. "We need that lamb, God doesn't. I'm sure He'd be just as happy if we sacrificed the runt of the litter. In fact, why does it need to be a lamb at all? I'm a farmer and it's been a great year for my wheat crop -- I can't use everything I've grown. Why don't I just burn some of the extra straw I have. That way, I won't be wasting any."

Cain's reasoning sounds pretty good when you first hear it, doesn't it?

Cain watched as the lamb burnt up completely on the altar, while his left over straw just smoldered a bit and never really caught fire at all.

That could mean only one thing! God preferred Abel.

Cain was jealous! He didn't take the time or the responsibility to realize that it was his decision to sacrifice straw that caused the difference in God's response to their sacrifices. Instead, he just got angry at his brother.

Cain asked Abel to go for a walk with him, and while he was still angry, Cain struck Abel to the ground and killed him.

When Cain realized what he'd done, he was more concerned that someone might have seen what he'd done than he was sorry for his brother's death. He looked around and sighed a breath of relief that no one was nearby.

And then the Lord spoke, "Cain, where is your brother."

Cain shrugged, "I dunno! Am I my brother's keeper?"

God replied, "Cain, how could you be so cruel to your only brother. He has done nothing, but try his best for Me, for his parents... and for you."

Cain fell to the ground sobbing. Finally, he felt the horror of what he'd done. And he had to live with that feeling and the knowledge that he'd murdered his little brother for the rest of his life.

Page 1 of 1The Story of Cain and Abel

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The first lesson for children in this story: 1. Why does it matter?

Memory Verse: "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." Hebrews 11:4

Did God really care whether it was a lamb or a bundle of straw that was sacrificed?

No. God cared about the thoughts, feelings and effort the brothers put into their sacrifices. Abel did his best -- gave his best -- and THAT is what was important to God. Abel thought hard about what God wanted and made a REAL sacrifice by giving up his best lamb.

Cain spent all of his efforts justifying what he was doing. And Cain didn't really sacrifice anything at all. He gave God something he didn't really need or care about. And God knew it. But God wasn't cruel or harsh to Cain. Instead God gently showed Cain that the straw wasn't an appropriate sacrifice by causing it to smolder instead of burn.

Instead of seeing God's action as the loving reminder that it was, Cain became angry and lashed out at his only brother.

------------

Jenny's mom knocked on her door and asked Jenny if she could please clean up her bedroom. Jenny nodded at her, but as soon as her mom left, Jenny thought to herself, "Gosh, I don't feel like cleaning my room -- it's such a mess! And I have a really neat homework assignment from school that I've been looking forward to doing. And homework's a good thing too, right? I'm going to do that instead."

Although it's true that it's good to do your homework, that's not what Jenny's mom asked her to do. And it's not what Jenny promised she would finish.

In fact, doing her homework instead of cleaning her room might be worse than doing nothing at all! It isn't easy to be a parent. Mom's are people too and sometime struggle with how to act in certain situations. Imagine being in Jenny's mom's position! I'm sure she had a very hard time trying to decide whether to scold her daughter for not cleaning her room or praise Jenny for doing a good job on her homework.

Jenny put her mom in a really difficult position and that wasn't fair. Jenny could have talked to her mom about homework versus cleaning and made a decision together about which would take priority. But Jenny made a choice on her own to do the one she preferred without taking her mom's feelings into account.

In the story of Cain and Abel, Cain could have prayed to God with an open heart about whether he should sacrifice straw or a lamb. If he had done that, he would have realized that the left over straw wasn't really a sacrifice and it wasn't really what God wanted. God wants us to do our best, to give our best and to pray to Him when we aren't sure what to do.

It is easy to close our hearts and justify our actions. But with God's help and an open heart, we can find the path He wants us to follow.

Page 1 of 1The two lessons for children in this story


The second lesson for children in this story: 2. Am I my brother's keeper?

Memory Verse: "Am I my brother's keeper?" from Genesis 4:9

Gosh, it's tough sometimes to be nice to other people -- especially those we spend the most time with. Sometimes we become angry with our friends or our siblings because we feel like they are getting all the attention. Have you ever been jealous of someone you were close to because you felt people treated them better than they treat you?

It's true that sometimes grown-ups may make mistakes and favor one person over another for a short time -- people (even grown-ups) make mistakes.

But God doesn't make mistakes! God made every one of us. We are all special to God. He doesn't play favorites. If we open our hearts to the Lord, our loving Creator, He will show us right from wrong. He will help us to "love our neighbour". He will help us to be our brother's keeper.

Cain didn't listen to God. Even when God tried to show Cain his mistakes, Cain refused to listen. He lashed out at his brother instead of opening his heart to God. And when God asked him what had happened, Cain made one last attempt to deny everything he'd done. "Am I my brother's keeper?" he shouted desperately before finally realizing his responsibility for everything that had happened.

--------

Maria had just started Grade 2 and was finding school a little bit harder than she had in the past. Her teacher had sent her home with some math problems to complete over the weekend and she'd been struggling to finish them.

The worst thing was that in the past her mom had always had time to help her with her homework. But now that her little brother Rickie had turned 3 he was always getting all the attention.

Rickie ran around everywhere. He stole Maria's favorite dolls and gave them swimming lessons in the toilet. He scribbled in Maria's school library books and got her into trouble with her teacher. He was always shouting or singing at the top of his lungs. And, worst of all -- mom was always so busy looking after Rickie that she never had any time for Maria.

Maria sat staring out her window thinking, "This weekend is the worst one yet. Daddy's out of town on business. Mom and I used to have girl's nights when Daddy was away -- but now we can't even do that. And mom's getting mad at me and Rickie for every little thing. It's so unfair!"

Suddenly, Rickie ran into the room, shouted "hugs Mara! hugs Mara!", and barreled into Maria so hard he almost knocked her over. He gave her a big hug and a sloppy kiss. Maria giggled and started to feel a bit better -- that is, until Rickie jumped up to run out of the room and knocked her math binder off the desk. It wasn't closed and all the sheets fluttered in a mess on the floor.

That was the last straw! Maria picked up the binder and threw it as hard as she could in Rickie's direction. It bounced off his arm and knocked into the lamp in the hallway. The lamp broke and Rickie began to scream. Maria ran into the hallway and grabbed her binder and threw it back onto her desk.

She was just in time! Maria's mother rounded the corner, concern on her face, "What happened?" she asked breathlessly.

Maria shrugged, "I dunno. Rickie came running upstairs. He must have knocked into the lamp and broken it. It's not my job to look after him."

Maria's mom looked at Rickie, her cheeks turning red and shouted, "I can't deal with this anymore. Rickie you go to your room this instant!" And with that she gave Rickie a swat on the behind. Maria had NEVER seen her mother swat Rickie, nor could she remember ever getting a swat.

Maria knelt on the floor and began to clean up her papers. "Serves him right," she thought. "He always makes such a



mess of everything."

But the longer Maria knelt on the floor, the worse she felt. She thought about the frazzled look on her mother's face and fidgeted. She listened to the huge sobs coming from her little brother's room and fidgeted even more. She remembered how happy she'd felt when he came running in from nowhere to give her hugs -- almost like he knew she was feeling sad. It wasn't long before Maria, too, had tears streaming down her cheeks.

As Maria knelt, crying, feeling worse than she could ever remember feeling, she heard a hoarse voice whisper, "hugs Mara?" There stood Rickie, arms spread wide, eyes red-rimmed from crying so hard -- a look of concern for her in them that was so genuine it gave her a horrible mixed feeling of guilt and love. Her heart felt like it would burst.

Maria hugged her little brother as hard as she could and cried even louder. Maria's mom came rushing in to see what was the matter this time and Maria poured out the story of what she'd done, how she was feeling about Rickie and how hard Grade 2 was.

The rest of the weekend Maria did as much as she could to help care for her little brother. And she realized that in his own way, Rickie was doing as much as he could to help care for her. With all the help she was getting from Maria, their mom had time to help with the homework.

Maria and her mom put Rickie to bed the night before daddy returned home, popped some popcorn and had a "girls only" pajama party. Maria smiled up at her mom and said quietly, "Life's easier when we all help take care of each other, isn't it, mom?"

"It sure is honey," replied her mom.

"I just wish math was, too!" giggled Maria.



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MATERIALS

paper, printer, scissors and glue crayons or something else to color with (for b&w print version) OPTIONAL:

wool clear contact paper

INSTRUCTIONS

Click on the link of your choice (below) to print the template. Color as appropriate. Cut the bookmark out (one big rectangle) and fold in half (left to right) along the center line. Glue so it stays folded together. OPTIONAL: cover with clear contact paper so it lasts longer (you could also put a piece of cardboard in the center before gluing for a sturdier bookmark) OPTIONAL: Poke a hole in the top of the bookmark and tie a string/wool through as a tassle. Close the template window after printing to return to this screen. Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Love One Another Bookmark (color) or (B&W)

You may also be interested in our Custom Bookmarks.

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Bible Bookmarks Print these "home-made" bookmarks for a special reading companion.

To add that extra bit of motivation, print out a bookmark for your child, your friend or yourself as a reward for reading a certain number of stories.

If you're looking for more Sunday School applicable bookmarks, check out the Angel Bookmarks

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Materials:

printer paper scissors something to color with (if using the B&W template) glue marker OPTIONAL: photos of the family members

Instructions:

print out the tree template and the apples template color the template pieces and cut out the apples OPTIONAL: glue a photo to the center of each apple if you aren't using photos, write the name of each family member in the center of the apple Glue the apples onto the tree, starting with yourself (the child) at the top. Include siblings near the top as well. The next row should include parents and the final row, grandparents. OPTIONAL: print the "details" template for each family member.

have the children interview each family member to fill in the details about them (where they were born, their brothers and sisters, etc) make a family tree booklet with the family tree on the front and the details sheets for each family member following.

Family Tree Template (color) (B&W)

Apples Template (color) (B&W)

Details Template (color) (B&W)

ADDITIONAL IDEAS:

Turn this small book into a BIG bulletin board or wall project. To do this, we bought light green, dark green, blue, brown and red poster board.

DLTK's Bible Activities

My Family Tree Fill in the apples (either with photos or with names) to build a family tree. The child (and their siblings) go on the top of the tree. The next row is mom and dad and the bottom row is the two sets of grandparents.

The apples are a separate template that you glue on, so different family structures can be represented.

For the base, we glued 1/2 the sheet of light green poster board onto the bottom of the blue poster board.

Page 1 of 2My Family Tree craft for kids

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I made a rough apple drawing on a piece of scrap cardboard (I used one of the coloring pages to help me trace on the apple). I cut it out and gave it to Tasha. She traced this template 9 times onto the piece of red poster board and cut out her apples. She used my scrapbooking templates to cut her photos into circles and then glued them onto the apples (but you could just trim the photos free hand).

Tasha drew a trunk onto the brown poster board. I showed her how to add little V's to the top to make branches. Tasha cut it out

Tasha drew and cut out the top of her tree. I asked her to make sure she drew it nice and tall so there'd be room for the whole family.

Tasha glued everything together and then added a couple sticker flowers/fenceposts to make it fancy.

this is about 4 ft x 2 ft





Page 2 of 2My Family Tree craft for kids

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Print out templates of choice (4 name tags per template) Have the children draw and color a picture of their family on the name tags. cut out (may require adult assistance) write names on the tags pin or tape onto shirts (or punch a hole in the top and thread a string through to wear around their necks)

Family Portrait Name Tags

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Family Portrait Name Tags

Page 1 of 2Family Portrait Name Tags

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