God Is a Worker (Classroom Activity for Grades 2-5)
This lesson is part of God's Story of Work for Kids, a 12-week curriculum that teaches children to see work through God's perspective.
Props
- post-its (3 per child)
- pencils
- markers
- bibles
- timer with alarm
- God-at-work-charade-cards.pdf (print these out and cut them up to create 10 charade cards)
- A large paper with these words written on it: made, formed, breathed, planted, put, created, sent, hammered, weeded, dug, cleaned, wrote, finished.
Opening Activity: Sharing Work I Enjoy (5 minutes)
Give each child 3 Post-its and a pencil to jot down 3 kinds of work they enjoy. Examples might be drawing or playing with a sibling or taking care of an animal. Have kids share one of their Post-its.
Teacher Tip: What you share will help set the tone for the sharing. Think of something specific that you enjoy and be ready to share it.
Review: Each of us is different. God made us that way. The things you enjoy doing are a special way God created for you to make a difference in the world.
God at Work Charades (10 minutes)
Stack the charade cards in a pile. Have one child (or a pair of children if there are more than 10 children in the group) pick a card from the pile and act out this kind of work that God does. The other children have to guess. They are guessing the answer to the question "What is God doing here?"
Review: God is at work every minute of the day all over the world. He loves us and cares very much for every person.
Work Word Search (10 minutes)
Post the sheet of paper on the wall with the work words on it (made, formed, breathed, planted, put, created, sent, hammered, weeded, dug, cleaned, wrote, finished). Have students form a relay line on the other side of the room. Give each child a Bible and read Genesis 2:4-9 together. In turn each student runs to the sheet and circles a word that can be found in Genesis 2:49, or crosses out a word that is not in that passage.
God as Work Popcorn Game (5 minutes)
In Genesis we find God creating many things. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Sit in a circle and go around the circle, each person calling out something God created (monkeys, bananas, humans, etc.) The goal is to name as many things God created as possible before the timer runs out.
Share & Pray (5 minutes)
Ask if any students have an prayer requests to share. Pray for these requests and thank God for being actively at work in each life.