Braided Red Cord Bookmark

Monday:	Braided Red Cord Bookmark
Elementary Lesson:	Red Cord of Salvation: Rahab was saved because she believed in God, and we are saved the same way.
Memory Verse:	Ephesians 2:8-9
Preschool Lesson:	Joshua and the Walls: We should obey God.

Age Groups:

• elementary
• preschool (does not correlate with lesson)
• teens

Supplies Needed:

• red string or cord (not yarn)
• beads (optional)
• one oversized model for braid demonstration

Preparation:

Cut strands of the red string at the appropriate length. Each child will need three or five, depending on age. Teens will definitely need five.

Instructions:

Each child gets five (or, for younger children, three) identically-long pieces of red string or cord (not yarn). Show them how to tie them together at one end. They can string a bead on the beginning of their cord. (It may also make the braiding easier if you have them tape the knot down on the edge of the table.)

Demonstrate the braid technique on the large model.

To braid five strands (or any odd number), take the first strand and weave it over-under-over-under, so that it is now the last strand. That is, if you start on the right, you bring the rightmost strand over the one beside it, under the next, over the next-to-last, and under the leftmost strand. Then you go back to the other side, take the new first strand, and do the same thing again. Keep repeating. (It doesn't matter whether you start your braid at the left or at the right, as long as you start at the same side each time.)

The three-string braid is easier: simply bring the left strand over the middle one, then the right strand over the (new) middle one, then the left strand over the middle, then the right strand over the middle, and so on.

Explain that braiding several strands together makes a cord, which is stronger than the individual strings. Rahab used a cord to let the spies out of the city, and she hung the red cord from her window so that she would be spared when the city was taken. Have the children braid almost all the length of their strings, then tie off the tail end with just a little remaining of each strand. They can also string a bead on the end.