Free Bible School Materials

Crabwalking in the Footsteps

Wednesday:	Crabwalking in the Footsteps
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Look & Live (the snake on the stick): We should look to Jesus, trusting God for our salvation.
Memory Verse:	John 3:14-15
Preschool Bible Lesson:	TBA

Age Groups:

elementary
preschool
teens

Equipment Needed:

footprint markers for the trails
objects to balance

Preparation:

Set up the footprints in a trail, winding across the yard. Depending on the age group, the trail can have twist and crisscross and loop and so on to a greater or lesser extent. Each team's trail should be a different color of footprints, so that they can tell which is which. (For preschool, you may just want one trail.)

Instructions:

Divide them into teams, and line each team up at the starting area. The first team member must crabwalk (see below) along the trail of footprints, following the trail to the finish line. For added difficulty, older agegroups may be required to balance an object (such as a shoe, a ball, or a bowl of ice water) on their stomach the whole time. When the first team member reaches the finish area, the leader releases the next team member to follow.

Crabwalk:

The crabwalk is achieved by going on all fours, with your stomach aimed up and your back down. You must crabwalk head-first, without allowing any body parts (except the hands and feet and possibly hair) to drag on the ground. (You can let preschool children just crawl instead of crabwalking, in which case you might want to put a few extra twists and turns in their trail.)

Through the Hoop

Tuesday:	Through the Hoop
Preschool Bible Lesson:	TBA

Age Groups:

preschool

Equipment Needed:

hula hoops
plastic balls

Overview:

This is basically a toned-down version of the Soak the Paper game the older kids are playing, in case your preschool kids aren't so fond of getting wet and/or don't have sufficient aim or throwing power to break through paper.

Instructions:

For the preschool, don't cover the hoop with paper. Just hold up a hoop as a target. Each child gets a hollow plastic ball to try to throw through the hoop. Yay!

Soak the Paper

Tuesday:	Soak the Paper
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Do What It Says (Ezra Reads from the Book of the Law): We should study God's word and obey it.
Memory Verse:	James 1:22

Age Groups:

elementary
teens

Equipment Needed:

hula hoops
roll paper
buckets
sponges

Preparation:

Cover each hula hoop with a large strip of roll paper, such as bulletin board paper. Fasten the edges of the paper in place around the hoop (either to the hoop itself, or around and to the back of the paper) with tape, staples, or whatever. Set up the buckets of water and sponges near where the group will stand.

Instructions:

Have an adult volunteer hold up the hula hoops as targets a fixed distance from the group. (Start a pretty good distance away, so that the kids can barely throw the wet sponges that far.) Divide the group into teams and hold up one hoop for each team.

Each team member gets the same number of sponges (probably one) per round. The object is to wet and break the paper that is stretched across the hoop, by throwing wet sponges against it. When every team member has thrown their sponge, have the targets move a little closer, give everyone their sponges back, and go another round. Whichever team breaks their paper first wins the game.

You can play another game if time and the supply of prepared hoops allows. If the hoops run out before time runs out, allow the play to devolve into a wet-sponge free-for-all (if it's warm enough out).

Footsteps Memory

Substitute Indoor Game:	Footsteps Memory

Age Groups:

elementary
preschool

Equipment Needed:

Sets of game cards, in matching pairs, featuring images and concepts from the week's lessons on the obverse, and identical footprint emblems on the back.

Overview:

Wikipedia has an article describing the basic game, but we're going to play it with cards that feature things from the week's Bible lessons. I'm including some small thumbnails of the card pages below. To get a version that is suitable for printing, see SVG Documents.

Preparation:

Make enough sets of the cards so that small groups of 2-4 children can share each set. Print them on card stock, with the identical footprint backs on one side and the lesson concepts and images on the other. Each set should consist of two copies of each card, so that they can be matched up. Use a paper cutter to separate the individual cards from one another on each sheet. (If you laminate the cards, you can continue to use them for a long time after Bible School is over, reminding the children of the lessons from VBS.)

For the preschool age group, remove the cards that feature words, leaving only the pictures.

Instructions:

Divide up the kids into small groups and give them the decks of footsteps memory cards (one deck per group). Instruct the kids to shuffle the cards and, without looking at the backs, lay them out in rows with the footprint up. (For preschool, remove the cards with words on them, and help them shuffle and lay out the remaining ones.) Then they take turns each turning over two cards, trying to get a match. If the two cards match, they get to keep those two cards in their pile and take another turn. If they do not get a match, they turn the cards back over and it's the next person's turn. The goal is to get the most matched cards in your pile. If time remains, shuffle and play again.

Philippians 2:4

Friday:	Philippians 2:4
Bible Lesson:	Footsteps of Service: We should serve God by serving others.
Memory Verse:	Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. Philippians 2:4

Explanation: Looking to Someone's Interests

Let's say you and your little brother are home alone while mom's at the grocery. There is enough ham for one sandwich, and you and your brother are both hungry. Somebody has to wait for mom to get home with more food. If you're looking to your own interests, what are you going to do? Swipe the ham, make the sandwich, and take a big bite. You're bigger and faster than your little brother. Problem solved, right?

But if you're looking out for the interest of your brother, you make the sandwich, put on the ketchup that he likes, and tell him that you'll wait for mom. You might even get him a glass of milk. Mom left you to look out for your little brother while she's gone: so it's your responsibility to look out for his interests. That means you're taking care of what he needs.

[Show the verse and read it aloud.]

So this verse says that you can look out for yourself, but you should also look out for others. In the church, we're supposed to take care of each other, and not just selfishly get everything we can for ourselves.

We should be memorizing verses on our own, but we can help others to learn them too. We can pray for ourselves, but we should pray for others as well. When they ask for song requests, we can ask for songs we like, but we should sing the songs other people like too.

Game: Hot Potato

Read the verse through a couple of times, as a group, then introduce an object that you call a potato. Explain that each person must say the next word of the verse, before they can pass on the hot potato. Run through the verse one time for practice, passing the potato around, then introduce the timer.

The goal for each child is to avoid having the potato when the timer goes off, but you have to say the next word of the verse before you can pass the potato on to the next person. (At the end of the verse, say the reference, and then the next person starts at the beginning again.) Use short times on the timer and run through the verse as many times this way as possible. (If the group is too large, split it up with a potato for each group; you can still have just one timer.) Leave the card with the verse displayed until you think the kids know the verse, then try removing it. If someone has trouble with a word, you can help them after a few seconds.

Announcement: Verse Points

Tomorrow, when you come to Bible School, if you can say your memory verse without looking, you can earn points for your team's score. Each person who can say the verse can earn 200 points. So, if you want to help your team win more points, go home and practice your verse a few times. Don't forget the reference! On your way out the door tonight, you will be given a slip of paper with your verse on it. Don't lose it, because if you learn your verse, your team gets 200 more points!

You can say your verse for points tomorrow when you check in at the registration table.

Following in the Foosteps progress

I know updates were a little thin on the ground through February and March, but we are still chugging along. The last of the elementary memory verse lessons will be posted this morning, and most of the games will also be forthcoming shortly. In addition, planning for crafts is well underway, though we haven't quite finalized them all yet. Meanwhile, here's draft 1 for the logo, which is tentative and subject to change at this point. (At minimum, I need to adjust the kerning. But it is possible we will decide to make larger changes.)

James 5:16

Thursday:	James 5:16
Bible Lesson:	Hannah's Prayer: When we have problems, we should pray to God.
Memory Verse:	The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. from James 5:16

Introduction: [Needed]

[Show the poster and read through the verse once.]

Explanation: Effective

I don't know about you, but I sure want my prayers to be powerful. Let's talk about what it means to be effective. When something is effective, it works. It creates the desired effect. It does its job. If the lawn mower is effective, the grass gets cut. So if a prayer is powerful and effective, it's strong and does its job, it gets the message through: God hears it.

Explanation: Righteous

But the verse doesn't tell us that everyone's prayers are powerful and effective, just the prayers of a righteous person. So a person who doesn't believe in God, who says, "God, if you're really there, do this for me", does God listen to those prayers? Sometimes, maybe. But they're not powerful and effective prayers.

So we want to be righteous, so that we can have powerful and effective prayers. Being righteous means living according to what is right. Doing the things God wants you to do. Choosing not to sin. If we are believers in Jesus Christ, he makes us righteous. We can't be righteous by ourselves. We need God.

Explanation: Summary

So if you want your prayers to be powerful and effective, you need to choose to let Jesus forgive your sins and make you righteous.

Game: Simon

The teacher says one word (the first word of the verse), and the whole group repeats it in unison. If they get it right, the teacher repeats it again, adding one more word, and the group repeats that, in unison. Add another word each time through the verse until you have the whole verse or the children collectively miss a word. If they miss, you start over with one word again. Each time, the teacher says the words first, and the group repeats.

Announcement: Verse Points

You can say your verse for points tomorrow when you check in at the registration table.

Preschool Game: Floating Stuff

Monday:	Floating Stuff
Preschool Bible Lesson:	TBA

Age Groups:

preschool

Equipment Needed:

wading pool
plastic balls
other floating toys
towels

Preparation:

Put just a couple of inches of water in the pool, just enough for stuff to float.

Instruction:

Give the kids the plastic balls and other floating toys (e.g., toy boats, rubber duckies) and let them sit around the outside of the edge of the pool and play with the floating stuff. Be sure to have a few towels on hand in case of accidental water exposure.

Wet Sponge Dodgeball

Monday:	Wet Sponge Dodgeball
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Two Obedient Men (Caleb & Joshua): We should trust and obey God.
Memory Verse:	1^st John 2:5

Age Groups:

elementary
teens

Equipment Needed:

sponges
buckets
rope

Note:

Note: if it's cold at the beginning of the week, play the fourth night's game (Pile-Up) instead for now, and come back to this one later in the week when it's warmer.

Preparation:

Use a rope or something to mark a midpoint of the playing area. Put the pool (or buckets) full of water and sponges across the rope, so it can be reached from both sides.

Instructions:

Divide the kids into two teams, and explain the rules and boundaries. Basically, the goal is to hit every member of the other team with a web sponge, before everyone on your team gets hit. You can't cross the line, but you can approach the line to get sponges and/or to dip them in the water for better throwing. If you get hit by a wet sponge, you have to go stand on the sidelines (until the next game). When one entire team is out, if there's time left, put everyone back in and repeat.

Free Bible School Materials

Complete Themes

Almost Complete

Bits and Pieces

General Information

What's New

Crabwalking in the Footsteps

Through the Hoop

Soak the Paper

Footsteps Memory

Philippians 2:4

Following in the Foosteps progress

James 5:16

Preschool Game: Floating Stuff

Wet Sponge Dodgeball