On Your Marks: Under-5s Day 5 Parable of the Sower Mark 4:1 9,14 20

Transcription

1 On Your Marks: Under-5s Day 5 Parable of the Sower Mark 4:1 9,14 20 Listen to the Story The Story of the Seeds Story pictures from web download Day5 resource sheets pages 1 5; large piece of cardboard; sticky tack 1 Prepare by printing and colouring the story pictures onto card. Draw a simple farm scene onto the board, including field, path, stony ground, weeds. 2 Tell the story below, attaching the pictures to the farm scene with sticky tack as appropriate. This is a story Jesus told. Up and down the field went the farmer. He threw seeds to one side and more seeds on the other side. Some seeds fell along the path where the soil was hard. Straight away, the birds came swooping down and gobbled them up. The farmer sowed more seeds. They fell on stony ground. Day after day, they started to grow. But it was so hot and dry on the stony ground that the new plants withered and died. The farmer sowed more seeds. They fell among tall weeds growing on the edge of the field. Day after day, these seeds grew, but the weeds grew faster than the new plants. And the new plants could not get enough sunlight and died. The farmer sowed some more seeds. They fell on the good soil where they had plenty of sunlight and water. These seeds grew into good, healthy plants just what the farmer wanted. Adapted from Stories and Pictures; New Testament p40 Pictures from Ultimate Visual Aids

2 Tell the story Bible story with actions No equipment. 1 Familiarise yourself with this story script so you can act the part of the farmer, without having to read the words exactly. These are the seeds the farmer sowed (Mime sowing seeds.) to grow into corn, (Lift hands upwards.) to grind into flour, (Rub one fist round and round on flat palm of other hand.) to bake into bread (Knead dough.) for the farmer to eat for breakfast. These are the seeds the farmer sowed that fell on the path, (Tap fingers of one hand on the palm of the other.) where there was no soil, (Shake head.) so the hungry birds swooped down (Flap hands as wings.) and ate them all for their breakfast. (Make a beak with finger and thumb and peck.) These are the seeds the farmer sowed that fell near some stones (Make fists.) where the ground was hard, (Gently knock fists together.) so plants could not grow (Shake head.) to make bread for the farmer s breakfast. These are the seeds the farmer sowed which grew near weeds (Wiggle fingers.) that were prickly and big, (Interlock fingers.) so the plants could not grow to make bread for the farmer s breakfast. These are the seeds the farmer sowed which fell in good soil (Smile.) and grew strong and tall, (Reach up high.) so there was plenty of flour (Mime grinding flour again.) to make bread for the farmer s breakfast. (Mime eating.) 2 If you have time, repeat the story with everyone joining in with the actions.

3 Prayer and praise Say a Psalm Bible (CEV or GNB); PowerPoint presentation as web download: Prayer and praise PowerPoint. 1 Use the pictures on the PowerPoint web download that illustrate the words of Psalm 65:9 13 and read the words slowly and clearly from your Bible while the children watch. Verse 9: Rain, fertile land, streams, fields of crops Verse 10: Rain, ploughed fields, newly planted fields Verse 11: Fields ready to harvest Verse 12: Sheep, green hillside Verse 13: Sheep, fields of ripe wheat 2 Let the words and pictures speak for themselves and let the children absorb and experience the sights and sounds in their own way. Repeat the sequence if they are enjoying watching and are still attentive. Structured Craft Growing flower Long strips of paper folded concertina-style (one per child); washable felt-tips; sticky tape; lengths of wool or paper ribbon. 1 To prepare, open the strips flat and draw the wide stem of a flower from the bottom of each one, to two thirds of its length. Include the occasional leaf. Leave the top one-third empty. 2 Give out the strips and ask the children to draw a big flower head in the empty space. You may need to do this for younger children and let them colour it. They

4 could also draw the soil in which the flower is growing at the bottom of the strip. 3 Tape a length of wool or ribbon to the top, above the flower head, and fold the strips up. For added security; tape the bottom of the strip to a firm surface. Show how to pull the ribbon and make the flower grow. From Tiddlywinks Big Red Book p 70 Messy Craft Planting seeds Quick growing seeds; seed compost; plant pots; water; plastic bags; sticky labels; cover and clean up materials 1 Choose seeds that will grow quickly at this time of year. In summer this could be beans, sunflowers, radish or lettuce. 2 Write each child s name on a label and stick to a plant pot. Help the children to fill their pot three quarters full with compost. Give each child two or three large seeds or a number of small seeds and help them to scatter these evenly over the surface of the compost. 3 Place more compost on top of the seeds according to the needs of the seeds. (Read the instructions on the packets). Gently water pots and leave to drain. At the end of the session place each child s pot in a bag to take home. 4 As you work talk about how we need to care for our seeds by providing water, light, warmth and air to the seeds and later on to the young plants. Talk about how God cares for us. By Alison Dayer 2011

5 Activity Dig the Soil Bowls or sand pit containing clean potting compost (or sterilised soil); child-sized garden tools rake, fork, spade, sieve; cover-up and clean-up facilities. 1 Enjoy this activity to introduce or develop the Bible story. Look together at the soil: what does it look like, smell like and feel like? Experiment with the tools: what happens when you dig or rake? What gets caught in the sieve? How can you make holes or smooth the surface? 2 What do you have to do to get soil ready for planting? Play a Mulberry bush game: This is the way we dig the soil etc and perform the real actions. 3 Comment on how this is good soil like the good soil in the Bible story where the plants grew healthy and strong. (At the end of the play time, use this good soil for planting seeds.) How Seeds Grow Web download of plant pictures: Day 5 resource sheets page 6 cut into strips; background paper; glue. 1 This activity is suitable for groups where hands-on gardening is not feasible. Give each child a set of strips from the 'Plant pictures' download page. Spread them out and see what they show. Can the children arrange the strips in an order that shows how a seed grows into a plant? Sit alongside them as they do this and listen to their reasoning, as they work out the growth process. Can they remember what the seed needs? Who makes the seeds grow? 2 Set out background paper and glue so the children can paste the strips in order to show the growth process. 3 With further sets of pictures, demonstrate what might happen to prevent the seeds growing, using the examples from the Bible story. How far would the process go if birds ate

6 the seeds? What if it was too dry for the young plants? Or other plants grew stronger? Lay out the appropriate strips for each example and compare them with the complete versions the children have made. Which ones show how God planned plants to grow? Songs and Rhymes Choose a few songs from the general list and from this list of songs and rhymes specifically related to today s theme, to sing together as a time of worship and fun. ks = kidsource S&S = Sing and Say The Farmer and his Seeds S&S p67 Rain and Sun S&S p67 Growing seeds S&S p68 I just want to live to please you Sunflowers Ish JP Take home At the end of the session give the children a copy of the story of the seeds picture page 7 of Day 5 resource sheets from the website to take home. Encourage them to use the picture to tell others in their family about the story. The story of the seeds picture from LightLive