Primary Lesson Supplements 26-28

{I normally post one per week, but we’re going on vacation soon.}

Primary Lesson 26 Supplement

ATTENTION ACTIVITY: Draw a tree on the board and write ‘Jesus Christ’ on the trunk. Ask the children if they can name any of Jesus’ mortal ancestors—encourage them to look at Matthew 1 if they need help—and write their answers on the branches of the tree. When someone names Ruth, explain that you will be learning about Ruth’s story today. (Another version of this activity would be to conclude your lesson by having the children draw a tree on a sheet of paper. Then either glue or draw leaves on the tree and write the names of Jesus’ ancestors on the tree.)

PUZZLE: http://www.paoc.org/pdf/fko-friend.pdf contains a puzzle about Ruth 1 that you can print out and that will serve as a good introduction to the lesson.

SCRIPTURE ACTIVITY: Ruth 1:16 is a famous and beautiful verse but the language is difficult. Write the verse on a poster board or large sheet of paper, leaving blank space under each word. Write the following words on individual pieces of paper, which the children will place underneath the corresponding word on the poster board: ask (intreat), thee (you), thee (you), whither (wherever), thou (you), goest (go), lodgest (live), lodge (live), thy (your), thy (your). (The word in parentheses after each word indicates which word it should be placed under.) Once you have the ‘translation’ under the verse, you can talk about the loyalty and testimony that Ruth shows when she says this to Naomi.

CONCLUDING ACTIVITY: One scholar wrote, “The Book of Ruth is a pearl in the swine pen of the time of the judges.� (The point being that this was a time of great apostasy in Israel’s history, but that Ruth nonetheless made good choices.) Explain this idea to your students and then show them a swine pit (a bag or box full of dark colored rocks, Legos, blocks, or similar) with one pearl (white rock, Lego, block, etc.) inside of it. Pass the ‘swine pen’ around the room and have each child pick a rock or block without looking. If they choose a dark one, have them share something that makes it hard to follow the commandments today (such as: violent movies, classmates who use bad language, etc.). If they pick the white one, have them give an example of how they can be a ‘pearl’ like Ruth (such as: by choosing to read the scriptures, etc.)

Primary Lesson 27 Supplement

NOTES FOR TEACHERS: (a) Children were usually weaned between ages 3-7, so Hannah is not turning an infant over to the temple (see 1 Samuel 1:22-24). (b) Common practice in Israel was to pray aloud—Hannah is an innovator who prays silently. This is why Eli notices her and thinks that she is intoxicated (see 1 Samuel 1:12-14).

PRAISE SONG: Several scriptures contain praise songs or hymns written to celebrate God’s actions (see Exodus 15, Judges 5, 1 Samuel 2, and Luke 1). Give your students paper and pencil and let them spend a few minutes writing a song to praise God.

PUZZLE: The June 1990 Friend (“Sharing Time: All Things Shall Be Revealed�) has a puzzle that follows the story of Samuel and Eli.

LISTENING ACTIVITY: Invite one child to stand on the opposite side of the room from you. Have the rest of the class hum loudly while you talk to the child in a low voice. Ask: What would make it easier to hear you? Quieting the other students is like ignoring distractions and temptations, while moving closer is like obeying the commandments that bring us closer to God. (You could vary this activity by recording sounds during the week and then playing them in class to see if your students can identify them.)

MESSAGES: Give each child a few sheets of paper, ideally from a preprinted “While You Were Out� message pad. Explain that just like Samuel was to be a messenger for God, we can do the same thing with the people we interact with. Have the students write down a few messages that God wants them to share with others. Then have them pass these papers around the room and read what their classmates wrote.

INCREASING IN WISDOM: Each year, Hannah brought Samuel a new coat (see 1 Samuel 2:19; note to teachers: this may have been ritual clothing). Bring to class coats cut out of paper in ascending sizes so that you have one for each child. Explain that it must have been difficult for Hannah to live apart from her child, and she probably talked with him and taught him when she brought his new clothing each year. Have the students write on the back of the coat something they think Hannah may have wanted Samuel to know. If they have one of the smaller coats, it should be advice suited to a younger child, with advice for older children on the larger coats.

Primary Lesson 28 Supplement

ILLUSTRATIONS: The June 1990 Friend (“For Little Friends: David and Goliath�) has some illustrations that could be used for telling the story, or for a simple quiz at the end. There is another illustration in the July 2002 Friend (“For Little Friends: David and Goliath�) that you could also use.

CONQUERING FEARS: (If you think your class can do this in a controlled manner.) Bring an action figure and some small stones. One at a time, give a child a stone and tell them a situation that might cause fear for some children (such as giving a talk, standing up to friends who want them to see an inappropriate movie, telling an adult to stop using bad language, etc.). If they can share with you a way to conquer that fear, let them throw their stone and see if they can knock down the action figure.

PIN THE ROCK ON GOLIATH GAME: This is a variation on Pin the Tail on the Donkey. Have a large picture of Goliath (if you can make it ‘life size’, all the better). Give each child a turn being blindfolded and trying to pin the stone on Goliath. Before their turns, they could answer a review question. (You may want to write the questions on the back of the stones.) This could also be done with a picture of Goliath drawn on the chalkboard and a small ball of StickyTac.

CRAFT: Bring a brown lunchbag for each child and a half dozen stones (circles of brown paper) for each child. Discuss with your class some obstacles that we face when we try to follow the commandments. For each stone, write an obstacle on one side and a way to overcome that obstacle on the other.

SCRIPTURE VERSE: 1 Samuel 17:47 is a good summary of this lesson. Write each word on a separate sheet of paper. Have your class sit in a circle and pass out the words of the verse in order. Go around the circle as the entire class repeats the verse and the child holds up the appropriate piece of paper at the right time. See how quickly you can go around the circle.