4 Word Club: Jacob

Bible lessons + Davar

 

People who work with Roma children often say how flexible they have to be. Sometimes many children come; sometimes very few. The children might be any age, from very young to nearly teenagers. The children can have no school background or read and write well. How long they can sit and listen, how long they stay in the meeting, all of these things can vary.

 

These suggestions use ordinary things from everyday life.

Words from the Bible story are  used to get people ready to read and write.

Each leader will change and choose from these suggestions for their own club.

 

Jacob:  Bible Lesson Suggestions

 

The leader chooses the Biblical or spiritual focus. Every group is different and needs something different. The leader knows this better than anyone else.

 

We’ve chosen four words from the Bible story—practical rather than abstract words.

These words connect with the spiritual, Biblical lesson as well as the “educational” lesson.

There are suggested activities to go with each of the 4 words.

The activities can reinforce ideas from the Bible story.

The Bible story can connect educational activities.

 

Each leader will, of course, choose and change activities.

 

 

Esau and Jacob are born

 

Nothing  - Rebecca had no baby, nothing happened (prayer)

Twins   Rebecca had twins, two babies (answer to prayer)

Different  - the boys were totally different, with different futures.

Tent - Jacob stayed home, in the tents and helped his mother.

 

Suggested activities:

 

Nothing

v FUNdament Missing/Gone. Give everyone a folded paper, some have a little sweet in it, others have nothing.

v Nothing, a bit, enough, much, too much.
Explain the meaning of these words.
Have each word written on a separate piece  of paper. Put these at one end of the room.
Also smaller pieces of paper for everyone in the group with one of these words written on it. Hand the papers out, so that each person has one.
At a certain signal, everyone runs to the word on the floor that matches the word in their own piece of paper.

v Nothing, something. Use words for quantities in both school language and home language. Everyone can expand the words they know.

v Cook something together. Together, measure the right amount of ingredients. Or together feel/stir/taste and see if there is enough or too much.

 

Twins

v FUNdament 9 Two - activities

v Nice name? Parents choose names for their children. Discuss which names the group like. (This gives insight into the way the group thinks, and what they find important.)

v Have each person make a paper hat with one of their favorite names written on it. Talk about a letter in that name.

v Letter Game B8, variation 4. Everyone with an “A” in their name goes . . . (over by the window or stands by the red chair or . . . ). Everyone with a “J” in their name goes . . . .

 

Different and the same are words used in education, We need know these two ideas in order to do well in school. We play games to teach or practice both words in the school language and the home language.

v Start Game B3 Mosaic, B5 Statues.  Are all the statues (or mosaics) the same?

v FUNdament 10 The Same.  Make it fun, choose one person  to do everything DIFFERENT while the others do the same

v Draw differences. Everyone draws their own human figure. Then they draw another one which if very different than the first drawing.

v Do a “see the differences” worksheet (Example with 2 houses).

 

Tent

v Make a tent out of cloths or blankets.
Eat a snack in the tent.

v Take turns acting out some task that is done in the house (cooking, washing, etc.) The rest of the group has to guess what is being acted out. 

v Worksheet, connect the dots to make a tent (see below).

 

Jacob the deceiver

 

Red - Jacob had nice, red food.

True - What Jacob said to his father was not true

Feel – Isaac felt the texture of Jacob’s skin.

Run - Jacob had to run away.

 

Red

v Name the colors,

v Choose a game with colors.
For example, give directions using colors. “Everyone with green in their clothing, run to the door.” “Everyone with blue pants (or skirt) on, hop to the window.” Etc.

v Look at recipes for red food; make a nice soup with red lentils and tomatoes

 

True

v Is it true? Everyone takes a turn telling a story. The others have to guess whether or not the story is true.

v Pretend to be someone else like Jacob did. Talk differently. Maybe use dress-up clothes to look different. Act differently, too. Everyone may take a turn, or they may do this all at once.

v As a group, act out an everyday situation such as shopping, feeding the animals, going to the doctor, getting on the bus or driving in a car . . . ). Everyone chooses a role to play. (The leader would be the mother or the adult in the situation).
Afterwards, the group plays the same situation, but everyone chooses a different role.

 

Feel  good preparation for writing and  expanding vocabulary.

v FUNdament 3. Soft Touch #9.
Have several things with different textures ( fur, silk, knitted sweater, sand paper, …). Put them in a box or a bag.  Take turns being blindfolded and guessing, by feeling, what the thing is. Name the items in the home language and the school language.

v Start Games E Feeling and Drawing. For example, E2 Blindfold copy

 

Run - play hide and seek or any game with running.

 

Jacob’s Dream Genesis 28:10-27

 

Place –

v Game: run or go in different ways to a certain place ( to the end of the room, in front of the window, to the entrance, etc). For example: crawl, jump,  go like a spider, spin, etc.

v Discussion: where is the right place for one to go when is very sick? Name different places which one can get help.

v Fundament 12. Where are you from

 

Stones –

v build a tower with stones ( whose tower is the highest?) or take a walk in the nearby area, collect as many stones as possible and then play with them;

v Start Game D:  Words for Where

v Start Games  C2, C3, C4, C5

 

Stairway/Ladder 

v Discussion:  for what is a stairway or a ladder used for? When would you use which?

v Game: - play ladder game with a dice and the drawn “ladder game” (chutes-and-ladders-printable-template.html). Up to 6 children can play at one time. The one who wins might be given the chance to ask the other players to complete a task: to run, to jump, to sing, to go backwards, to do push-ups, etc.).
This game can be drawn on the pavement with chalk or on a large piece of cloth or cardboard. If there is a large group, the children be divided in small groups with a die and the game sketch for each group.

v Fundament 13 “To the line”  any of the 1, 2, 3 or 4.

 

Promise:  a commitment made to somebody with a certain condition.

v Discussion: did you ever make a promise to somebody?
Did you keep that certain promise?
Did somebody promise you something? Did they keep their promise?
Emphasis GOD’s faithfulness, who keeps HIS promises and every moment He watches to fulfil all His promises! Emphasis God’s promises to Jacob and to us!

v Activity: - go on a “treasure hunt” and find out as many labels/advertisements as possible. See if there are any promises on them. (these labels should be hidden around the area before the lesson).

v Craft : make a nice picture with God's promise to us (the Bible verse can be printed by the leader before the lesson); the children make a nice frame around it by gluing pressed flowers or any easy-to-find items.

 

Jacob meets his mother’s family Genesis 29 Jacob meets Rachel; Jacob and Laban 

 

Water well – Jacob met his cousin Rachel at the well.

On (top of) – there was a big stone on top of the well.

Forward – Jacob came forward to water Rachel’s sheep.

Month – After one month, Jacob worked for his uncle Laban (so he could marry Rachel)

 

Water well

v Circle discussion:  how can you get drinking water? Might also discuss hygiene about water.

v Relay race with a spoonful of water (fill the “well” or bucket at the other end of the line)

v Start Games H2:  re-enact the story or make up a situation.

v SG A8:  Children act out one way to get water; the rest of the group guesses what that way is.

 

On (top of)

v FUNdament 14 (On); includes ideas for handwork/craft;

v Relay race or other game with “on top of”, for example, walk with something (a book?) on your head or with an egg on a spoon.

v LETTER GAME F2 Run & Do: Have all of the instructions involve putting something ON (a book on the table; a hat on John’s head . . .) or taking something OFF so that it is no longer ON.

This can be done verbally if the group is not yet ready to read written instructions.

 

Forward

v Step forward. Everyone stands behind a line. They take turns stepping forward and doing something (sing a song in the microphone . . .).
Or a problem is stated and people take turns stepping over the line with a solution.

v Math Game 3 Take 3 Steps Forward.

 

Month

v Make a song about the months of the year.

v If there is a rhyme in your language about the months of the year, teach it to the children.

v Do a Letter Game, using the first letters of the months or the letters in the current month.

 

 Jacob, Leah, and Rachel Genesis 29,30

 

Work – Jacob worked for Laban

Seven – Jacob worked for 7 years to marry Rachel

Similar – Rachel and her sister Leah were similar.

Jacob did not know he had married Leah instead of Rachel until the next morning.

Son – Leah had 4 sons. God saw that Jacob loved Rachel more.

OR

Feast/meal – part of the wedding

 

Work 

·     Start Game A8 Guess what I do. Divide the children in groups. One group acts out a certain kind of work. The others guess what it is.

·     Circle discussion: together think up ways to earn money.

·     Give everyone a work-related item (hammer, pen, seeds, chicken wire, fake driver’s license, sewing things . . .). Everyone takes a turn telling what they can do with the item they have.

·     Discuss what Jacob had to do and act that out.

 

Seven

·     Handwork—make or draw 7 things

·     Math Game with seven

·     Seven years—what is a year? Make a drawing for each of the 4 seasons. Color them in, discuss the names and characteristics of each season. Glue them in order.

 

Similar

·     Clay. Similar = is like something but is NOT that thing. Give everyone some clay or Playdough to make something from real life (an egg, a piece of fruit, a piece of cake . . .).

·     Characteristics. People can recognize what the clay thing is because it has characteristics that are similar to the real thing, but it is not the real thing. You recognize people because of their characteristics, too. Name the characteristics of someone; everyone else guesses who you are talking about. For example: it’s a girl, she’s wearing earrings, her skirt is blue, she came with her sister, she can sing well, she has brown hair . . . .
(This develops analytical thinking skills.)

·     Move similarly. All walk in the same way that a certain animal walks or moves. Change to a different animal. (Might also all move like trees swaying in the wind or  . . . )

·     Characteristics. Have several differently shaped objects (a block; a cup; a ball). Put one under a thin piece of cloth. Everyone guesses what it is.

OR FUNdament 3.9 Make a feeling sack. What do the things in the sack feel like?

 

Son (children)

·     Draw your own family tree
OR make a family tree of Jacob’s family

·     FUNdament 5.3 Describe a certain baby; everyone guesses which baby it is.

 

Feast/meal

·     Celebration meal:  discuss what would be eaten at a party or a certain celebration meal. Draw this.

·     Cook something tasty.

·     Give the children an ingredient (tomato, cabbage, flour). Discuss what they can make with it.

ALSO POSSIBLE:

Family – make a family tree

Contest/won – Rachel & Leah had a contest to see who could have the most children (win Jacob’s love). Play a game with definite winners. Any running game, for instance.

How many (children; keep adding up!). Many Math Games possible.

Names—name all of Jacob’s children. See how many you can remember.

·     Many Letter Games involving names; make a mosaic of the first letter of each person’s name.

 

Jacob returns home

 

Running away/fleeing

·     Math Game 4 How many do you hear? Jacob & his family ran away quietly, so Laban would not notice.

·     Any game of tag. Everyone runs away from the person who is “it”.

Return/coming back

·     A game that involves running somewhere and returning back. Perhaps a relay where everyone must run to one side and then back to tag the next teammate.

·     Everyone walks to a certain place (a wall, over a line) and then walks back to the starting point backwards or in some other challenging way.

Ahead of/before/in front of

v Step forward. Everyone stands behind a line. They take turns stepping forward and doing something (sing a song in the microphone . . .).
Or a problem is stated and people take turns stepping over the line with a solution.

v Math Game 3 Take 3 Steps Forward.

v Do what I say. Give the group instructions that have them putting something ahead of something else. Maybe they stand in two lines. All the girls get ahead of the boys.
Maybe they move one box in front of another one or . . . .

Fighting

·     FUNdament 3.4 (Soft & hard touch)

·     Hip—Song about head & shoulders, knees & toes