David & Goliath

Art Lesson

Summary of Lesson Activities: 

"Illustrating a David and Goliath Moment in Our Lives" includes a clothespin doll.

Scripture Reference:

1 Samuel 17

Lesson Objectives:

• The goal of this lesson is for the children to know the story of David & Goliath and to understand that David was successful because he put his trust in God.

Supplies List:

• Bibles
• wooden clothespins
• fabric scraps
• fabric glue
• yarn
• markers
• paper
• crayons
• colored pencils

Leader Preparation:

• Read the background and scripture.
• Gather the materials.

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Lesson Activities:

Welcome the children to the art workshop. Explain that today they will be exploring the story of David & Goliath. Ask the children if anyone is familiar with that story. Pass out Bibles and have the children find the first book of Samuel. During the first week, instruct the children to turn to chapter 17, verse 1 and read the story of David & Goliath through verse 50 out loud. The children may take turns reading or you may read to them. In subsequent weeks, allow the children to summarize the story, referring to the Bible if need be. Use the Children's Bible for younger children.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Explain to the children that they are going to do an art activity that will allow them to illustrate a “David & Goliath” situation that they faced in their own lives. Have the children begin by making a clothespin doll to represent themselves. Help the children to decorate their dolls using fabric, yarn, and markers.

When they have finished their dolls, set them aside and ask the children to think of a time when they were facing a giant problem as David did. (Provide many examples to stoke the conversation. Bullying comes to mind. Dealing with a divorce, or a death in the family. A friend that betrays you. Something you wish you hadn't done.)   Write out some of the problems/giants kids face in their lives with friends, family, health, self, etc. 

Ask:  How could their faith in God and God's guidance have helped them face their giant?  Ask the students to speak on God's behalf with advice to each student's "giant" problem. 

NOW.....Using the materials at hand, have the children produce a representation of that problem they faced. For example, if they have a giant problem with a friend, they could make a representation of that friend as a clothespin doll. If they 'hate' someone, or have a hard time getting along with someone, they could make a hard dark ball with (fake) spikes sticking out of it representing the pain they feel when they deal with that person.  It's not important that YOU know what the object represents, but only that THEY know what it represents. It can be 'abstract'. It will go home with them, along with their clothespin doll.

Allow this to take a few minutes, then pile those giant problems on the table, ask the students to offer "God's Advice" about all these problems...what to do about them.  

Now produce a bunch of red felt HEARTS and invite students to glue that heart BOTH on their doll or on their problem. Tell them that this heart represents the heart that God saw in David which enabled David to overcome his giant problems.  It was the heart of goodness and faith. Glue a heart on both your problem object and your clothespin object.

Next...Have everyone lay their hands on the pile of problems and lead a prayer over them for God's guidance. Let the objects go home in student pockets as a reminder.

Alternately, you can have the children take a large piece of paper that has been divided into two segments. On the left-hand side, have them draw their problem as it originally appeared. On the right-hand side, have the children draw what their problems looked like after they put their faith in God.

If time allows, let the children share their drawings and discuss how they put their faith in God. Ask the children to think of some additional times when it would be helpful to turn to God with their problems.

Keep the drawings to display, but allow the children to take their clothespin dolls home with them at the end of the lesson.

Alternate Game Ending:  (provided by Rotation Editor)

While the doll and "problem" object glue is drying, play this little game to reinforce the concept of "how you get a heart like David's"

Place a set of boxes or buckets about 10 feet from a line on the floor. Students stand at that line and aim a beanbag at the various boxes/buckets.

The boxes are marked, "Get Closer to God through Prayer", "Strengthen Your Faith through Worship",  "Have a Heart by Helping Others", "Learn God's Advice for Living by Reading Your Bible".    Inside each box are "heart" candy or felt hearts they can collect as they get a bag into the box.  

Mark one of the boxes with "???".  If they get a bag into that box they must come up with a "way to get closer to God".

Closing:

Have the children assist with the cleanup and end with a prayer.

A lesson posted by rotation.org stdavidskids.

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