Tips

• Using one color of modeling dough for all kids (and your examples) will keep this experience simpler so kids aren’t arguing over the color that matches yours.
• If you have a really big group, make multiple identical samples so your adult and teen helpers can also walk around and show kids the sample.
• Showing kids a real Bible and reading part of the story directly from the Bible helps kids know this isn’t just a made-up story—it’s found in God’s Word!
• Using “pair shares” where kids share with a partner ensures everyone gets a chance to answer the question—not just one or two kids.

Make Sculptures

            Open your Bible to Genesis 1, and show kids the words.

            Say: Today we’re going to explore how God is creative. That means God has a lot of great ideas and he likes to make things. God is so creative that he made the whole world out of nothing! For example…

            Read Genesis 1:16.

            Show kids the star you sculpted. Say: God is creative, and God made the stars! Can you sculpt a star that looks exactly like mine? Distribute modeling dough, and walk around to show kids your star. Allow about a minute. After kids sculpt, have them compare stars with a few people near them.

            Say: And that’s not all God made!

            Read Genesis 1:25.

            Show kids the lion you sculpted. Say: God is creative, and God made wild animals like this lion! Can you make a lion that looks just like mine? Allow about a minute for kids to sculpt as you walk around with the lion.

            Ask: • What words would you use to describe your sculptures?

            Say: Here’s the word God used for all the things he made: good. After each thing he made, God called it good. And God made so many things! Land and plants, water and fish, the sky and birds! He called all of it good. But then God made something even better.

            Read Genesis 1:27.

            Say: After God made people, God said his creation was very good. That’s because humans are the only thing God created in his own image! That doesn’t mean we look like God, but he shaped our hearts and emotions and thinking to be like his. You tried to make a star and a lion in the image of the ones I’d made. You tried to make them look the same as mine.

            But now I have a harder challenge: Try to make a sculpture in your own image. How much can you get it to look just like you? Allow a minute for kids to sculpt and show their sculptures to a partner.

            Ask: • What do you think it means that God made us in his own image?

            Say: Being made in God’s image goes beyond how we look. Your sculptures might look kind of like you, but they don’t have any of your character. They’re just dough! But God put parts of his character into us when he made us.

            Like creativity! God is creative, so we’re creative. We might make things like the sculptures you made today or other art projects. Or maybe we come up with fun ideas for inventions, or make up songs, or write stories. All of those are great ways to show creativity!

Discuss

            Ask: • What’s one creative thing you enjoy doing? Have kids turn to a partner to share. Then ask a few kids to share with everyone.

            Say: God is creative, so we’re creative. He made us in his image by allowing us to be creative, too. And we show a little bit of what God is like when we do creative things like what you just shared!

            Collect the modeling dough.

Tip 

• Don’t have internet in your classroom? That’s okay! You can choose your own worship songs from our Best Of Dig In Music DVD here.

Sing Songs to God

            Sing the three songs in any order.

Tip

• Want to do more personal study on the presence of Jesus at creation? Read John 1:1-5.

Pass a Paper

            Say: I’d like to see what good detectives you are. Try something with me.

• Form groups of about five kids.
• Give each group a sheet of paper.
• Have kids pass the paper around the circle a couple of times.

            Ask: • Look closely. Do you notice anything on this paper?

            • If I stacked up all these papers, do you think you could tell which one your group had touched? Explain your answer.

Make Fingerprints

            Say: There’s no visible trace that anyone touched your paper! So let’s try that again…with a twist!

• Hand each group a washable ink pad.
• Let kids press their fingertips into the ink, then pass the paper around again.

            Ask: • What difference do you see?

            • Do you think your fingerprints were there both times or just the second time? Tell me more about that.

            Say: Today we explored how God is creative and he showed his creativity by making the world. But someone else was there with God when he made the world. When we read about creation in Genesis, we don’t see Jesus’ name mentioned. But later in the Bible, the book of John tells us that Jesus was there at the beginning!

            Hold up a sheet of “fingerprinted” paper. Even though we don’t read about Jesus, he was there—just like your first set of fingerprints! And Jesus is still with us today.

            Ask: • How does it feel to know that Jesus is with you, even though you may not see him?

            Say: Jesus loves you and is a friend who’s always there—whether you see him or think about him or not. Let’s make fingerprint hearts as we silently thank Jesus for always being with us.

• Demonstrate how to press two inked fingerprints at opposite angles to make a heart shape on the paper.
• Kids can work to cover their group’s sheet of paper with fingerprint hearts.

Tip

• With attention spans in mind, try to keep these prayers of thanksgiving moving as quickly as possible.

Think of Things to Thank God For

            Say: I’m so glad God is creative. God our Creator has filled our world and our lives with good things.

            When a friend gives us a gift, it’s good to say, “Thank you!” Well, God is a friend who gives us so much. So let’s respond to God with a prayer of thanks!

            Have kids form one big circle so they can see and hear each other well. If you have a large group, create one circle for every adult or teen helper.

            Say: Sometimes we close our eyes when we pray. Today we’ll pray all together and with our eyes open so we can see God’s creativity all around us.

            I’ll call out a category of things God’s created, like animals, people, or plants! Then we’ll go around the circle and each person will shout out something in that category to thank God for. So if the category is “animals,” you might shout, “Puppies!” After each person shouts something, we’ll all respond with “Thank you, God!”

            Call out a few categories. Ideas include animals, bugs, birds, plants, and people.  

            Pray: We thank you, Creator God, for all these things and more! May we appreciate your creation and show others your creativity.

            Say: God is creative, and we thank God for his creation.

Tips

• It may take a while for kids to find the Bible verse. That’s okay! This activity is primarily about building Bible navigation skills.
• If you have a lot of non-readers, have some picture Bibles on hand for them to flip through as older kids look up verses. They won’t look for anything specific, but they can look at the pictures to practice paging through Bibles.
• It’s a great idea to have a stash of matching classroom Bibles, such as the Hands-On Bible. This will avoid confusion of different translations or storybook Bibles that don’t include every passage. Even so, avoid the temptation to just tell kids a page number—let kids practice finding verses.

Explore Psalm 33:6

            Say: God is creative! God has a lot of great ideas, and he likes to make things. He created everything we see. Let’s see what the Bible says about God’s creative power.

            Make sure kids all have Bibles. Younger kids can sit with older kids so they can observe the skills of using their Bibles even before being able to read.

            Say: Our Bible verse is in the book of Psalms, chapter 33, verse 6. Psalms is a collection of songs and poems in the Old Testament. Even though it sounds like it starts with an S, it starts with a silent P. To find Psalms, open your Bible to the middle. Allow time.

• Point to the book of Psalms on the poster so kids can see the name and what books come before and after it.
• Mention that the chapter numbers are the big numbers, and help kids find the big 33 in Psalms.
• Mention that the verse numbers are the small numbers, and help kids find the small 6 in Psalm 33.
• When everyone has found the verse, ask someone to read Psalm 33:6 aloud.

Look at the Details

            Say: God is creative, so he puts lots of detail into the things he creates. Let’s take a look at some of those details.

• Form mixed-age groups of four or five kids. Give each group a zoomed-in picture from the “All in the Details” handout.
• Have kids study the picture and make guesses about what it might be.
• Have groups trade pictures and repeat the process.
• Continue until all groups have had a chance to look at each picture.
• Hold up each picture and ask kids to share what they thought it might be.
• Then hold up the corresponding full picture from the “All in the Details Answers” handout to reveal the answer.

            Say: God is creative! He put amazing detail into everything he made.

            Ask: • What are some details you noticed in the pictures?

            • What are some details that make you special and amazing?

            Say: When God made us in his image, he paid attention to every detail. He even put some of his creativity into us. God is creative, so we’re creative!

Tip

• WARNING! Don’t just print and distribute! Here’s why.

Older Kids: Do an Activity Page

            Say: We’re learning about God’s creation. God is creative! He made the sky, the trees, the animals…and everything! Best of all, God made us in his own image. That doesn't mean we look like God, physically. But he shaped our hearts, emotions, and thinking after his. Let’s see if you can copy an image.

            Distribute the activity pages and pencils. Kids will fold the bottom of the pages up so they can trace the picture on the back of the page.

            Ask: • Compare your drawing to someone else’s. What do you notice?

            • God made us in his image. How is that like tracing a picture? How is it different?

            Say: You didn’t get to be very creative in this activity. You just traced a picture. But you were made in the image of a creative God, so you definitely can be creative! After all, God made us all look different! Add some creative things to your picture now so it looks completely your own. As you draw, remember that God is creative, so we’re creative. Allow time for kids to add their own elements to the picture.

Younger Kids: Color a Coloring Page

            Distribute the coloring pages and crayons. Say: God is creative. He made the whole world and everything in it! Let’s color some of his creation now. Then add in God’s best creation—you!

            Allow time for kids to color and draw self-portraits in the empty space.

            When kids finish coloring, three-hole-punch their pages and put them into binders, if desired.

Tip

• If you have more than 10 kids, form smaller groups of around 8-10 so everyone gets a turn to act out a part of creation while their group guesses.

Act It Out

            Say: Let’s learn a Bible verse that reminds us how our creative God made the whole earth!

            The Bible tells us about all the true things God has done throughout history and still does for us now. The Bible tells us God created the whole world!

            In Isaiah 40:28, it says: “Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.”

            That’s kind of a long verse, so let’s just learn one part of it: “The Lord is…the Creator of all the earth.” Let’s play a fun game where you’ll get to be creative and act out some of the awesome things God has made on earth!

• Choose a willing child to act first.
• Kids can choose to act out any part of God’s creation they would like—from the sun, stars, and ocean waves to animals like kangaroos, bears, or lions.
• Have the group guess what part of creation the child was acting out.
• After each round, lead everyone in saying together: “The Lord is…the Creator of all the earth.”
• Switch actors and continue as time allows. If younger kids need help, whisper ideas of what they can act out.

Talk About It

            Ask: • Out of all the things we acted out today, what’s your favorite part of creation?

            Say: We acted out all sorts of different things God created, like [list items kids chose]. You might have a favorite animal or other part of nature. But do you want to know what God’s favorite part of creation is? Us! When God made people, he said his creation was very good.

            Ask: • How do you feel knowing you are the best part of all God created?

            Say: The verse we learned reminds us that God is creative. God has a lot of great ideas, and he likes to make things. And he made you to be creative, too!

Strike a Pose

            Say: Today we saw how we were made in God’s image. For example, God is creative, and we’re creative because we reflect that characteristic! Like God, we can have good ideas and make awesome things! Being made in God’s image is about far more than how we look—it’s about who we are. But in this game, you’ll try to match your partner’s look.

• Have kids find partners.
• Teach kids three poses:
  • bear (arms up, claws out)
  • mouse (hands on head to make big mouse ears)
  • gorilla (arms down, hunched forward)
• Pairs will stand back to back.
• At your signal, they’ll jump to turn around to face each other while striking one of the three poses.
• The goal is to match your partner, but kids may not talk or make animal noises to plan ahead of time.
• Have pairs who matched give a cheer.
• Form new pairs and keep playing.
• Let the game keep going as long as needed to fill time until parents begin to arrive.

            Distribute a copy of the “Dig In @ Home” handout to kids as they leave, or email it to parents during the week.