FREE Bible Lessons for Kids – Diligent {SHIP VBS – Day 4}

Today begins our 2nd week of SHIP Bible School (Shelter the Homeless International Project). I decided to repeat the same three virtues this week as we covered last week. So, follow along and you’ll get a few more free Bible lessons for kids on diligence, contentment & patience.

Since we are starting with diligence, we began singing the Diligent Song from We Choose Virtues.

I really like the songs that We Choose Virtues {WCV} provides for several reasons.

WCV songs repeat the catchphrase on the parenting cards.
Our kids were singing the songs to themselves during craft time – even the 5 year olds!
WCV songs are simple and repetitive. Kids sing the catchphrase over & over again.
WCV songs use well-known tunes, such as “If You’re Happy & You Know It”
WCV songs are easy to learn & remember

If you decide to use We Choose Virtues with your own family or in your homeschool, you can grab a digital copy of the songs for only $3.

I was quickly reminded how songs help kids memorize information. Next time I plan Bible School, I hope to have the verses in song.

After singing, we read the front of the Diligent Parenting card together, discussing what the catchphrase means. If the kids can say the catchphrase tomorrow, they receive a sticker & piece of candy.

Then, I used an object lesson from For Instruction in Righteousness, which begins with reading Proverbs 26:14-15.

As a door turns on its hinges,
So does a lazy man on his bed.
The lazy man buries his hand in the bowl;
He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

We talked about a lazy person (sluggard) being the opposite of diligent. I opened & closed the door to show them that a door does not get any work done. It simply opens & closes. A lazy person is like a door on its hinges. He turns over in his bed, without getting anything done. He is NOT diligent.

In verse 15, I demonstrated with my hand how a lazy person leaves his hand in his bowl. He is so lazy, he doesn’t bring it back to his mouth so he can eat.

There are lots of verses about sluggards. Just look at Proverbs 26:13-16. Read one verse every day and act out the object lesson with your own kids.

Dennise told the story of Joseph working diligently wherever he was. He worked diligently in Potiphar’s house to where he managed Potiphar’s entire home. Joseph worked diligently in jail, gaining more & more responsibility over the years. Finally, Joseph worked diligently in Pharoah’s court to have enough grain during seven years of drought.

Next was memory verse time.

In the past, we’ve learned a new verse every day of our two week Bible school session. This year, I decided to review the same 3 verses this week as last week. My hope is the kids really learn the verses.

So, we reviewed last week’s verse about being diligent. After relating the Bible story of Joseph to the verse about diligence, we recited it together. Then, we played a game with the memory verse. Each table was given phrases of the verse on cards in a stack, upside down.

We had a contest to see which table could put the phrases in order first. The winners received trinket prizes. We played this game twice and the kids loved competing against each other.

For our craft, the kids made Joseph puppets from cups. Since cutting takes so much time, we cut the pieces during our prep day, yesterday. All the pieces for the puppet were in a snack size ziploc bag. This makes it easy to hand out everything at one time.

To complete the craft, the kids colored the head, arms & legs. Next they strung the yarn (already tied to the craft stick) through the cup top and tied it to the legs. All other pieces were taped to the cup, including a copy of today’s verse.

The Bible crafts were found at Danielle’s Place.

Finally, we enjoyed eating a Rice Krispy pyramid. The pyramid reminds us of Egypt, where Joseph diligently worked in whatever position God gave him.

As the kids ate their snack, Kelsey shared a story about working diligently when she was 8 years old. She wanted to compete at the state swim meet and had to practice 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening.

She had to be diligent to swim in that tournament. It’s a good thing she was diligent because her time still stands as a state record.

In summary, here’s what we did for teaching patience:

We Choose Virtues Diligent Parenting Card (includes virtue, memory verse, catchphrases)
Story of Joseph working diligently at Potiphar’s home, in prison & for the Pharaoh
Craft – Cup Puppet of Joseph, with memory verse on cup
Snack – Rice Krispy Pyramid (from rice krispy treats)
Songs – Diligent song from We Choose Virtues to review yesterday’s virtue

Girls Teen Bible Study – After Bible School

We also work with the older teen girls in the orphanage & neighborhood. On Monday morning, a couple of the girls baked a strawberry cake. Claudia loves “pastel fresa”, so we found a strawberry cake from scratch recipe. When the cake was finished baking, we had Bible study with the teenage girls.

Taylor shared how she struggled to be patient when her siblings annoyed her. As she grew up, it was hard to be patient, waiting for God to lead her in His ways.

After we prayed, we enjoyed the most moist strawberry cake I’ve eaten. It was scrumptious. I’ll share the recipe in an upcoming post.

Watch my next blog post for more free Bible lessons for kids – on contentment.

I am giving away a pound of freshly roasted El Salvadoran coffee. To enter this giveaway, you need to do 2 things.

1. SUPER-EASY: Subscribe to this blog. Use the form below to subscribe to my blog & receive an email every time I post. If you already receive emails every time I post to this blog, you’ve already done #1. Just check it off!

2. COMMENT: Leave a comment on any of my blog posts about our SHIP VBS. You can leave a comment every day until July 17th, 2014