Printables: Creation Lessons for Little Ones

A while back my pastor’s wife asked me if I would be willing to take the 4-5 year olds on Wednesday nights for the month of July. I was delighted, especially when she also suggested I could cover creation with them. (Wonder why she thought of that topic for me?) 😀

Since my son is in that class, I knew they had already learned the Days of Creation Week. I didn’t need to introduce them to the basics again. All the better! I was able to scour the first two chapters of Genesis for ideas little minds could absorb to help them understand who they are and the power of God.

The animal drawings are pulled from the internet. I tried to find non-copyrighted ones, but some coloring websites wouldn’t say.

Each week we sang a Creation Week song I found on Ministry to Children‘s website. It’s the last one on the page and I added some motions. A few of the kids would follow along and even hold up their fingers when I sang the Day number.

The only thing I would be careful on is don’t make God sleep on Day 7. He never sleeps (Psalm 121:4), so I just leaned back with my hands folded on my lap to show relaxation.

Lesson One: God Spoke, Except When He Didn’t

CS4K-Creation-Class-Week-1-PDF

CS4K-Creation-Week-1-Book

This is the only week that requires anything besides a printer and crayons. Of course, it’s also the one I’m most proud of. You’ll need:

  • Clay or other modeling dough
  • Butter or other blunt Knife (I used a kids’ toy one)
  • Scissors (just for adult workers to cut out the pages)
  • Stapler or other means of assembling the books

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. Psalm 33:6 

The point of this lesson is that God used just his voice for creating almost everything. If you have older students you can mention verses like Ps 33:9; Ps 148:5; Joh 11:43 and John 1:1-3

You will need 6 speech bubbles per child. Each one is to be colored with a representation of the Days of Creation:

  1. Light
  2. Sky (clouds work well for drawing)
  3. Land with Plants
  4. Sun, Moon, and Stars
  5. Flying things and Water Creatures
  6. Land Animals

If you’re teaching a class, you’ll want to mark the name of the child on the margin of each sheet to keep things from getting crazy.

The hand with the wind blowing on it is for the creation of man.

Creation Week Book: Hand Page

First, I collected each child’s colored sheets and then we got out the dough. I told them how God didn’t talk people into coming alive, but rather he formed him from the dirt.

So, we formed a head, torso, and 4 limbs. I helped the little ones with theirs. Remember to give each of them nostrils (you could use a toothpick, although I just used my pinky nail).

Next, I showed them how God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life.

Then, I had the most fun of all. I reenacted God’s surgery on Adam to create Eve Genesis 2:21-22. You should have seen the girls’ eyes bug when I cut into the dough man to extract a tiny crescent shaped piece from his side. 😀

On the back of the hand sheet we drew a brown stick figure. As Answers in Genesis points out, Adam and Eve most likely had middle brown skin and hair.

All that was left was to assemble the book.

Lesson Two: All Creatures Were Vegetarian

CS4K-Creation-Class-Week-2

Week 2 Coloring Page

This lesson was pretty simple. In fact, all the rest were easier than the first week because I’d had a bit of a rough time with kids ranging from barely 3 through tired and obstinate 5 years old. We first spent some time reviewing the previous lesson of God making everything by talking except for people. Then we talked about food. The kids were fascinated to learn we eat so much grass (bread, cereal, pasta, corn, etc.).

That led to how God first designed everything (even that Turkey Vulture) to eat plants.

Having learned the last time that several of my kids loved to just scribble with their favorite colors everywhere, I only pulled out the green crayons for them to fill their animals’ food bowls. Later, my son asked for yellow to give his critters french fries (something he’d just experienced). Older kids might want to get more creative. Just so it doesn’t look like they’re eating raw steak.

Now that I look at this sheet I wish I’d done a line of animals at the top and a collection of fruits and veggies along the bottom to connect. But, this works and you sure get the point.

As the kids were talking I shared with them how Jesus is going to make all things good again. You can read this to the kids or just summarize passages like Isaiah 11, one of the most delightful promises in the Bible. Several kids were especially amazed to learn poisonous snakes will be safe when Jesus is king.

Lesson Three: Adam Was Made King of the Whole World

CS4K-Creation-Class-Week-3

Creation Week 3 Coloring Page: King Adam

After singing our song and reviewing how God talked everything but Adam into existence, we talked about how God made Adam the King of the whole world.

I didn’t try to explain this to the little ones, but this is a vital concept for why Adam’s sin caused universe wide devastation. God made Adam out of the same stuff as the rest of the earth (and universe as far as we can tell) for a reason. The physical link between us and the earth gave us the power to protect and then to pull the rest of creation down with us.

We did talk about how not only was Adam made boss of all the animals and the whole world, but that means when Jesus comes back as his rightful heir, He will be able to restore all things.

Notice, I didn’t use a modern globe for the planet. God tells us all the waters were gathered into one place in Genesis 1:9, therefore there was only one primordial ocean and the land mass was dramatically different from today’s.

Lesson Four: Adam Was Given Two Jobs

CS4K-Creation-Class-Week-4

Creation Week 4 Coloring Page: Animals in the Garden

Our last lesson focused on Adam having work to do even before sin. Sure, he didn’t have to sweat and get hurt, but he did have responsibilities. Being made king didn’t mean he sat around being fed by slaves. It really meant he was responsible for the well being of his subjects.

We talked about our gardens and how it’s fun work to grow flowers and vegetables for ourselves. We talked about how it was easier before sin, but Adam didn’t just laze around drinking lemonade.

The kids added fruit to the trees and flowers to the grass at this point.

Then we talked about Adam using his brain to give names to the animals. God didn’t just tell him everything, he left lots of room for Adam to exercise his mind and put his own stamp on the world.

We drew lines from the names of the animals to their drawings.

You’ll notice I included a chimp. This is for the older ones to see that even great apes aren’t designed to complete man. Only a wife was right for Adam.

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4 

I’d love to hear how you use these lessons. And, if you’re more artistic than I am and design better versions, I’d love to share them!

 


Cheri Fields

I'm a homeschooling blogger and book writer. The gift God has given me for His kingdom is to understand complex stuff (mostly) and share it with others using everyday words. It is a joy to share God's wonders with all kinds of people and especially the next generation!