AWANA Books of the Old Testament

I finished this post 3 weeks ago, leaving to see Mrs. Langston at the nursing home while the video uploaded. Of course, John surprised me there and then I had much more interesting post!
Finally I'm going back to this and have decided that now is a good time to post these pictures and video of my AWANA kids class. I have really enjoyed "my kids" this year - ending up with many active boys and girls (though mostly boys) who are typically very excited to be at AWANA.



Above is this year's Picture! All the kids don't have the books completely down as you can tell from the video, but they're close. The video was taken a month ago when my class size just about doubled since I had both the kindergarten and first grade kids due to the kindergartener's teacher being sick (needless to say it was a bit more of a crazy class then usual! We have only two more weeks for the kids to finish saying the sections in their books (and then two more weeks for awards and a pizza party). I think most of the kids who have come all year are very close to finishing and I'm very glad to say that they have done a great job on their books of the old testament section due to Memlok's Say the books! story and actions.



I'm flying off to see John this weekend and can't wait! I plan to take a few pictures, so you should see some photos from that area sometime next week!

AWANA Science Experiment - A Superabsorber

(This experiment was taken from Science and the Bible - an awesome set of books!)

Theme: Creation is filled with useful gifts

Bible Verses: [God] who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18)

Materials Used: disposable diapers, clear glasses, water

Lesson: Our Bible verse states that the earth is a unique place in the entire universe. It was here that God focused his special attention for our welfare. He supplied the earth with just the right balance of oxygen, water, and useful elements. We are surrounded with examples of obvious design and planning. It is very common today to “put down” any special significance for the earth. After all is only one of the planets circling the sun. We are in a distant corner of the milky way, just one of billions of galaxies. Isaiah 45:18 however gives an entirely different perspective. After all, it was the earth that Christ came and walked among men. In this light, the earth is truly a spiritual center of the universe.

Lesson:When God created the earth, he placed in it many potential benefits for mankind. The job of scientists and engineers is to discover these things in nature and to develop usefully applications. We will experiment with one cool product called water absorber. It can be bought from a chemical supplier or landscaper, and it’s also found inside the fluffy fabric of larger disposable absorbent diapers. Take about one tablespoon of the white absorber grains out of the diaper and place it in a clear glass. Place water in the other glass. Pour the water back and forth between the glasses. The water should mix with the powder and turn into a thick Jell-O like substance that will not pour. This is only one of many uses for this amazing material that God gave us when he created the world. (To do this with a small class so that everyone has a turn, have each child pour the liquid into the cup one time and pass it to the next child).

Note - when we did this experiment a couple weeks ago, I got the diapers to use from my neighbor. She said those diapers were ones that her baby didn't like (they gave him a rash) so she was glad that I would be able to use them for my experiment. When I cut open the diapers to get the powder out, there was only a dusting of powder. We cut open three diapers and the powder from those diapers made almost no change to the water. When I realized that this experiment looked like a failure, I finally got another type of diaper out of the nursery. The diapers from the nursery were great! I opened up one diaper and found several tablespoons of the superabsorbing powder. We used just part of the powder and after pouring the water from one cup to the other just a few times, the water changed into the jell-o like stuff.

So this experiment showed a good reason why the first diaper brand we tried gave my neighbor's baby a rash. It contained little or no superabsorbing powder! So if you're wondering if a certain diaper brand is better than another, do this experiment with both types of diapers!

AWANA Science Experiment - No Air to Breathe

It's been a while since I've posted any of my AWANA Science experiments, so here's one I enjoyed doing with my kids a couple weeks ago.

From Science and the Bible Vol2

Theme: God’s gift of salvation, not our works opens the way to heaven for us

Bible Verses: There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death (Pr. 14:12)

Materials Used: empty aquarium or large bowl of pitcher, baking soda, vinegar, candle and match


Lesson: In 1986 Lake Nyos in West Africa, a huge cloud of invisible carbon dioxide gas bubbled up out of the lake. It spread out from the lake and people who thought they were breathing safe air were suddenly killed without warning because the air had become poisonous.

Just like the people who mistaken by thinking they were drinking safe air, we can also be wrong about the most important things in life.

People have lots of ideas about what it takes to get to heaven like baptism, doing good things, or repeating a prayer over and over. None of these things is enough. No matter how hard you try, you can’t do enough good things to get into heaven by yourself.

The bible is clear that salvation is a gift given to those who place their faith in Christ (Eph 2:8-9). Good deeds are fine, but they are not sufficient to gain eternal life. Christ has already paid the price for us- take him at his word

Illustration: Add about ½ cup of baking soda and vinegar to the tank. The mixture will bubble and foam. Carbon dioxide will be produced and will stay in the tank because it is heavier than air.

Light a candle and slowly lower it into the tank. The fire should quickly go out since carbon dioxide will not support a flame.

Though the tank looks clear and breathable, its contents are actually suffocating to the candle. In the same way, some people’s choices on how to get to heaven may look good, but will not save them.

My kids really enjoyed this experiment and we lowered the candle into the plastic pitcher several times. I'm having fun with my class. It's changed some in the last few weeks. The two boys on the right are new and very active kids. Two of the last three weeks I've had these 5 boys and only one girl in my class. It's an active bunch and I'm enjoying their energy and creativity (at least most of the time!).

AWANA Science Experiment - Silly Putty!

It has been too long since I posted one of our AWANA class science experiments on here. The one we did on Wednesday is one of my favorites. We made Silly Putty, and this time the putty turned out perfect! In the past I haven't gotten the mixture right. So, here goes:

This Experiment is from Science and the Bible Volume 2. But I don't use the silly putty recipe in that book. Instead I use one I found online which works a lot better. An unstable person is of two minds-unsure whether or not to trust God

Bible Verses: He who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.. . he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does (James 1:6,8)

Materials Used: 2 T Elmer’s Glue, 1 T Liquid Starch, Food coloring, glitter

Lesson: James 1:5 invites believers to ask God for wisdom, but there is one requirement for this help. The request must be made without wavering or doubt (v. 6). A doubter is not sure if God hears him, or if God even understands his plight. Such a man is double-minded; he attempts to divide his trust between God and himself.

This person can be compared to Silly Putty. This strange material doesn’t keep its shape. Instead it always tends to flow downward. It has not strength and can be twisted, bounced and flattened. Silly putty is unstable and cannot be trusted to maintain its shape. In the same way, the unstable person cannot be trusted as an example to follow because he lacks the balance of God’s wisdom

Illustration: We each made our own silly putty by mixing 2 Tablespoons of glue with the food coloring (using a craft stick or spoon) and then adding the 1 Tablespoon of starch a little at a time as we stirred. To achieve perfect silly putty, keep adding a little more starch and stirring until the putty is no longer sticky. Once it gets thick, you can take it out of the cup and mix it with your hands. Just poor a little of the liquid starch on your hands to keep them from sticking with the putty while you mix. If your putty ends up with too much starch it will turn stringy and then you can just add some more glue. When the putty is a perfect consistency, add glitter if you like to make it even more fun.

I loved playing with silly putty as a kid. I would press it on windows and made pictures with it or cover little toys with it or make balls and more. Once I got some glow in the dark silly putty. I thought it would be cool to be able to see the fan go around at night so I stuck in on the fan blades in the bedroom I shared with my sisters. It didn't turn out quite like I planned! We were picking up little specs of silly putty for days!

Awana Science Experiment - Spreading Outward

This Experiment can be found in the second Science and the Bible book - I highly recommend them all!


Theme: Run from Sin

Bible Verses: But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness (1 Tim 6:11)

Materials Used: bowl, water, pepper or glitter, liquid dish soap;
Hiker Class

Lesson: There is a time to stay and fight, but there is also a time to flee. As Christians, we are told to flee from sin. We need to stay as far away from temptation as possible. As it says in our verse, there are also things we should pursue like righteousness, godliness and faith.

Illustration: We filled the bowl with water. Once the water was still, we sprinkled glitter over the surface. The glitter is to represent a believer. Next we touched the dish soap and then placed our finger in the middle of the bowl. The soap represents an evil influence. The glitter immediately flees from the soap just like a believer should flee from sin.

This is one experiment that my kids have always had a blast doing! They love the glitter and its fun since they can do all of it themselves.

We finished the missionary story we've been covering for the last month. We've been doing parts of a story about a girl named Star. Amy Carmicael actually was the missionary that told her about Christ. Though my kids do like the story, they have trouble sitting still. So, the last couple weeks, I've allowed them to get comfortable anyway they want on the chairs before the story. As you can see in the pictures, their favorite possition is sitting backwards on their chairs!

We also finished taking our books of the Old Testament pictures. Now I've got to start cropping them and changing them into the picture I'll print for the kids. I need to crop the background out of the picture, add words and add the other pictures to them to illustrate what they're acting out.

Science Experiment - Popping the Cork!

This Experiment can be found in the first Science and the Bible book - I highly recommend them!

Theme: An uncontrolled temper is foolish and also dishonors the Lord

Bible Verses: A hot-tempered man must pay the penalty; if you rescue him, you will have to do it again (Pr 19:19)

Materials Used: bottles with corks; vinegar; baking soda;

Lesson: Uncontrolled tempers often bring improper words and actions. The result may be bad decisions and broken friendships. Usually the result is worse than the problem that caused the temper tantrum in the first place. The Bible tells us how a hot-tempered person doesn’t easily learn patience, but repeats the same error again and again. The cure to a temper problem is also found in the Bible. Proverbs 15:1 says that “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger”.

Illustration: We illustrated an uncontrolled temper by seeing pressure build up inside a bottle. Pour a cup of vinegar into the bottle. Add a table spoons of baking soda (wrap in a piece of tissue to give you extra time). As the paper moistens, bubbling will start. The reaction between baking soda and vinegar produces carbon dioxide gas. Watch the cork burst out at an unpredictable time just like people’s tempers.

This is one of my favorite experiments we do each year. I usually let each child help with the experiment. They usually take put the tablespoon of baking soda on the tissue and then they quickly put the cork on right after I put the baking soda in the bottle. Last year, one of my kids turned the bottle toward his face and got a face ful of vinegar. So, this year, each child wore safety glasses when they were helping - which they seemed to think was pretty fun!

Last night was armor night - enjoy the pictures!

Science Experiment - A Smothered Candle

Here's a shortened version of the experiment we did in AWANA this week from Science and the Bible Volume 2.

Theme: The gospel must be shared

Bible Verses: Neither do people light a lamp and put it under the bowl. Instead they put it on the stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house (Matt 5:15)

Materials Used: small candle, matches, large clear bottle or glass, shallow bowl, water and food coloring

Lesson: Light illustrates our new life in Christ which we must share with others. Good deeds come from a Christ-centered life. We are to let others see our good deeds so they can praise God.

Illustration: Light the candle and set it in a shallow container with water in it. Cover the candle with the glass and see how the flame goes out.

Just like the candle could not burn when under a bowl, the Christian life is not designed to be sealed up and kept a secret. The good news is meant to be shared with others.
This is a fun experiment to do since the kids can do most of it themselves (except lighting the candle)! Note that it was crazy hair night at AWANA last night. We don't always look so wild! I always get the candles at the Dollar Tree (4/$1) and let each child have one to take home. That way they can maybe show their siblings the experiment too!

Science Experiment-Invisible Weight

From The Glad Scientist Discovers the Creator

Theme: The weight of Sin like Air is invisible but real. God frees us from the burden of sin.


Bible Verses: All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD (Proverbs 16:2)

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)

Materials Used: Two balloons (same size and shape), thin wooden rod, sticky tape, pencil with flat sides, two cans (same size).

Lesson: Air is around us everywhere and has weight. The Bible tells us about something else that carries weight in our lives called sin. Sin means disobeying God.

Everyone has sinned (Rom 3:10-12, 23). God even looks at our motives for doing things. We carry sin’s weight in lives like the balloon carries the weight of air in it.

Sin weighs us down, but Jesus died on the cross so we no longer carry the weight of sin. We will pop the balloon with a nail to remind us of Jesus’ death on the cross for us. There he bore the penalty of our sin. When we trust Christ as our Savior and believe he rose again, our sin is not held against us any longer. We are free from the burden of sin.

Illustration: We show that air has weight by first balancing a rod across the pencil on the cans and marking the center of the rod. Then we taped the empty balloons to the ends of the rod and showed it still balances. Next we blew up one balloon and saw that the full balloon pulled the balanced rod down on that side.


I did a little reading up on the science of this experiment and found that the explaination is not quite accurate. Read this to learn about how it's really the density of air in the balloons that causes the difference in weight. One balloon should be filled to bursting and the other filled, but not so much so that the rubber is hard. I guess I have misled my students a bit

Learn the Books of the Old Testament with Memlok!

Say the Books! is the best way I’ve found to teach the books of the Old Testament to my first grade AWANA Sparks class. It’s a fun story created by Memlok Bible Memory System. Check it out here! The book can be purchased online and then downloaded immediately in pdf form. In previous years, I’ve made the copies into coloring books for each child. This year, I’m making a handout each week that includes a few of the pictures from Say the Books! as well as our science experiment and a little about that week’s missionary story.
But back to Say the Books. In addition to the story line and coloring pages, each book of the Bible includes a fun action that the children learn. Each year I’ve taken pictures of the children acting out the books of the Old Testament. I have enjoyed doing a variation of the above picture each year using the children in my class. I don’t really know who has more fun in AWANA – is it the children I teach or me!

Science Experiment – Water of Life

You can find this Experiment in Science and the Bible

Theme: Water is a awesome gift and Salvation is an even greater gift

Bible Verse: Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life (Rev 22:17b)

Materials Used: Two inflated balloons, one with water inside; Candle and lighter or matches.

Lesson: Water is the natural resource most often mention in the Bible. People living in the dry hills of Palestine in Bible times understood how important water was. In the Bible, water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and the new birth. Here are some ways that water and salvation are similar:
-Both are priceless, but free
-Both are available to all
-Both essential for life (water for physical life and salvation for eternal life)

Although the gift of salvation goes far beyond the temporary, refreshing benefit of water, water gives us a constant reminder of the life that Christ has provided for us. Water is a gift that is valuable in many ways beyond quenching thirst. In the same way, salvation is a gift we can’t completely understand, but we should appreciate and accept it.

Illustration: This demonstration illustrated the large heat capacity of water. Liquid water can absorb and give off huge quantities of heat and so moderates the temperature of the whole earth. We first talked about (and demonstrated) what happens when an empty balloon is placed over a flame (it pops!). Next we took a balloon that is about ¼ filled with water and inflated. When we held that balloon over the candle flame and even it it, the balloon does not pop. The heat moves into the water so quickly that the rubber balloon does not break.

Each time I do this experiment, the children hold their hands over their ears and this year even asked if they could hide under the table. They were sure that the balloon with water in it would pop just as the empty balloon had and they did not want to get wet. I always like to eventually pop the water balloon too. We usually go outside (after demonstrating that it doesn't pop) and hold the balloon sideways over the candle so that an air-filled portion is touching the flame. It makes a mess of water - but it's fun to see!

Here's a picture of our sparks hearing from Candi the directions to the game Coons and Hounds.

Science Experiment – Lots of Cotton

This experiment is taken from the excelent book Science & the Bible Volume 3.

Theme: God blesses us beyond our imagination

Bible Verse: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us – Ephesians 3:20

Materials Used: Bag of cotton balls, small glass filled to ¼” of the top with water

Lesson: It may be natural for us to think that God’s power even though it’s great is limited. We get tired, so we may think that God also gets tired. Maybe that’s why some people think that it took longer than one week to create the word. God is so powerful, that he could have made the world in less than one second. In Genesis, we find out that God created the world in six real days. God can still do more that we can ask or think so we should be bold in praying to God. Through Christ, God’s power is also in us.

Illustration: We illustrated what seemed impossible by guessing how many cotton balls we could add to an almost full glass of water without spilling any of the water. Then to test our guess, we added the cotton balls one by one and counted how many fit in the glass.

As the large number of cotton balls that fit was unexpected, we may also be surprised at God’s abundant daily blessings

The children in my class guessed that between 5 and 10 cotton balls would fit in each of their glasses (I gave one glass to every two kids). We found that more than 50 cotton balls fit into the glasses before they begin to spill cotton balls or water or break their coffee cups.

Busy Week Update

Work: This is one of the three most busy and draining weeks of work each year. It's our fall training so I switch from sitting and working primarily on my computer each day to standing and interacting with people I don't know for three days. The three days of training actually mean that we spend the entire week on the class because we set up on Monday and will tear down some on Friday. This first day of class went well today - only two more days to go and it will be over again! I don't know if it's the teaching and interacting with people or the standing or the mental and physical preparation that makes this week tiring. But it does pass and it actually usually goes pretty well.

Car: My car seems to enjoy being repaired on Tuesday. Dad graciously replaced my car's cooling fan tonight. It decided to quit working yesterday as I drove to their house for Dad's birthday. I'm sure fixing a car wasn't exactly the birthday present Dad wanted! I hope that this Tuesday trend doesn't continue

AWANA: Tomorrow is my first full night of teaching AWANA. Each evening I have the 1st grade sparks class for one hour. The hour is the "counsel" and "sections" time. Churches do AWANA many different ways. In my church, section time is done by listeners pulling the children out of the class rooms to a hallway where chairs are set up. There the children say the verses to the listeners. Usually we have about 3 listeners and about 18 children in Sparks. So, for most of the hour, each teacher has the majority of their children in class. Last week I had 8 sparks in my class, so I will probably have a minimum of 5 children at all times. I like to have 3 or 4 activities that fill the hour I have in the classroom. We begin sparks with pledges and songs and soon break into our grade level classes. This year I am again using science experiments to illustrate Bible concepts. I am also once again using memlok's Say the Books during the hour to teach the books of the old testament. Say the Books has a running story line that we read, actions to learn, and coloring sheets as well. In past years, I've used the Sparks flannel graph stories, but this year plan to use other missions related stories. Ivory asked about the science experiment we did last week. Since I'm making a handout with a slightly shorter version of the experiment each week, I'm going to post the experiments here for reference for others. I've really enjoyed doing experiments in the past with the children. Experiments seem to be something they really remember and look forward to.

Church: We had a board meeting tonight (between work and picking up my car). Tomorrow after AWANA I need to see what was causing the wireless mike to make some noise on Sunday. I also need to get some more batteries since the rechargeable once I bought last year have more than once failed before the end of a sermon.

So those are the things on my mind this week. It will be over before I know it - busy weeks always go by quickly.