Welcome to first week in our series about Moses. This week we will explore the readings in Exodus ch 1-2. Our Focus story will be the birth of Moses. Our reading can be found here, you won’t have to have read it first. As we move down through the lesson you can engage with the multimedia interpretations.
Stuff you will need today: You will find it helpful to have some paper and things to colour with handy, scissors, glue and plasticine – if you don’t have some for today that’s okay but ask your grown up to get you a set, it’s good to have in your faith exploration kit!
Let’s begin...
The Birth of Moses
Ready! Set! Engage!
If you are in a “classroom or group setting” you may like to check out some of the engagement ideas here to help the group get ready to hear and participate in the story lesson. You can do some of these engagement activities even if you are on your own! Check out CJ & Friends Dance videos! They’re my favourite.
Begin here…
In our listening, speaking, and thinking today God be present with us. Open our hearts and minds to experience more of you we pray. Amen.
Take a few moments to think about today’s story using the prompts below. Write about it for yourself or share a conversation with someone you love.
What’s Your Story?
Have you seen pictures of you when you were just born?
Do you know the story of your own birth? If not, is there someone you can ask to share the story with you?
Was there anything interesting or unusual about your birth story?
Do you know what was happening in the world around the time of your birth?
Think about today’s story. Moses was born at a time when the King of Egypt – the Pharaoh, had ruled that baby boys were to be killed. Pharaoh ordered this because he didn’t want the Israelites – the people of Moses ancestors, to be stronger and out number the Egyptian people.
Let’s think about Pharaoh for a moment.
In this time and culture the Pharaoh was the ruler of Egypt. The one who was considered to be godlike. So the Israelites belief in the one True God, the God of the Israelites – Yahweh, made the Pharaoh very nervous. So nervous in fact that he set a plan in motion to stop the growth of the Israelite community in Egypt. But God had a plan. God needed someone to help with this plan and so Moses was saved by the Pharaoh’s daughter. Check out the story below!
Exploring This Story
Pursue God Kids tell the story here.
Watch the story here from Saddleback Kids.
Embodying This Story
Our Embodiment Activities today invite us to think about… Moses as a Baby and the God who has a plan for each of us and protects us.
Embody Activity 1
Using Plasticine, play dough or anything else you can find to create a sculpture that tells of the birth of Moses. It may look a little like this… It may be completely different.
Take a photo and post to the Growing Faith Down Under Facebook Page Album for Moses
don’t forget to include your first name and where you are from.
Embody Activity 2
STEM Time! – What Floats?
Fill a bucket, laundry sink or bath with just enough water for something to float in. Next, go and find 3-5 different items you can use to make a basket for a lego figurine Moses. Pop your person in the basket and place that gently in the bucket. Which ones float?? Upload your pictures here to share your discoveries, don’t forget to include your first name and where you are from.
Embody Activity 3
Using the Clip below, follow the instructions in the video comments to weave a basket for baby Moses. Don’t forget to upload your pictures here to share your creations, don’t forget to include your first name and where you are from.
Articulating This Story
Go back and read or think about the story we have heard again today. On a piece of paper write this Title “The Stories of Moses”, Write or draw 3 things about the story that you remember today onto your piece of paper. Go and share your written reflections out loud with a family member or friend. Put it somewhere safe, we will add to this next week as we start to make a collage or collection about some of the stories of Moses.
You might like to begin with “Did you know that in the story of Moses birth I found out that….”
Other Cool Stuff
Get your groove on with CJ & Friends here as they sing out loud!
Other great resources: Find the Hidden Baskets, colouring page, word search
Want to learn more about the E3A model for learning, check out this information over here.