Day 1- Night & Day

“Day 1: Night & Day”  Unit: God’s Masterpiece               

LESSON PURPOSE:  Learn why God created night and day.

EDUCATIONAL FRAMEWORK:      Heart for Creation                                                                                                 

MATERIALS: flashlight, bowl, paper, crayons    

SONG IDEAS:  

  • “This Little Light of Mine”

  • Creation Song by Saddleback Kids (emphasis on Day 1)                                                                                                  

PICTURE BOOKS:   

  • “The Sound of Day, The Sound of Night” by Mary O’Neill                                                                                                                                

SCRIPTURE: 

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” -Genesis 1:1-5

“If the night is pitch black, so much the better, for once the sun does rise the new day is much brighter and more glorious than ordinary days.” -Sun Myung Moon

AS CHILDREN ARRIVE: Choose 1:   

  • Sensory Sort: Mix black and white dried beans in a bin. Set out two bowls. Children should sort apart the black beans and white beans. (You may use any small objects that are black and white, respectively. Buttons and beads are also options.) 

  • Star Stamps: Set out black construction paper and some yellow paint. Children can “stamp” stars using old cookie cutters.

  • Glow in the Dark Markers: Children can draw on dark construction paper with fluorescent neon markers!

INTRODUCE the Lesson (Engage)

WELCOME: SONG, PRAYER, TP Greeting

REVIEW & TRANSITION:

(Last month in “Getting a Sense for God” we were learning about the amazing body God made. He made our hands, our eyes, our ears, our mouths, and our hearts… and all the rest of us, too! Can we take a moment to thank God for our amazing bodies? Let’s stand up. I want you to do a very happy dance with our whole bodies to show God how grateful we are. Ready? (shake, wiggle, jump, spin, etc.)

Before God created humans, He created the world. The Bible states that it took God 7 days. Wait, 7 days? That’s one week. Did it really take God one week to create the world? Let’s think of it this way… Creating the world was God’s biggest and most passionate project. It needed to be perfect. It took God 7 time periods (weeks, months, years) of careful thought to make His project a reality. This is the kind of love and energy God put into creating the amazing world we live in today.

Welcome to the “God’s Masterpiece” unit! Over the next 8 lessons, we will dive into a lot of fun science and hands-on exploration of God’s amazing Creation process. Are you ready?!

ATTENTION GRABBER:

Object Lesson using a Shoebox by In My World

INTRO: God created our world. Let’s find out what God made on the very first day of creation.

ACTIVITY: choose 1 or more: 

  • VIDEO:

  • READ ALOUD STORY:

    • See picture books listed above.

TEACH the Lesson (Explain/Explore)

*TEACHING POINT 1: God Made Night

INTERACTIVE LESSON: see POWER POINT to go along with this script!

What was there before God created the world? Nothing. Absolutely nothing, except for God. God was living in complete darkness. *Turn off the lights and close the window curtains.* What would you do if there was no light in the world?

God must’ve been very lonely in the darkness. He didn’t have anyone to talk to or anything to do. When you are alone, how do you feel?

The Bible says, “God called the darkness night.” Nighttime is a very important time for our bodies! When we sleep, our bodies gain back the energy we used during the day. Think about a cell phone or a Playstation controller. When you use it, the power or battery life goes down. Our bodies are the same. During the day, we play, eat, laugh, run, and jump. We are constantly moving! So God created night because He knows how important sleep is for our bodies to “recharge”.

DISCUSSION:

  • What are some things you do at night?

  • What are some things you see at night?

  • How do you feel at nighttime?

  • Why did God give us night?

  • Sometimes in our lives- we slow down and relax. Why is this important for our body and soul?

  • What kind of prayer do we say at night?

*TEACHING POINT 2: God Made Day!

INTERACTIVE LESSON:

God couldn’t live in darkness forever! The Bible says, “God made light out of darkness. He called the light day.” *Turn on the lights and open the curtains.* How do we know it’s daytime? 

Everything was dark until God made light to shine in the darkness. When God commanded, “Let there be light!”, light appeared. Do you know what God said about the light He created? He said it was good. Why do you think He said this?

The light became day and the darkness became night. Each day is so precious and beautiful because God gave us day to play outside and night to rest our bodies so we can play again tomorrow.

DISCUSSION:

  • What are some things you do during the day?

  • What are some things you see during the day?

  • What did God create on the first day?

  • Why did God give us day?

  • Imagine life without daytime, what would you miss?

  • What kinds of prayers do we say during the day?

APPLY the Lesson Evaluate

GROUP ACTIVITIES: Choose 1 or 2:

  • Creating Something from Nothing Activity: Bring a bowl to class. Give each child paper and a pencil (or crayons). Explain to your class that God made the world from nothing. Challenge them to see if they too can create something from nothing. Pretend to grab something from the empty bowl and give it to them. They have to draw that “thing”.

  • Flashlight hunt: Using a flashlight, allow children to take turns looking for certain items in the dark.

CRAFTS:

  • Suncatcher by Messy Little Monster

    You will need paper plates, sticky contact paper, some items found in nature, hole punch and yarn. Cut out the middle of the paper plate so you’re left with a ring. Children may color or paint the plate, if desired. Cut out a circle of contact paper that is a little bigger than the circle in the plate. Stick the contact paper to the back of the plate, sticky side up. Children can add nature items (flowers, leaves, grass, etc.) to the contact paper. Cut out another circle of contact paper and stick it to the front of the plate, sticky side down. Punch a hole at the top of the plate and loop a piece of yarn to hang.

  • Day and Night Worksheets:

SNACK IDEA:

  • Red and green grapes

  • Sunny-D

  • Sun chips

CONCLUDE the Lesson 

CONCLUSION:

On the very first day of creation, God created night and day. This week, let’s think about all the things we can do at night and during the day.

PRAYER:

Dear Heavenly Parent, thank you for teaching us about the first day of creation. Many many years ago, You must’ve been so lonely living in the darkness. Thank you for creating night and day so we can experience the world and people around us. I hope this week we can be grateful for the night and day. Amen. Aju.       

Additional Teacher Resource Here Created by Mission Bible Class This is a great visual resource for all the days of creation.

Leena Vincenz-Gavin