ANIMALS- sky, water, land!
“ANIMALS- sky, water & land” Unit: God’s Creation
LESSON PURPOSE: GOD CREATED ANIMALS! (Sky. water & land animals)
MATERIALS: Learning & teaching toys: stuffed animals, animal figurines... Craft materials: see below.
SONG IDEAS: My God Is So Great. He’s Got the Whole World. The Ants Go Marching. Mary Had a Little Lamb. Old Mac Donald. BINGO.
Books: Baa! Oink! Moo! God Made the Animals / God Made Me This Way / Big & Small God Made Them All & other books on Creation or Animals
AS CHILDREN ARRIVE: Choose 1
Stuffed Animals: Play safari, zoo, farm or vet with stuffed animals.
Animal Playdoh: Children play with animal figurines and playdoh making footprints, or different animal landscapes.
Farm Sensory Bin: Filled with corn kernels, farm animals and toys.
Nature Sensory Bin: Fill a bin with sticks, grass, leaves, rocks + animals.
SCRIPTURE:
Let the water swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky… Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that crawl, and the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so. -Genesis 1:20 + 1:24
But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. -Job 12:7-10
Which do you think is greater, the number of animals living on land or in the sea? Have you ever counted them? You can only think about it. Do the fish of the ocean come to the land and eat the grass and feed on the animals of the land? No. Of course there are a lot of fearful animals in the ocean like sharks and killer whales and huge animals. Even though there are a number of fierce animals in the water, has anyone heard that they come on shore to occupy the land? How grateful we should be to the ocean then. It is really the source of our life. - Rev. Moon
WELCOME: SONG, PRAYER, TP Greeting
REVIEW & TRANSITION:
(Optional: light a candle) We’ve been learning about the beautiful World God made for us! He made the light- giving us night + day. He hung up stars, sunshine & moon in the sky! He made trees, plants, fruits & vegetables! After God, our Heavenly Parent made the sky, land and sea- he put something very special in it. (blow out candle) Can you guess what it could be?
ATTENTION GRABBER: choose 1
Guess the Animal Game! 1. I am slow + have a shell. (turtle) 2. I have 4 legs, I have fur, hooves and a mane, children like to ride on me (horse) 3. I have 4 legs, fur, I am big and strong, King of the jungle (lion) 4. I have a beak, 2 flippers, I love snow, I’m a bird but can’t fly, I waddle (penguin!) etc
Guess the Animal Sound- play this video and have children guess the Animals by sound!
INTRO: Today we will learn about all of the animals God made for us! God made big animals and little animals, wild animals and tame animals. Let’s learn about them!
READ ALOUD: Baa! Oink! Moo! God Made the Animals / God Made Me This Way / Big & Small God Made Them All & other books on Creation or Animals
SONG OR POEM: choose 1
I Love Animals “I love animals, yes I do! They bring a lot of joy to you! Big and small, God made them all for me! Won’t you say you love them too?” Barney Theme Song
Funny Turkey- The turkey is a funny bird. Its head goes bobble-bobble; And all he knows is just one word. And that is GOBBLE-GOBBLE!
Old MacDonald- Old MacDonald had a farm E I E I O And on that farm there were some ducks E I E I O With a quack-quack here And a quack -quack there Here a quack, there a quack Everywhere a quack-quack Old MacDonald had a farm E I E I O
Bluebird, Bluebird- Bluebird, bluebird, through my window. Bluebird, bluebird, through my window. Bluebird, bluebird, through my window. Oh, Johnny I'm so tired.
BINGO- There was a farmer who had a dog, And Bingo was his name-o. B-I-N-G-O B-I-N-G-O B-I-N-G-O And Bingo was his name-o. There was a farmer who had a dog, And Bingo was his name-o. (clap)-I-N-G-O (clap)-I-N-G-O (clap)-I-N-G-O And Bingo was his name-o. (repeat- clapping more)
SONG VIDEOS: click on the link:
“God Made All the Animals” Sing Along with Animal Sounds!
“God Made Animals” Dance Along
“Creation Song” Sing Along
“He’s Got the Whole World” Worship Dance
*TEACHING POINT 1: God Made Animals!
TEACHING WITH DISCUSSION:
After God had finished making the big blue sky, the green grass, tall mountains, desserts, forests, glaciers, lakes and oceans… He got very creative! He created creatures of all sizes, colors and shapes that could run, climb, swim and fly! Some have 4 feet some have 2, some have wings and some have flippers. Some are harry, some are scaly. What did God make next? Animals! That’s right- God created all kinds of animals- male and female to roam the Earth.
Discussion: Have children take turns raising their hands. (Optional: give each child a stuffed animal to hold quietly in their laps. Draw or show animals as they are named.)
Which animals live in the sky?
Which animals live in the ocean?
Which animals live on land?
Where might you see many animals? At the farm or zoo!
PAIR SHARE: What is your favorite animal? (Have children turn to a friend and share about their favorite animals)
GROUP ACTIVITIES: choose 1
Sorting Animals: God gave us so many animals! And they all live in different places. Ask children: Which animals fly in the sky? Which animals live in the ocean? Which animals live on land? You can vary sorting: Big vs. small, wild vs. tame, furry vs. scaly, wings vs. no wings, 4 legs vs. 2 legs
Animal Charades: Have the teacher and/or children act out different animals and guess what they are! Children can do the movements and sounds of the animal.
Animal Noises: Show children pictures of animals and ask them what noises the animal makes.
Animal Yoga: do a variety of animal yoga poses together!
*TEACHING POINT 2: Let’s Take Care of Them!
TEACHING WITH DISCUSSION: God gave us animals to bring us lots of joy! Don’t they make you happy? In Genesis, God gives us the Three Great Blessings- and asks us to take good care of the animals & their homes. We take good care of animals by: keeping our environment clean, not littering. We respect their habitats like birds’ nests or spider webs. Some animals are wild- and we listen to grown ups when not to go near them to be safe. Some animals are our pets and we get to show them a lot of love!
Discussion:
What do you love about animals?
Why are you grateful for animals?
*How can we help take care of animals? No littering, playing gentle.
*How can we take good care of pets? Feed, walk, wash, play, cuddle
GROUP ACTIVITIES: choose 1
Play Pets or Vet: Have children take turns feeding, bathing + gently hugging and loving a stuffed animal.
Nature Walk: Go on a nature walk, observe God’s Creation, look for animals, pick up litter.
CONCLUSION:
When God, our Heavenly Parent, made the World- He put so much love and creativity in to it! God is truly an artist of many colors, shapes and sizes! Our God is awesome! Before creating us humans- He created this beautiful, big world for us to enjoy and live in. Every animal we see- big and small- He made them all!
TITHING & PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Parent, thank you for creating this big and wonderful world for us to live in! We love all of the many different animals- they are fascinating! We are grateful for your beautiful works and will do our best to be kind to the Earth and to animals. We will take good care of them. Amen. Aju!
CRAFTS: choose 1
Animal Footprints Painting- Painting with animal figurines! Dip different animal figurines feet in different colors of paint & make footprints!
Animal Sticker Art- Have each child draw land, water and the sky and fill each area with animals stickers.
Paper Plate Animals- Choose 1-3 options of animals with pre-cut shapes and colors and pre-made samples.
Bird Feeders- Make bird feeders by stringing cheerios on to pipe cleaners! Bend them into a heart shape and tie string to hang on your tree!
Weasel Craft- True Father once spent a whole day watching and chasing a weasel through snow! Make a weasel.
Coloring Page: God Made the World printable.
SNACK IDEAS:
Teddy grahams, gold fish, animal crackers, sour worms, Swedish fish.
Enjoy the lesson! Feel free to submit photos to lgavin@unification.org Love seeing lessons come to life and each community
