The Dow's Schoolroom

Click on the lesson you are interested in below, or just scroll down to see them all.

Listen/View the song We Want a King by Diana Dow

We have spent the last 3 months talking about the judges -- Gideon, Samson, Samuel.  Our intentions with this age group is to teach each lesson for a month.  Each month's lesson would be stored in a box for use the next time that lesson came around.  That worked very well with the judges.  Each judge was independent of the other.  There was a definite starting and starting point for each. 

This quarter is a little different.  We will be talking about the kings of the United Kingdom -- Saul, David, Solomon.  On the surface, it would seem they would fit nicely into the one lesson a month plan.  But, the more I thought about it, I didn't think it would work. 

There were just 2 main things I wanted to point out about Saul -- He became the first king, and that he disobeyed God and lost the chance for his family to be the kings.  The other stories about Saul are really about David.  There is a lot about David.  But, he was anointed king, killed Goliath, became friends with Jonathan all while Saul was still king.  So separating the two is not logical. 

I decided to look at the 3 kings as a whole lesson.  They will all be stored in a larger box to be used next time.  Saul will be talked about for 2 weeks, David 6 or 7 weeks and Solomon for 3 or 4 weeks. 

I'm in the process of preparing for the quarter.  I've gone through our resource room and pulled all the material I want to use for Saul.  I've also pulled a lot for David and Solomon.  I'm in the process of making flip charts for Saul, David, Solomon, what being a king was like (to be used with Saul), what shepherds do (to learn about David being a shepherd), and what it took to write something down (to emphasize the David wrote most of the Psalms and Solomon wrote the Proverbs).

A friend is helping me with room decorations.  She taught these subjects 3 years ago and saved all of the large characters she had in the room (David, Goliath, Solomon, Saul, etc).  That will be a great time saver.  Maybe we can get started on them tonight after our singing.

We will use crown for the attendance chart this first month or 6 weeks.  I will cut the crowns out of yellow foam mats (I can't remember what you call it) that you can get from Wal-mart or Hobby Lobby.  Then the kids will glue a "jewel" (cut from different colored foam mats) each week.  When it is time to take them home, I'll add an extension that will fit around their heads.

An attendance chart for the last half of the quarter will be David sitting among the sheep.  The kids will add a sheep each time they come to class. 

You may notice that my attendance charts at this age are chosen to relate to the story.  They also need to look good whether the child was there once or for every class. I don't like attendance charts that look incomplete if the kids haven't been there each time.  It's not their fault they weren't there.  Attendance charts should give another chance to emphasize some part of the story and give the kids something to be proud of.

I've rambled enough about this.  I've got to go get busy working on it.

Return To Top Of Page

Saul Lesson 1

We will study Saul for 4 lessons (2 weeks). The story of how Saul became king is a great chance to emphasize obedience. To start with, the Israelites (I just refer to them as "the people") want a king like all their neighbors. Even though God is their king, they want one they can see and show off to others. God warns them, through Samuel, that a king will be harsh to them. They still want a king. So God gives them tall, handsome Saul.

Saul turns out to be a bad king. He disobeys God several times (I don't go into the specifics with this age). God tells Saul he and his family will no longer be the kings of Israel. This troubles Saul. David is brought in to play music for him.

My lesson plan is:

Sing:
This Little Light Of Mine -- Turn on battery candle. Use it to remind the kids to behave.

Read Life of a king Flip Chart . This flip chart discusses things kings do and the help they get from others (gardener, jeweler, soldier, brick layer, artist, advisors, cupbearer)

Sing: We Want A King (Click here to learn song).

Read Saul Flip Chart. This flip chart is just 6 pages long, but it covers the basics.

Introduce new attendance charts -- crowns (they are flat and on the wall for now, they will eventually get to wear them and take them home) made of wonderfoam. Each time the child comes he/she will get to place a crown (wonderfoam self-sticking stars) on their crown. This attendance chart will last about 6 weeks. This week the attendance charts are not on the wall. I still need to decorate the walls, so I didn't really know where the attendance charts are going to be. I'll just pass them out and take them back up again.

Move to Storytime area (floor)with Bibles -- Call each child one at a time and place a pillow on the floor where that child is to sit. After he/she is seated, call the next child up.

Flannelgraph story -- Saul becomes King

Sing:
Let the kids choose their favorite songs to sing.

Return to seats.

Discuss manners in the auditorium.

Return To Top Of Page

This is the second lesson on Saul. Sunday's lesson went well. I have about 6 (sometimes 7or 8) students. After teaching a quarter, they are accustomed to my way of teaching and I'm accustomed to them. They are a sweet bunch of kids.

My lesson plan is:

Sing:
This Little Light Of Mine -- Turn on battery candle. Use it to remind the kids to behave.

Read Life of a king Flip Chart . This flip chart discusses things kings do and the help they get from others (gardener, jeweler, soldier, brick layer, artist, advisors, cupbearer)

Sing: We Want A king (Click here to learn song).

Tell story of Saul using Henley's Clip and Tell (Basically I'll be cutting out a crown while I tell the story. I'm emphasizing different events in the story than she did, so I will have to improvise)

Read Saul Flip Chart. This flip chart is just 6 pages long, but it covers the basics.

Attendance charts -- crowns -- I think I'll just keep these attendance charts off the wall. I think it will make it easier this time around.

Move to Storytime area (floor)with Bibles -- Call each child one at a time and place a pillow on the floor where that child is to sit. After he/she is seated, call the next child up.

Flannelgraph story -- Saul becomes King

Sing:
Let the kids choose their favorite songs to sing.

Return to seats.

Discuss manners in the auditorium. We've been discussing this every week for just a minute or two. I'm not sure if it's helping. I do know that if I see one of my students running or misbehaving in the auditorium, all I have to do is shake my head no and they straighten up.

Return To Top Of Page

I've almost got my classroom decorated for this quarter. I'll try to make some pictures available when it's finished.

I want to teach the kids "Trust and Obey". We are going to stress this week that Saul disobeyed God. I made flip chart for the song. I really wish I could draw. I have pictures in my head, but I can't put them down on paper. I found some pictures in Thru The Bible Coloring Book that were appropriate to illustrate the song. I colored, mounted and put the script (song) on the back.

My lesson plan is:
Sing:
This Little Light Of Mine -- Turn on battery candle. Use it to remind the kids to behave.

Read Life of a king Flip Chart . This flip chart discusses things kings do and the help they get from others (gardener, jeweler, soldier, brick layer, artist, advisors, cupbearer)

Sing: We Want A King (Click here to learn song).
Tell story of Saul using Henley's Clip and Tell (Basically I'll be cutting out a crown while I tell the story. I'm emphasizing different events in the story than she did, so I will have to improvise). They were really amazed Wednesday when I opened up the paper and there was a crown. I think they'll like to see it again.

Saul Flip Read Chart. This flip chart is just 6 pages long, but it covers the basics.

Attendance charts -- crowns -- I think I'll just keep these attendance charts off the wall. I think it will make it easier this time around.

Move to Storytime area (floor)with Bibles -- Call each child one at a time and place a pillow on the floor where that child is to sit. After he/she is seated, call the next child up.

Flannelgraph story -- Saul becomes king

Emphasize that Saul disobeyed God. Introduce "Trust and Obey" flip chart.

Sing: Let the kids choose their favorite songs to sing.

Return to seats.

Prayer

Return To Top Of Page

Tonight will be our last lesson on Saul. We will be emphasizing how important it is to obey. Saul disobeyed God which kept his family from being king.

I have a take home for the kids tonight. It is basically a little coloring book. The pictures to color were taken out of Thru The Bible Coloring Pages. This is a great resource for those of us who can't draw.

This is just a quarter fold card made on Print Master. The 1st picture is the cover.

This is the two inside pages

This is the back cover.

My lesson plan is:
Sing:
This Little Light Of Mine -- Turn on battery candle. Use it to remind the kids to behave.

Read Life of a king Flip Chart .
This flip chart discusses things kings do and the help they get from others (gardener, jeweler, soldier, brick layer, artist, advisors, cupbearer)

Sing: We Want A King (Click here to learn song).

Tell story of Saul using Henley's Clip and Tell (Basically I'll be cutting out a crown while I tell the story. I'm emphasizing different events in the story than she did, so I will have to improvise). I'll have to do this one more time. I've let a different child take the crown home each time. I need to let one more child do this.

Saul Flip Read Chart. This flip chart is just 6 pages long, but it covers the basics.

Attendance charts -- crowns -- I think I'll just keep these attendance charts off the wall. I think it will make it easier this time around.

Move to Storytime area (floor)with Bibles -- Call each child one at a time and place a pillow on the floor where that child is to sit. After he/she is seated, call the next child up.

Flannelgraph story -- Saul becomes King. We had 7 kids in class Sunday morning. There just wasn't enough room to do flannel graph on the floor, so did it at the table. I think we'll try it on the floor tonight.

Return to seats.

Emphasize that Saul disobeyed God. Introduce "Trust and Obey" flip chart.

Hand out Obedience Take Homes. If there is time and interest, they can color the pictures in class. If not, just let them take them home.

Sing: Let the kids choose their favorite songs to sing.

Prayer

Return To Top Of Page