“We gathered all the children together in the primary room that we had decorated with pictures from the library of Jesus’ life. All the leaders were to wear a sheet draped over one shoulder and tied at the waist with a rope or belt. We sang songs about Jesus from the primary songbook.We brought cardboard and the leaders helped draw the outline of each child’s footprint (in their shoes) on the cardboard.
Then as the leaders cut out the feet, the children gathered to another room to hear about Jesus and the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears story. We tried very hard to bring the spirit into the room to show the children how special it was to have your feet washed at that time. Then we brought the children their sandals which were laced with jute and they were then to wear them for the rest of the activity day.
The next activity was about scrolls and all the leaders had saved their toilet paper rolls for this activity. We took white type paper and cut it in half long ways. Then we put out finger paints and feathers. After taping each end of the paper to toilet paper roll the children were to write their name and walking in the footsteps of Jesus on the paper with a feather and the paint.
Activity four was to go to another room and make bowls and plates, small of course, out of salt dough clay that the leader in charge had made ahead of time. This was to teach the children about what the people of Jesus’ time ate on. As they dried they went on to the next activity.
We played lost sheep from the old sunbeam manual. The leader in charge brought a photocopied picture of a sheep for each child, cotton balls and glue. The children made their own sheep and then they played the game. The leader brought a cane to act as a shepherd’s crook for the child who was lead out of the room as the other children hid the shepherd’s sheep in the room. When the shepherd was brought into the room the children were gathered in a group in the middle of the room and they made the bleeting sound that sheep make, quiet when the shepherd was far from the hidden sheep and loud when the shepherd was close. Then we talked about how important each child is in the sight of the Lord.
The last activity before lunch was to learn about the food that the people ate during Christ’s time. We had dates, figs, rye bread, grapes, broken shepherds loves of bread, and anything that we could find that they ate. The children were to eat or taste each thing and then we had baked fish sticks with it for lunch with grape juice.” TOMA BLAIR, SHENANDOAH, IOWA
