For most kids in Hawaii, today was the last day of school. While many of our keiki will have their summers filled with activities like summer school, summer fun, or summer-league sports, there’s still a lot of free time to fill. Ministry-To-Children.com suggests five family activities, along with ways to teach your kids about God while you’re on-the-go:
1. The Zoo: A showcase for God’s creativity. Hunt for five of the most bizarre animal facts. Discuss God’s purpose in His specific design of each animal. Try to find an animal for each letter of the alphabet. Make an A to Z book. Talk about Adam’s job to name the animals. What names would you have chosen?
Discuss Noah’s faith in building the ark. Sing the “Rise and Shine” song. Eat animal crackers.
Upon your return, make monkey bread or decorate cupcakes to look like animals. Play a game of animal charades or animal races (hop like a kangaroo, slither like a snake, or walk like an elephant.)
2. The Beach: Another display of God’s handiwork. Build a sandcastle near the tide, on the sand. Build another one on a rock on higher land. Discuss the wise man and the foolish man. How does that apply to us? Sing “The Wise Man Built his House upon the Rock.”
Fill a small container with sand. How many granules would you estimate are in there? Talk about Psalm 139:17-18, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.”
Go on a hunt for seashells. Challenge them to find two that are exactly the same.
Find a recipe for a “sand dirt dessert” and make it when you get home.
3. The Farm: A place where man’s hard work meets God’s provision. Ask a local farmer if you can assist him for the day (or even an hour). Ask him questions about his job. Discuss how it relates to scripture. Try to find the four soils explained in Matthew 13.
Go berry picking. Talk about God being the vine and His people being the branches. Eat some of the fruits of the labor.
Visit the animals at the farm. Does scripture talk about any of them specifically? Sing, “Old McDonald.”
4. A Road Race: An opportunity to witness hard work, perseverance, and accomplishment. Cheer on a friend or family member with signs and support. Encourage people who are tired.
Set up a water table (with permission) to provide for others. What is it like to be thirsty? Read the story about the Woman at the Well in John 4.
Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 or Hebrews 12:1-2. Train for a race yourself and model healthy living for your children. If your child is old enough, have them participate in a race with you just for the fun of it. What do races teach us about living the Christian life?
5. The Backyard: Go cloud watching. Read Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” Replicate the clouds with a cotton ball art project. Read It Looked Like Spilt Milk, by Charles G. Shaw.
Plant a vegetable or flower garden. Take care of it daily. (Even dead plants are a great object lesson if things don’t work out!) Read Mark 4:30-32, the Parable of the mustard seed.
Play games, have fun, and be silly. Jesus promises us life to the full. What does that mean?
Hunt for bugs. Find a caterpillar and a butterfly. Discuss 2 Corinthians 5:17.