Perk Up Kids' Bible Class with Movement

Teaching a Bible class full of children of any age can be difficult at times if not intimidating. Why?

Children are naturally wired to wiggle all the time and all over the place, bending, bumping and bouncing.
They are naturally wired to chat with friends and make all sorts of noises.
They are also naturally wired to play imaginatively!

Yet, each new generation of children MUST be taught the Bible lest the Word of God be forgotten. Deuteronomy 4:9 commands us “Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.”

How can we possibly obey God’s command and teach wiggly, chatty, imaginative creatures that are, it so happens, made in the image of God?

It’s really simple. Sort of! We must incorporate their natural behaviors into our class sessions. This article will show just one activity that uses bending and bouncing movements children love to facilitate learning books of the Bible.

*Click on the photos below to enlarge them

I CALL THIS MOVEMENT ACTIVITY A HOP STEP MAT

Bible book names are written on squares or circles on a sheet laid out on the floor.
Children hop and step on the Bible names which are written in the squares or circles.
As they hop and step on each square, they speak aloud the Bible book names.
It may be used before class or during class.
Bring this out when the children are fidgety or just need to move after sitting for 15 or 20 minutes.

This is a version of Hop Scotch adapted for learning the books of the New or Old Testaments. I call it a Hop Step Mat because you hop and step and, well, you get the idea.

Children have used it enthusiastically for many years. I merely wash it once a year . . . or every other year . . . or um, whenever I get around to it. No one is allowed to step on it wearing shoes.

HOW DO YOU MAKE IT?

Lay a clean queen or full-size bed sheet a large flat surface. Ask around to see if someone has an old one you can have. Second hand stores like Goodwill sell flat bed sheets for about 99 cents. If you use a sheet with a pattern, be sure the pattern does not overwhelm the squares and wording.
Make an 8.5″ circle or square template out of stiff cardboard. A standard piece of printer paper is exactly 8.5″ wide.
Next, you might want to make plain paper templates to play around with your layout. You might want to be sure everything fits the sheet BEFORE writing on it with permanent markers. After all, permanent markers are permanent, if ya know what I mean. Otherwise it is back to Goodwill for another bed sheet (which is not so bad if you enjoy second-hand shopping).
Place cardboard or another barrier between the sheet and the flat surface you are working on before tracing with marker. The marker WILL bleed through the sheet and onto whatever is under it. Don’t ask how I learned that lesson! And don’t even try to blame the kids for the large square on the dining room table if YOU forgot the barrier!
Trace your cardboard template on to the bed sheet with permanent marker. Don’t trace any feet until this part is completed. A fabric marker might be the best choice since it won’t bleed. The kids don’t really mind imperfections though. In fact, my original Hop Step Mat has a glaring mistake at the very end on a hand print. So, nobody’s perfect. Right?
Trace 2 feet on the side of a Bible book at the end of each division and wherever else you may like. Kids LOVE to hop, hop, hop, and then straddle a book. It is hopscotch after all!
Trace 2 feet and 2 hands around the very last square.Both hands and both feet will touch the mat for a grand finale! What a fun way to finish!

Alternative ideas are to sew or glue fabric or felt shapes onto the sheets. If you don’t sew, ask someone who does to make this for you. If you don’t glue, then I guess there’s no hope for you. Hah!

Click on the photo and take a close look at the joy on this little guy’s face as he learns to use the mat. He cannot yet hop AND speak the Bible books at the same time but that will come with practice. For now, the teacher must chant the books as he hops.

ADAPTATIONS

Take a young child by the hand while the child steps or hops on each Bible book. The teacher speaks or sings the words with the child as the child hops and steps.
This would be an excellent activity to use each time a young child enters the classroom if you have enough helpers. Place this across the doorway so they MUST hop and step as they enter.
Young children do NOT need to step through the entire mat all at once. Color coding the mat allows the child to memorize just one division at a time.

Use this to teach the 12 sons of Jacob, the 12 Apostles, the Judges, Bible verses, and whatever else you think of.
If you are teaching Acts, cross out Judas with a large black felt “X” on the Hop Step Matt. Then another child can place Matthias’name over Judas’ name. Don’t forget to do something with Paul also.
Small class space? No problem! Make this on a used pillow case or on poster board. Make it reversible with one Testament on one side and the other on the other side. Let the kids stand up at a table or sit on the floor as this is more natural for kids.
A young child might like to “drive a car” through the small matt as the teacher helps them say the words. Otherwise just use game tokens or any other interesting small items you have on hand.

BE WARNED!

Children can hop faster than they can speak! Um . . . they need to speak aloud slowly enough to correctly pronounce the Bible books! Duh!
Because they can hop faster than they can speak, they may choose to ONLY hop and step without actually SPEAKING the Bible books! Um . . . NOT our goal here!
They may ALL want to hop on the mat at the same time! Um . . . that’s great, if you don’t mind chaos!

So, there you have it, one way to incorporate movement into your Bible class.

Let us know of your experience with the Hop Step Mat in the comments section below! Espresso yo self!

Also, please share your adaptations!

Now, off you go! And remember to Perk Up Your Bible Class through movement!

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Kathy Petrillo

When Kathy was a high schooler and only 17 years old, she begged the elders of her congregation to let her teach a Bible class. She absolutely loved it and was hooked for life. She is the wife of Denny Petrillo who has been the president of Bear Valley Bible Institute in Denver since 2003. They have been at working with the Institute and Bear Valley church of Christ for 33 years. They have been married 40 years. They have 3 children, 5 grandchildren and one active kitty cat. Kathy currently teaches two women’s classes at Bear Valley Bible Institute. One is a public speaking class. The other is teaching women how to teach children’s Bible classes.

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