The Ant
Have toothpicks and a bowl of grapes placed on the table when the kids arrive. Instruct the children to make ants out of
these materials. After everyone has arrived and is having fun making a few ants, have them turn to Proverbs 6:6-8 in their
Bibles.
“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no
overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”
Explain that today's lesson is about being lazy. The ant is an excellent example of a creature that is not lazy. They work
endlessly together to build homes and gather food, and they do so without anyone telling them over and over to do it. We
can all learn a lesson from the ant about working hard.
La Hormiga
Tenga palillos de dientes y varios recipientes con uvas. Distribuyalos en grupos. Digales a los niños que hagn hormigas
con esos materiales. Dejelos por unos minutos hasta que todos hayan hecho algunas hormigas, haga que los servidores
encargados de cada grupo les lea en sus biblias
Prov. 6:6-8 (el cual habla de imitar a las hormigas)
Expliqueles que la leccion de ahora es acerca de ser perezoso o haragan. La hormiga es un ejemplo excelente de una
criatura que no es haragana. Ellas trabajan juntas incansablemente para construir sus hogares y almacenar comida, y lo
hacen sin que alguien este ordenandoles hacerlo una y otra vez. Podemos aprender una leccion de las hormigas acerca
de trabajar duro.
Lazy or Wise Ways?
A challenging activity illustrating the consequences of laziness.
Materials:
Index cards (two colors)
Topics:
Choices, Laziness, Wisdom
Duration:
Approximately 12 minutes
Target Audience:
Grades 2-5 (Ages 7-11)
Preparation:
Before class, print each of the following phrases on separate colored index cards, using for example blue and
yellow.
Help mom clean the house instead
of watching television.
Mom will have more time to take
you shopping.
Study hard for school and do
homework every night instead of
goofing off.
You will get better grades and a
nicer job when you are older.
Help dad with a building project
instead of just sitting around
watching.
You can feel proud after making
something and learning new skills.
Save your allowance instead of
spending it on unimportant things
like candy.
You will have enough money to
buy something real nice.
Be a volunteer at church to help
take food to needy people instead
of letting others do the work.
Your heart will be filled with joy
because others will see your love
in action.
What you will do:
Divide the class into two teams. Give each member of one team a blue index card, and each member of the
other team a yellow index card. Explain the object is for each kid to find the person from the other team with a
card that goes with the one which he or she has, and that each team accomplishes this in under 5 minutes. They
can read each other's cards and go from one person to the next etc., but one very important rule is that during
their search, everyone must be completely silent. Inform the kids that every time someone talks, giggles, or
makes a noise, an additional 15 seconds is tacked on to their total time. Hand out candy or stickers if they
succeed in completing the exercise in less than 5 minutes.
After everyone has found their correct partner, have each twosome read their cards, then discuss the situation
with the class using the following questions:
1. Why can it be hard to do what is right in this situation?
2. What bad things could happen by choosing the lazy way in this situation?
3. What other good things might happen by choosing the wise way in this situation?
4. Choosing the lazy way or the wise way may result in pleasure, but which way lasts longer and why?
¿Pasos flojos o sabios?
Hay beneficios por no ser flojos. Los niños van a poder juntar los beneficios con las situaciones con
las que corresponden.
Materiales:
Papel de índice (dos colores)
Temas:
Flojera, Sabiduría, Selecciones
Duración:
Aproximadamente 12 minutos
Audiencia intendida:
Grados 2-5 (edades 7-11)
Preparación:
Antes de la clase, imprima cada una de las siguientes frases en tarjetitas separadas de colores, usando por ejemplo azul y
amarillo.
Ayudar a mamá a limpiar la casa en lugar
de ver televisión.
Mamá tendrá más tiempo para llevarte de
compras.
Estudiar mucho para el colegio y hacer la
tarea en lugar de hacer nada, perdiendo el
tiempo.
Sacarás mejores notas y obtendrás un
mejor trabajo cuando seas mayor.
Ayudar a papá a hacer algunas tareas del
hogar en lugar de sólo sentarte a verlo.
Puedes estar orgulloso de tu trabajo y tal
vez aprender nuevas habilidades.
Ahorrar tu mesada en lugar de gastarla en
cosas poco importantes como comprar
dulces.
Tendrás suficiente dinero para comprar
algo realmente importante.
Servir como voluntario en la iglesia para
llevar pan a las personas que lo necesitan
en lugar de dejar a otros hacer el trabajo.
Tu corazón se llenará de gozo porque
otros verán tu amor en acción
Lo que va a hacer usted:
Haga grupos de 10 niños. Asigne un servidor a cada grupo y subdivídalos en grupos de 5. Dele a cada niño de un subgrupo
una tarjeta azul, y cada niño de otro subgrupo, una tarjeta amarilla. Explíqueles que el objetivo es que cada niño encuentre a
la persona del otro subgrupo que tenga una tarjeta que vaya acorde con la propia, y que hagan esto en 5 minutos. Ellos
podrán leer las tarjetas de cada niño del subgrupo contrario, pero una regla será que nadie deberá hablar mientras buscan la
tarjeta que pegue con la de cada uno, todos deberán permanecer en silencio o se les quitará tiempo. El maestro podrá
llevarles calcomanias o algun premio (separadores de libros, calcomanias con motivos de amistad o mensajes de amor) para
las parejas que terminen en menos de 5 minutos.
Después de que todos hayan encontrado a su pareja, haga que cada pareja lea sus tarjetas y trate de hacer que los niños
discutan la situación con el resto de los niños de los grupos siguiendo más o menos las siguientes preguntas:
1. ¿Por qué crees que es difícil hacer lo que nos sugiere tu tarjeta?
2. ¿Qué cosas malas pueden suceder si tú decides ser haragan en esta situación?
3. ¿Qué otras cosas buenas pueden pasar si eliges la sabiduría en esta situación?
4. Ser perezoso o haragan resulta en un gusto pasajero, pero ¿qué actitud te da mayor gozo por más
tiempo y por qué?
The Lazy Soldier
Even the best soldiers, if not careful, can get caught up in the wrong things.
Once upon a time in a land fairly close by, lived a solider named
Benny. Benny held the rank of sergeant in the country of Zeal's army.
Sergeant Benny was a very hard worker and took care to ensure that
everything was in its place. He saw that his rifle was properly taken
care of, his uniform spiffy clean, and that all orders were followed to
the letter.
Sergeant Benny would work long hard hours to ensure that everything
got done and that everything was secure. The people of Zeal slept
easier knowing that Sergeant Benny was on the job.
One day, the top official of the country of Zeal's army noticed what an
outstanding job Sergeant Benny was doing. He spoke with some of
the other officials and they decided to send Sergeant Benny to the
island of Lackadaisical.
You see the soldiers on the island of Lackadaisical were not very hard workers and they hardly ever finished all their
work. The island wasn't very secure. Rumor had it that this island would be the first place attacked, if and when a war
broke out. Sergeant Benny would be a big help to make the island secure.
Sergeant Benny gladly accepted his new orders, just as he always did. When he arrived on the island of
Lackadaisical he couldn't believe his eyes. The other soldiers' uniforms were very sloppy, their rifles were covered
with dirt and grim, their shoes needed to be shined, and most of them were lying in the shade drinking lemonade.
Sergeant Benny shouted, "What kind of soldiers are you?"
The other soldiers laughed and said to Benny, "Lighten up, who do you think you are anyway? If you got a problem
you should go see the top official of the island."
Sergeant Benny marched right over to the official's house and asked to speak with him. The top official's name was
Mr. Apathetic. Sergeant Benny noticed that Mr. Apathetic was in worse shape than the soldiers of Lackadaisical.
"Yes, how may I help you?" Mr. Apathetic yawned. Sergeant Benny began to explain how sloppy the soldiers were
and how unsecured the island was, when Mr. Apathetic interrupted him, "Yes, yes, whatever. Please come back and
talk to me after lunch. I need to take a nap right now."
Sergeant Benny returned after lunch and was told to come back after dinner. When he returned after dinner he was
told to come back after breakfast. Mr. Apathetic was always playing and didn't have time to talk.
This went on for days. The days stretched into weeks. Sergeant Benny tried to talk to the other soldiers, but they
would just laugh and ask who had made him the boss. After a month of this, Sergeant Benny began to think that
maybe he had also been working just a little bit too hard. The island was beautiful and had many nice places to swim.
He decided to take the afternoon off and go swimming.
After swimming, he was very hungry and ate a big lunch. After eating, he took a long nap. At first Sergeant Benny felt
bad about goofing off and not doing his work, but the more he goofed off, the easier it became. Soon Benny was
goofing off everyday. His rifle was caked with mud, he couldn't find his boots, his shirt was torn, and he needed to
comb his hair.
Benny was just getting ready to take a nap when the alarm sounded. The island of Lackadaisical was under attack.
Benny jumped to his feet and began to run to the army base where he thought he left his rifle. However, he couldn't
run very fast because he was so out of shape. The enemy quickly defeated the soldiers of Lackadaisical. Not one of
the people of Lackadaisical survived the sudden attack.
We are also in an army—God’s army. As soldiers in God's army, we need to make sure that we stay in shape, by
reading our Bibles, praying, worshiping our Lord, and helping others.
Many things can try to distract us from staying in shape.We may think its more fun to ride our bikes or play
videogames, and it is not wrong to do those things, but we need to make sure we put God first. Some people may not
understand the importance of prayer, reading the Bible, or spending time serving the Lord. Don't follow their bad
examples. God wants the best for us and He wants us to stay in shape. That's an order, soldier!