Who are you? How do you define yourself. How do others see you from the outside?
If you were to ask your children this question, how would they respond? Perhaps they'll talk about how they are an athlete... a dancer... my son would likely call himself a gamer.
What about you? How do you define yourself as a mom? The soccer mom? The homeschooling mom? The working mom? These are ways we define ourselves ... but are they who we truly are on the inside? Or are they masks of how we hope others to see us (or even who we hope/strive to be)?
This is what we're talking about today in this simple Bible craft and lesson that is all about the masks we wear.
But first up... let's make those masks! Here's what you'll do:
- Paper Plates
- Scissors
- Large Popsicle Sticks
- Glue
- Misc Craft Supplies (markers, stickers, foam shapes, etc)
- First off, make the base of your mask by cutting eye holes out of the paper plates.
- Finish off the base by gluing a large craft popsicle stick to the back for the handle. (Alternately, you could use string to tie masks on, but having a child with sensory issues, I tend to find this handheld mask to be a better option!!)
- Now, ask your child(ren) the questions above, with a focus on the last one: How do others see you? What makes you you? With this in mind, ask your child to decorate their mask to represent how others see them. (Are they an athlete? Decorate it with a sports theme! Are they the 'smart kid'? Make it a school theme. When I personally did a variation of this activity in high school I used music notes to represent my love of singing. Have fun with it!) Use markers, glitter, stickers- whatever craft supplies you have on hand to make these masks truly unique to each child. My son prefers to keep things simple, so we stuck to drawing... a superhero mask and a Minecraft player mask!
- Allow to dry, if needed.
Now that the masks are done, it's time for the lesson. If you'd like, let each child talk about their masks and why they decorated it as they did. Discuss again how these masks represent the faces that we allow everyone in the world to see.
Now, ask them how God sees them? Give them a chance to answer/discuss and then read them the following verse:
"The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” -1 Samuel 16:7
Discuss how no matter what masks we choose to wear on the outside, God sees our inner most self- who we truly are. He does not see a great athlete, he sees a child with a genuine love for others, willing to help his teammates on and off the field. He sees not only the successes that we show to the world, but also our struggles that we hide. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and loves us unconditionally. This is a great time to remind them to be themselves in the outside world as well, and to be sure that the attitudes they are showing the world are genuine and pleasing to God.
Now, ask them how God sees them? Give them a chance to answer/discuss and then read them the following verse:
"The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” -1 Samuel 16:7
Discuss how no matter what masks we choose to wear on the outside, God sees our inner most self- who we truly are. He does not see a great athlete, he sees a child with a genuine love for others, willing to help his teammates on and off the field. He sees not only the successes that we show to the world, but also our struggles that we hide. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and loves us unconditionally. This is a great time to remind them to be themselves in the outside world as well, and to be sure that the attitudes they are showing the world are genuine and pleasing to God.
This simple Bible lesson is not only a ton of fun, but also a really GREAT lesson for kids of all ages... and completely customize-able! We used paper plates and focused on how God sees us. Definitely ideal for a younger audience. When I did a similar activity as a high schooler at church camp, we actually used plaster to create masks of our faces- much more teen friendly. You could also expand the lesson using verses like 2 Corinthians 3:18 or Matthew 23:25-26 for these older audiences.
This is a great activity for home or church. With summer quickly approaching, it would make an ideal option for Vacation Bible School- it's easy, it's fun and it's easy and inexpensive to do for a crowd. For more great inspirations for VBS, be sure to check out this great board from Family Christian:
This is a great activity for home or church. With summer quickly approaching, it would make an ideal option for Vacation Bible School- it's easy, it's fun and it's easy and inexpensive to do for a crowd. For more great inspirations for VBS, be sure to check out this great board from Family Christian:
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OH do I love this idea!! I pinned it for when my son is older!! 2 is not quite there yet ;) This teaches such an amazing lesson and I wish they would allow god in more schools so they could do this publicly!!
ReplyDeleteGreat craft idea for the lil' ones. We will have to try this at our house!
ReplyDeleteThat is a really great question to ask your kids. I'm interested in how they will respond.
ReplyDelete