Creation Celebration!

Hold a Sabbath afternoon creation celebration!

Karen Holford enjoys living in Scotland. She thanks God for all the beautiful hills, birds, trees, flowers, animals, and friends!

Editor's note: See the PDF for the accompanying pictures and activities (p. 20): 

http://cdn.ministerialassociation.org/cdn/ministerialassociation.org/assets/spouses/sij-archives-en/2015/sij-en-2015-3.pdf?201610131500

Hold a Sabbath afternoon creation celebration. Invite families to plan an activity for each day of creation. Finish the celebration with a wonderful picnic or party. Here are some ideas to get you started. Choose the ones you like best:

Day 1: Light

Guessing in the dark (older kids)

• Ask an adult to find ten natural items, such as fruits, vegetables, rocks, shells, seeds, etc., and arrange them on a tray. Cover them with a cloth so the children can’t see what they are.

• Blindfold the children one at a time and ask them to feel under the cloth and tell you what they feel.

Searching in the dark (younger children)

• Choose a safe space. Blindfold a child and hide a large, soft object, such as a stuffed toy. Let them explore the space carefully until they find the toy. If they’re very young, give them some extra clues.

• Talk about what it would be like to live on the earth before it had any light.

• Thank God for creating light so that we can see His beautiful world.

Day 2: Separating the waters (sky above and sea below)

Cloud and water mobile

• Make a mobile by cutting a large cloud from white cardboard. Clouds hold the water above the earth.

• Then cut out raindrop shapes from blue cardstock. Use thread to hang the droplets from the cloud.

• Search through your Bible to find positive verses about clouds and rain. Write these on the cloud and raindrops.

Water ABC

• Water comes in all shapes and sizes!

• See if you can find something made from water that begins with each letter of the alphabet. If you get really stuck, search an atlas for the names of rivers and seas around the world.

• For example: A—avalanche, B—brook, C— creek, D—dew, E—estuary . . .

Day 3: GREEN AND GROWING THINGS

• Lay a long strip of white paper on an outdoor table or on the ground.

• Take a basket and hunt for different-colored natural objects. Don’t pick a whole plant; just pick a leaf or a single flower petal, or pick up things already fallen to the ground. Be careful not to pick up anything poisonous or dangerous (go with an adult to be sure).

• Bring your goodies back to the paper and arrange them in the colors of the rainbow.

• Thank God for filling our world with so many beautiful plants.

Day 4:Sun, Moon, and Stars

Constellation cards

• Find some black cardstock (or paper) and a pack of gold or silver sticky stars.

• Look at a book of star constellations.

• Copy the patterns of the stars onto the black paper using the sticky stars.

• Find out everything you can about each constellation.

Star candle shade

• Find some sheets of tracing paper (or thin paper), a pack of sticky stars (or cut out foil or paper stars), a roll of double-sided tape (or glue), and a battery-operated candle.

• Stick a scattering of stars onto the tracing paper.

• Stick a strip of double-sided tape along one of the short edges of the paper. Roll the paper into a cylinder, overlap the edges, and use the tape to stick the edges together.

• Turn on the candle and place the star shade around it.

• Alternatively, place the shade over a small glass containing a votive candle. But be very careful not to burn anything or anyone.

Hand print sun

• Find large sheets of white paper, paintbrushes, yellow and orange paint, a bowl of soapy water, and some paper towels to help you clean up.

• Paint your hand so the fingers are pale yellow and the palm is orange and darker yellow. Swirl the colors together on your palm. Press your hand onto the paper— you will be making a sun with yellow finger rays and a yellow-orange center. Turn your hand around and make several prints so that you make one large, circular sun. You may need to repaint your hand. Don’t worry if your paper isn’t big enough or your sun isn’t quite in the middle of the paper. It will still look artistic and beautiful!

Day 5: Birds and Fish

Bird feeder

• Make a bird feeder. Find a plastic container or lid and ask an adult to make some holes in it. Thread some twine through the holes so it can hang from a branch. Then spread the container with peanut butter and birdseed. Hang the container from a branch. List the birds that come and feed from your feeder.

• Or thread cereal O’s onto a pipe cleaner (chenille stick), twist it into a heart, and hang from a branch.

Shell search

• Find a small collection of shells.

• Have each person choose one shell and look at it very carefully for a while.

• What do you notice about your shell? What makes it special or beautiful?

• Mix the shells back together and see if you can find your shell again by looking at them carefully.

Day 6: People and Animals

Animal chain game

• Play a game where you take turns naming an animal beginning with the last letter of the animal that the person before you chose.

• If the person before you said “kangaroo,” you might say “orangutan” or “okapi.” Remember, they must be land animals, not birds, fish, or sea creatures. Example: CoW— WalruS—SheeP—PiG—GiraffE.

• Only use each animal once. To make the game harder, repeat the list of all the animals that have been named in the game, and then add your new animal to the end of the list.

Guess the animal

• Hunt for leaves, twigs, stones, seeds—any natural objects lying on the ground.

• Use your objects to make a picture of an animal. Draw in the dirt or sand too.

• Visit each other’s animals and guess what they are.

• Or use craft materials or building bricks to create animals for everyone to guess.

Special people!

• People are the very best part of God’s creation! Everything He made was for us—to make our world a wonderful place. Draw a picture of yourself on a sheet of paper.

• Pass each picture around the family or group.

• Think about how much God loves each person, and then write something encouraging or loving on each person’s paper.

• Give all the pictures back to the original artists so they can read the lovely messages.

DAY 7: REST AND CELEBRATE!

Creation picnic

• Have a lovely picnic. Serve your favorite fruits and nuts—the kind of food that Adam and Eve would have eaten in Eden. To make it more fun, make pictures on your plates using pieces of fruit and nuts.

Thank you card

• Gather your best craft materials, paper, pens, glue, collage supplies, etc.

• Design a special thank you card for God.

• Write a letter to God inside the card, thanking Him for your favorite creations.

Praise time!

• Have a praise time together. Sing your favorite praise songs, pray, and thank God for all of His amazing creations.