Come Follow Me: John 7-10 (April 29–May 5)

The next Come Follow Me lesson covers John 7-10.  We are going to focus on Jesus Healing the blind man and the parable of the good shepherd.  These ideas are great for families but can also be used for primary as well. 

John 9 Jesus healing the blind man. 

My kids love to watch the bible videos you can find this one in the lesson (found here).

To break the story down even more I made a simple book for us to read.  I included a black and white version that can also be used as a mini coloring book.  To make print out the 3 pages.  Cut along the solid line in the center and staple the pages together.  

Puppets-This is a fun way to retell the story.  Start by cutting out the two faces and glue back to back on a Popsicle stick.  For some extra fun we are going to add clay.   By clay I mean playdough (this one would be awesome) or you can use chocolate pudding, maybe mud, or just pretend to rub clay on his eyes.   Pretend to wash it off and flip over to the happy face.  If possible I would laminate so you can use them over and over.

Coloring page- How cute is this coloring page.  In the blank spot draw a picture of a way you have been blessed.

Sequencing activity-This is a great review activity or a fun way to tell the story.  Cut out the pictures.  Glue, tape, or use Velcro to attach to the number page.

Additional idea- To help you kids understand this story a little more we are going to try some activities blindfolded.  
Here are a few ideas:
 1. blindfold one person and have them try to walk across the room.  Make it more challenging by adding some obstacles.
2. Try to complete some tasks while blindfolded such as fold laundry, make a sandwich, shoot a basketball.
After talk about the blessing this man received and some blessing you have received.

The Good Shepherd
Start with this game- Its called wolves and sheep.  Its kind of like red light, green light but with a fun twist. After share the parable of the Good Shepherd.  Talk about the purpose of the shepherd and how he loves and protects his sheep.

You can find the video here

Break down the parable- pictures and labels.  In the I&F manual it suggests drawing the different parts of the parable.  I am terrible at drawing so I added some clip art to represent various parts of the story.  Match the picture to the label and talk about what each person/thing represents.

Sheep Hunt- Pick 1 page of sheep.  The first has different things the good shepherd does.  There is a blank one if you would like to add your own. The second one is blank for you to write children/family names.  The Good Shepherd knows each one of his sheep by name. Your little ones will love find their name on a sheep.
Cut the sheep apart and hide around the room.  Gather the sheep and tape around the image of Jesus with a sheep.

Sheep Craft-Finish this cute sheep by gluing cotton balls on the circles to make the little sheep fluffy.  Anther fun idea would be to paint him with white puffy paint.  To make puffy paint you need equal parts shaving cream and white school glue.  (about 1/2 cup each)  Mix well.

As I live the truths taught by Jesus Christ, I will come to know they are true.

....John 7:14–17.  This idea come from the primary manual.  Print two copies of this page on cardstock or back with construction paper.  Take turns find a match to different commandments we keep.  Share an experience of a time you kept a commandment and gained a testimony of its truth. 

John 7:24-" Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment."I thought the idea to teach this verse in the Individual and family manual was fun.  It's the first idea under the ideas for family scripture study and family home evening.  It involves heading outside and getting dirty.  I have a couple of kids that would love this.  Another idea I had to go along with the concept of not judging appearances was to show this video clip.  It is not a church video but it is so amazing and worth checking out. Lizzie shares her experience of being named "the ugliest woman in the word" and how she didn't let the mean comments bring her down.  I love this video so much and her positive outlook on life. There is so much you can talk about-but I plan to use it to teach that words, actions and judgement can hurt others.  Also how our judgement is often wrong and if we take the time to get to know someone we will discover they are pretty great.  I used if for activity days a little over a year ago (you can find that post here).  I know this verse talks about appearance but you can pull in the story of the woman who had sinned and talk about not judging others actions as well.

 That's all for this week.  Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope there are a few things that will work for your family or primary class.  As always I'd love to hear what you do and have planned for the week.

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Adorable graphics from Melonheadz,   Educlips,   Susan Fitch design, Chirp Graphics, P4 Clips Trioriginals and Fonts by Hello Literacy and Kimberly Geswein Fonts