Feeding of the 5,000
A Workshop Rotation Model Lesson Set from
Christ Church
Summit, NJ 07901
908-273-5549
revjy@ChristChurchSummit.org

This material is the copyrighted property of The Reverend Julie Yarborough.
Permission is granted to copy this material only for non-commercial use.

Posted by a voluneer post-er, not the author.

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The Feeding of the Multitudes
Scripture Reference: Matthew 14:13-21

Overview of workshops:

Art - quilt

Games - fishing

Video - view "The Promise" (Heifer video) and "Jesus Feeds the Multitudes" from the series "Jesus ... a Kingdom without Frontiers"

Cooking - fish-shaped cookies or pretzels

Creative Writing - decorate journals

Scripture Synopsis:
When Jesus learned that his friend and cousin, John the Baptist had been beheaded by King Herod, he was very sad and went off in a boat. He just wanted to be by himself.

When the crowds heard that Jesus was going off in a boat, they followed him on foot along the shore. When Jesus arrived at his destination, he saw a large crowd. He was overcome with compassion for them, and healed those among them who were sick. Late that afternoon, the disciples came to Jesus. "It is getting late, Teacher, and the people are hungry. Send the people away so they can go to the towns and buy food to eat."

Jesus answered, "You give them something to eat."

"But we only have five loaves of bread and two fish," they replied.

Jesus said, "Bring the food to me." He told the people to sit down on the grass. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven and gave thanks for them. He divided the bread and the fish and gave them to his disciples to give to the people. All of the people ate bread and fish and were satisfied. After everyone had eaten, the disciples gathered the food that had not been eaten and there were twelve baskets full! All in all, there were over five thousand people who ate that day.

Objectives:
The key concept we are focusing on in this rotation is SHARING.

The children will learn the Bible story about Jesus feeding the multitudes.

The children will learn that Jesus wants us to share what we have with others.

The children will learn about the Heifer Project and raise money to fund an aquaculture project.

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Art Workshop
In Creation Corner, students will make a quilt on the theme of sharing.

Materials needed:
Paper Squares
Crayola Fabric Crayons
Iron
Cloth Squares
Black markers

Activities:
As the children come in, have them sit on the floor. Introduce yourself to the children and ask them their names.

Tell them that they will be making quilt squares today, but that first you will tell them a story from the Bible.

Tell the story of Jesus Feeding the Multitudes in your own words. (To prepare, read Matthew 14:13-21. Practice this out loud before Sunday morning!)

Discuss the story with the children. Ask them what they heard, what they think is important about the story. (There are no right or wrong answers. You are asking for their opinion.) After the children have had a chance to talk, tell them that one important message of this story is that Jesus wants us to share what we have with others.

Tell the children that we going to make a sharing quilt. (NOTE: For instructions on using this technique, see the Crayola website!) We want them to draw pictures about the story they have just heard, or about sharing in general. Using special fabric crayons, they will draw on the paper squares that have been prepared ahead of time. The paper squares have a border on them. The children will color the border, then draw their pictures in the inside square. Because they will then be ironed onto cloth, the image will appear on the finished quilt block in reverse. Any words that the children want to write on the square should be written in black marker on the back of the paper, then traced with fabric crayon onto the front.
The quilt squares will be sewn together and the finished quilt will hang in Barnwell Hall at Christ Church.

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Games Workshop
In Good News Games, students will play a fishing game based on the story.

Materials needed:
Fishing poles
Fish
Ponds made out of plastic tablecloths
Bibles

Activities:
Introduce yourself to the children and ask them their names.

Tell the story of Jesus Feeding the Multitudes in your own words. (To prepare, read Matthew 14:13-21. Practice this out loud before Sunday morning!)

Discuss the story with the children. Ask them what they heard, what they think is important about the story. (There are no right or wrong answers. You are asking for their opinion.)

Play the Fishing Game. Divide into two teams. Have the children on each team take turns. They will use the fishing poles with magnets on them to catch paper fish in the pond.
For Kindergarten and 1st grades: the object is for each team to catch five loaves of bread and two fish. Each child gets one turn. If they catch something other than a loaf of bread or a fish, they must throw it back. The teams will race each other to see which team can catch five loaves of bread and two fish first.

For 2nd and 3rd grades: the object is to catch fish with verses written on them and put the verses in order. The set for this age group has each verse numbered. The first team to put all of the verses in order wins.

For 4th and 5th grades: the object is to catch fish with verses written on them and put the verses in order. This set has no numbers, but one fish has the scripture reference. When they catch this fish, they can look up the story and then they will know the order of the verses. The first team to put all of the verses in order wins.

The game can be played several times, and you can vary the rules. (The older kids might like to play with the set for the younger group, for instance.) If you do not have enough children to create two teams, race against the clock instead.

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Video Workshop
In The Prophet's Playhouse, students will watch a video about the Heifer Project.

Materials needed:

"The Promise" video from Heifer Project International, 1-800-422-0474

"Jesus Feeds the Multitudes" video from the series "Jesus . . . a Kingdom without Frontiers" published by CCC of America (purchased through Vision Video, 1-800-523-0226)

TV and VCR

Tickets and a ticket booth

Popcorn in popcorn bags, juice in cups

Heifer Project fish cards and information

Activities:
Designate a child to sit in ticket booth and hand out tickets. As the children are given tickets have them line up outside door.

Have another child take tickets and tear them in half as the kids walk in for the movie.

Introduce yourself to the children and welcome them to the Prophet's Playhouse. Tell them that today's production is a double feature. First they will see a movie about Jesus feeding the Multitudes, then a movie about the Heifer Project.

Designate other children to help you hand out popcorn and juice.

Start the first videotape at the appropriate place (not the entire movie)

After the movie is over, talk about the story. Ask the children about what they have seen and heard. When the children have discussed the story, tell them that one important message of the story is that Jesus wants us to share what we have with others, and that when we ask God to bless what we have, we will be amazed at what can happen.

After discussion, tell the children about the Heifer Project. Children in this country can raise money to help children all over the world have food to eat. We are going to raise money to start a fish farm for a family in need. By raising money, we will be honoring Jesus' request when he tells his disciples, "You give them something to eat."

Show the movie, "The Promise."

Talk about the movie and the Heifer Project. Tell the children that in the Welcome Table workshop, they will make cookies or pretzels to sell during coffee hour. The proceeds will be sent to the Heifer Project to start a fish farm for a needy family somewhere in the world.

Hand out a fish card to each child.

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Cooking Workshop
In The Welcome Table, students will bake pretzels or cookies, in the shape of fish, which they will sell during coffee hour to raise money for the Heifer Project.

Materials Needed:
Recipes for sugar cookies and pretzels
Ingredients
Cookie decorations (in closet)
Fish cookie cutters
Fish pins

Activities:
Introduce yourself to the children and ask them their names.

Tell the children the story of Jesus feeding the Multitudes in your own words. (To prepare, read Matthew 14:13-21 to yourself and practice telling it out loud before Sunday morning!)

Talk about the story with the children. Ask them what they remember about the story, what they think is important about the story. (There are no right or wrong answers! You are asking for their opinion.) Tell the children that one important piece of the story is that Jesus wants us to share what we have with others, so that everyone can have food to eat.

Ask the children if they know about the Heifer Project, and tell them about it if they don't know. Explain that they are going to make cookies or pretzels to sell during coffee hour. The proceeds will be sent to the Heifer Project to start a fish farm for a needy family somewhere in the world.

Make cookies or pretzels. (Alternate each week)

Give each child a Heifer Project fish pin to wear.

Help the kids sell the cookies or pretzels during coffee hour.

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Creative Writing Workshop
In Sunday Scribes, students will decorate journals and use them for writing or drawing about the story.

Materials Needed:
Journals
Pencils
Markers
Crayons
Decoupage paste
Brushes
Scraps of wrapping paper, napkins, etc.
Scissors
Activities:

Introduce yourself to the children and ask them their names.

Tell the children the story of Jesus feeding the Multitudes in your own words. (Read the story to yourself and practice telling it out loud before Sunday morning!)

Talk about the story with the children. Ask them what they remember about the story, what they think is important about the story. (There are no right or wrong answers! You are asking for their opinion.)

When the discussion is over, tell the children that they are going to decorate journals. Each child will make a journal to use in Sunday School. The journals will be kept at church and used throughout the year. They can write in them or draw in them to help them remember and think about the stories we learn in Sunday School.

Hand out a journal to each child. Tell the children to write their names inside on the front page.

Invite the children to write or draw about the story that you told today, or about some important idea in the story (i.e., the importance of sharing with others, miracles that Jesus performed, helping to feed the hungry.)

When the children have written in their journals, help them decorate the journals by cutting out designs or pictures from the wrapping paper and old cards. The paper can be placed on top of the journal, then "painted" over with decoupage paste.

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This material was provided by Christ Church in Summit New Jersey for posting at www.rotation.org. You are welcome to copy it and use it for non-commercial purposes.

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