Our church, Capstone Church, is memorizing Psalm 23 together this month. This chapter is very special to me, because my mom got me to memorize it when I was around the same age as my oldest, and it has been an indescribable source of comfort to me in many different situations throughout my life! So naturally, I am super excited to teach it to my girls.

Did you know that people remember 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear, but 90% of what they DO? I always try to apply this principle to my teaching by bringing in hands-on, relevant components wherever possible. This is one of the main reasons behind my passion for incorporating art into Bible teaching for kids, tweens/teens, and even adults. Participating in a hands-on process to create a lasting symbol of the concept/verse we are learning really helps it to “stick” in our hearts and minds!

Our children’s minister has asked some of our kids to come up with some fun motions to help us remember them (check out @capstone_kids on Instagram). My girls have LOVED this! In addition, last week I had the idea to come up with weekly art activities for the verse(s) we are focusing on each week. I’ve also been wanting to create a Sunday “children’s church” experience for my girls during this time of quarantine, so we did these first projects today before family worship, and they were a big hit! While of course, none of us would choose to be in this pandemic, one of the good things I can identify that has come from it is more time to be together as a family and more opportunities to have meaningful discussions about our faith.

Bible Focus:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1 ESV)

Art Activity 1 - Puffy Paint Sheep:

Materials:

White glue
Shaving cream (non-gel is best, but gel will work if it’s white)
Colored paper
Black Sharpie marker or black construction paper
Paintbrush (can also use fingers, especially fun for preschoolers!)

Directions:

Practice repeating the Bible verse before, after, and while you are working!
Use a black permanent marker to draw a sheep head and leg shapes on a piece of colored paper, or cut them from black construction paper and glue onto colored paper. (Washable marker is not best for this, since it will “run” when the paint hits it.)
Mix together equal amounts of glue and shaving cream in a small bowl.
Use paintbrush or fingers and puffy paint to dot on the sheep’s fleece.
If desired, glue wiggly eyes onto your sheep’s face.

Art Activity 2 - Fingerprint Sheep

Materials:

Black washable ink pad (washable marker or paint will also work)
Black skinny marker
White paper or cardstock

Directions:

Practice repeating the Bible verse before, after, and while you are working!
Press your pointer finger into the inkpad (or a thin coat of black paint), and press it onto the paper to create sheep heads. Alternately, if you don’t have a stamp pad, you can color your child’s finger pad using a washable black marker.
Use a thin-line black marker to add ears, body, and feet.
Repeat to create an entire sheep family or flock! My daughter enjoyed naming all of her sheep, too. :)

Discussion Points:

What characteristics do sheep have? (soft and fuzzy, helpless, unable to protect themselves against predators, dependent upon the shepherd for protection, etc.)
What are some threats to sheep that they might need protecting from?
How are we like sheep?
What does it mean that Jesus is our shepherd?

More Activities:

Younger Kids:

Play sheep hide and seek. Take turns role playing shepherd and sheep. The sheep hide, and the shepherd searches for them and guides them back to safety. Sheep can “baaa” to give extra clues about the direction they are hiding. As an added twist, if you have multiple kids, one could also play a wolf.

Older Kids:

Find other places in the Bible Jesus is called “the Good Shepherd.” Study what this means in each passage, and compare to its meaning in Psalm 23:1.

All Ages:

Use Legos to create a shepherd and sheep in a pasture.