Creation Speaks Kids Activities

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Pizza Box Solar Oven

Cook a mini pizza using energy from the sun!  You'll need the following items:

Before beginning this activity read John 1:1-4.

Using the pen and the ruler draw a one-inch border around the top of the pizza box.  Cut along this border on three sides, leaving the fourth side uncut.   This will be your reflector flap.  (To make things easier later on the uncut side should be along the back of the box.)  Gently press the back end of the pen or another blunt tool along the fourth side to create an uncut score.

Lift the front side of the reflector flap and gently open it so that it creases along the fourth side.  Your uncut score should cause it to fold along the line with ease.

Cut a piece of aluminum foil the size of the flap or a bit larger.   Glue it to the underside of the flap and smooth out any wrinkles.  Extra foil can be trimmed off or wrapped around the edges.

Cut a piece of plastic the same size as the pizza box.  Glue or tape it to the inside of the box lid, making sure to seal the plastic all the way around to avoid heat loss.  The lid of the box should now look like a window, with the reflector flap opened above it.

Cut another piece of aluminum foil the same size as the bottom of the box interior then glue it into place.

Place a sheet of black construction paper in the bottom of the box and on top of the aluminum foil and carefully tape it down using as little tape as possible.

Close the lid of the box and face it toward the sun so.  Adjust the reflector flap so that it reflects the sun's rays down into the box.  Once adjusted, lift the lid and place a piece of bread or an English muffin inside with whatever "pizza" toppings you choose, then let it bake!

This activity shows how the sun's power can be captured and used.   The sunlight passes through the plastic window and hits the food and the black paper, which converts it to heat.  Additional sunlight is focused into the oven by the reflector flap to increase the amount of heat in the box.  While light can pass quickly through the plastic window, heat is much more slow, so it stays in the box and cooks the food.  This project also gives an example of how we can use less electricity, much of which is created in ways that cause pollution to be released into the air or into waterways.  By reducing the amount of electricity we use we take better care of the earth that God created.  This project is also a great example of how we can live well even when the electricity gets shut off during a storm.

Along with the fun of cooking your food with sunlight, there are some important lessons to learn here, too.  Did you know that all life on Earth needs sunlight to live?  Even creatures that live in the deepest caves feed on other organisms that grow in sunlight.  Without sunlight our planet would be a cold, lifeless piece of rock.

Look at what you were just able to accomplish by using God's gift of sunlight!  In the book of John, chapter 1, verse 4, we read that "In him was life; and the life was the light of men."  In the same way that sunlight is needed for all physical life to exist on earth, we need Jesus to live in us in order for us to be truly alive.   Even if our bodies are alive, our spirits cannot live without Jesus.  If you want to be truly alive, ask Jesus to come live inside of you so that His light can make you alive!

Now every time you go outside and see the bright sunshine you can think of Jesus.  Be sure to thank Him for giving you sunlight and also for giving you His life inside of you.

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Grass In A Cup

Grow a small "lawn" and learn about what God created on the third day of creation.  You'll need the following items:

Before beginning this activity read Genesis 1:9-13.

Fill a cup, old pan, or deep dish with rich garden soil.  On top of the soil sprinkle grass seed, available at your local garden store or major department store.  Add water to the soil without completely waterlogging it.   Set the container on a window sill with sun exposure.  If the soil dries out just add a bit more water or spray it with the misting spray bottle.

After a few days you will see small, wispy blades of grass growing.   The grass grows because it has all the things it needs: water, soil, sunlight, and air.  As the grass grows it can be "mowed" with scissors and as an added bonus the clippings can be juiced and added to a smoothie to boost its nutritional content.

This simple "experiment" has many things to teach us.   First of all, it teaches us some basic ways in which we can care for creation.   By keeping streams and groundwater clean and pure we help plants to grow strong and healthy.  The same thing goes for keeping the air clean and pure, plus by keeping the air clean we allow more sunlight to reach the plants.  It is also important that we encourage our soil to be healthy and nutritious because that's where the plants get their food.

This fun activity also shows us some neat things about the Creator.   First of all, notice that in Genesis it says that the plants were created before the sun.  This means that the plants were originally kept alive by the Creator Himself.  What a wonderful God we serve that His love is enough all by itself to keep us alive and healthy!  The Bible tells us that in Heaven it will be just like before: we won't need the sun anymore because Jesus Himself will shine and His light will go throughout the earth.  We will be kept alive forever by His love.

There is another great lesson to learn from the grass.  The Bible talks about how the grass can't grow unless a seed is planted and then dies.   That's right: the seeds you planted actually died!  If you were able to dig into the soil right after the grass sprouted you could have used a magnifying glass to find the dead pieces of the seed.  That's because the grass that grows is actually a new life that was caused by the sunlight and water entering the seed.  Once the sunlight and the water entered the seed they caused it to open up and recieve air and also nutrition from the soil.  If you let the grass grow enough it will eventually form new seeds, which can be planted to make more life.

Because we have all sinned we are born without life in our spirits; our spirits are dead, just like the seed.  When we realize that God's Word is true and we choose to believe it, it's like having sunlight enter our lives.  When we realize that Jesus loves us and we accept His love, it's like recieving Living Water that causes us to come alive.  When we come alive, which is what we call being saved, our hearts are open for God's Holy Spirit to enter, just like the air enters the seed.   Now that our spirits are alive with God living inside us we need to read the Bible so that we will know what God wants to tell us in His book.  Reading the Bible is like the seed soaking up nutrition from the soil.  As you learn to love God more and more it's like growing, and some day you will be able to tell others about Jesus and how much He loves them.  This is like planting new seeds so that those people can also learn to love Jesus and to have His life inside of them.

Whenever you go out to play in the yard or to the park to play, look at the grass and remember that God loves you so much that He wants to give you life, and the life that He gives lasts forever.  Remember that you need to spend some time reading your Bible and telling God your thoughts so that you can grow strong.   Be sure to tell your friends about Jesus and His wonderful love!

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Nature Walk

I doubt you need detailed instructions on how to take a nature walk, but here are some pointers for things to look for when exploring your local park or nature preserve with small children.  Try to correlate these and other "nature notes" to biblical concepts if possible.

1. The leaves on all the plants and trees are breathing in carbon dioxide, which is poisonous to humans, and turning it into oxygen.  We, in turn, are sucking in oxygen and turning it back into carbon dioxide.  God made it so that plants would clean the air for us to get out some of the poisons that could hurt us.

2. Leaves that fall to the ground are eaten by small bugs and microbes, which then turn the leaves into compost.  The compost makes the soil better for the trees to live in.  Compost also keeps the soil from getting too hot, too cold, and too dry.  It also helps to catch the rain so that it soaks into the ground instead of running off.    It's best for the trees when they can keep their own leaves on the ground beneath them.  God made it this way so that when a tree is growing in the wild it doesn't need anybody to take care of it.  When we have trees around our houses we often pick up the leaves to keep our yards looking nice.  When we do this we have to find other ways to help the trees stay healthy, such as giving them fertilizer and extra water.

3. Look around at the variety of living things.  All living things need water.  The plants all have roots in the soil to pull water up to the leaves.  Since animals don't stay in one place like plants they have to find water to drink.  People also need water; a person can die in just a few days without water.   Two-thirds of the world is covered with water; isn't it great that God made water all over the place?  It is very important that we keep our water clean - no matter where it is - so that the plants, animals, and other people will be able to stay healthy.

4. Wild grass grows new every spring and then dies out in the fall and winter.  This means that if we cut the grass and take it away to use it for something we'll have a whole new crop of grass the following year.  Sometimes we can get several crops all in one year.  This is what we call a sustainable crop because when we use it it doesn't go away.  It's better to get things from sustainable sources so that we won't run out of it.

5. Bugs are the workers in God's creation.  They help dead things to turn into soil and they help plants and flowers to make new seeds so that more plants and flowers can grow.  They are also food for lots of cool animals like frogs and lizards.  Without bugs we would not be able to grow any food in our gardens.   We would have dead plants and animals piled up on top of the ground if there weren't any bugs to turn them into soil.  The frogs, lizards, birds, and lots of other creatures would die without bugs to eat.  Even the smallest pieces of creation fit in with the rest like pieces in a puzzle.

Obviously the lessons are infinite so these are just a few starter items.  If you are constantly looking for teachable moments you'll find plenty of things to talk to your child about to help them realize the complexity of creation.  Combine the outdoor lessons with spontaneous prayer as you view the wonders of the world: let praise flow from your lips.  On our outings it is common to hear different members of the family exclaiming things like, "Thank you Jesus!", "Wow!  God sure made the sunset beautiful!", and "Thank you, God, for giving us this place and time."

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Mini Container Garden

As your child grows they will graduate from growing grass in a cup to maintaining a miniature container garden.  Select several interesting plants (perhaps fruits and vegetables, or medicinal herbs), and have your child care for them for an entire growing season.  They'll have to water them, feed them, and make sure they get the right amount of sun or shade.

Add depth to the experience by selecting plants with varied needs.  Lavender will grow in dry, hot conditions with relatively little water.  Lettuce needs plenty of water and prefers some shade.  Teach your child to care for each plants individual needs; if they treat all plants equally they will not all live to bear fruit.

This can be taken even one step further (especially with older children) by buying several of each plant and setting them out in a grid - say a grid consisting of four rows and four columns - and use pots that do not have drain holes in the bottom.  Try doing a column of all lavender, then a column of all lettuce, followed by a column of all peppers, and finally a column of corn. 

The object is to show how God made different plants to fill different spaces in the natural world, as well as to teach good gardening techniques.  The back row gets watered every day, the next row once a week, the next row once a month, and the next row as each plant shows signs that it needs water.  Have your child track the health of each plant.  It won't take long for the child to realize that the lavender that sits in wet soil will rot, while the lettuce and corn that is only watered once a week will have a hard time surviving.  If you live in an area with moderately hot summers only the lavender will last for a month without water.

If your child has clearly learned the lesson while their plants are still alive let them transplant them into a spot that they feel would be adequate for the plants' needs.