Last week, the children studied Noah in Sunday Bible Study. We followed the lesson up in KidNection with a retelling of Noah and the flood using a story-telling method from Godly Play. The children gathered in a circle and we told of Noah’s family building the ark and the animals boarding the ark. The flood came and Noah’s family and the animals waited for the rain to stop and waters recede. All God’s creatures then built an altar and worshiped God, and God provided a rainbow. The children know this story as well as you do, but this time there was something different!
In retelling the story using objects to see as we “walked” through the scripture, the children were captivated. Kids from kindergarten through 6th grade, even youth and adult leaders, were glued to the story and caught up in God’s presence. As the storytelling ended, instead of telling the children the important points, Godly Play asks questions like, “What was the best part of the story? What was the most important part of the story? Where did you see yourself in the story?”
The children had many answers, but I’ll share a response from a child who saw himself in the story. He said he was with the family. “Building the ark?”, I asked. “No, I see myself with the family after the flood worshiping God together,” he said. That was the moment when I saw God’s Holy Spirit moving in and through our children that day. I pray God is speaking to you as God’s stories unfold in your life too.
– Lee Ritchie
