David and Jonathan

Art Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Children practice loving each other by making a friendship bracelet to give away to a friend.

For scripture, see above.

Lesson Objectives:

• Children know that David and Jonathan loved each other.
• Children know that Jonathan expressed his love for David by giving him gifts.
• Children know the memory verse: 1 John 4:7 

Supplies for elementary-age children:

• Thread: Embroidery floss is the most common type of thread used for making friendship bracelets. Other thread such as hemp or yarn could be used.
• • Gold thread, cut into 28 inch pieces (2 per child)
  • Purple thread, cut into 28 inch pieces (2 per child)
  • White thread, cut into 28 inch pieces (2 per child)
• Binder clips (one per child) for holding thread in place. Clipboards could be used instead of binder clips.
• Fabric glue for an added touch of security for the loose ends.
• Scissors. These need to be fairly sharp to cut the embroidery thread. 

Supplies for preschool-age children:

• Yarn
• • Gold purple or white yarn, cut into 24 inch lengths (1 per child) (Yarn should easily slip over child’s head when tied.)
• Binder clips (one per child) for holding yarn in place. Clipboards could be used instead of binder clips.
• Scissors. These need to be fairly sharp to cut the embroidery thread.
• Cereal with holes such as Cheerios, Fruit Loops, etc.

Room Set-up:
Table and chairs. No special decoration needed.

Leader Preparation:

• Gather the materials.
• Read the scripture ahead of time.

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Greet the children and introduce yourself.

Open with a prayer.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Story Review:

After David killed Goliath, he was brought to King Saul. Saul was happy that David had defeated the Israelites’ enemy. From that day on, Saul had David live with him in the palace, and did not let him return to his father's house. Saul’s son, Jonathan became very best friends with David. The Bible says he loved David like he loved himself. They were like brothers. Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him so much. Jonathan wanted to be best friends with David for his whole life, so Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.

David became a great warrior. But as he grew more and more respected and loved by the people, Jonathan’s father, King Saul began to hate David. Saul determined to kill David and secure the throne for Jonathan. Several times Saul tried to kill David, but Jonathan talked him out of it. For a while there was peace, but Saul’s anger and jealousy flared again, and he determined again to kill David.

This time Jonathan could not talk his father out of wanting to harm David. Jonathan knew that his father intended to kill David. The Bible says Jonathan got up from the table in fierce anger; on that second day of the month he did not eat, because he was so upset at his father's treatment of David.

He took his bow and arrow and warned David. When it became clear that David had to go into hiding and that they might never see each other again, Jonathan said, "Go in peace! We have vowed friendship in GOD's name, saying, 'GOD will be the bond between us, and between my children and your children forever!'"

Discussion:

David and Jonathan could have been enemies and rivals, yet they set aside jealousy, resentment, bitterness and competition, choosing instead to become the closest of friends. They were real men, able to show the love of a brotherly friendship, willing to lay down their lives for one another.

We learn a great lesson in friendship from the story of David and Jonathan. They were loyal friends throughout their lives.

Are you a true friend? Do you take up for your friend if someone starts saying bad things about him or her? Do you come to their defense?

What are some special things you have done for a friend?

Have you ever given a friend a gift? Today we are going to make a gift you can give to a friend.

Friendship Bracelet Activity:

Choose your design based on student age before class and have all children use one design. Even though there are samples, it is best to make one yourself beforehand so you can guide the children. (Refer to instructions for the type of bracelet you are making.)

Note:  Preschoolers will be making necklaces.

We are making friendship bracelets. 

1. Pass out gold thread. Remember, Jonathan said, “'GOD will be the bond between us.” So we will use gold thread to remind us of God.
2. Pass out purple thread. Jonathan was a prince. He was royalty. So we will use purple thread to remind us of Jonathan.
3. Pass out gold thread. David was a shepherd, so we will use white thread to remind us of David.

See instructions below for making bracelets and necklaces.

Older Elementary:

 Use the striped friendship bracelet instructions.

 friendship bracelet instructions: http://www.makingfriends.com/j...y/bracelet_klutz.htm

 Younger children (ages 5-7):

a twist or braid is easiest. Use a thick yarn as the stands will be easier to control.

braid instructions: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-...and-Braided-Bracelet

  Preschoolers:

 thread cereal with a hole (such as Fruity Cheerios or Fruit Loops) onto yarn to make an “Edible Friendship Necklace.”

 Have them make two – one for them, one to give away. http://www.repeatcrafterme.com...-loop-necklaces.html

Closing:

End with a prayer and have the children assist with the cleanup.

A lesson written by Staci Woodruff from: Jenks Church

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

David and Jonathan

Science Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

As they hear the story friendship is demonstrated using a number of experiments.

For scripture, see above.

Supplies List:

Requires one per student

• David and Jonathan Picture
• Bottle caps
• Pennies (must be clean and dry)
• Water droppers
• Bowls
• Clean dry needles threaded with about 2 inches of thread

Other

• Clothes Sticker page (printed on sticker paper) - one per every two students
• Water pitcher (with water) for each table
• Hand towels, paper towels
• Scissors, several per table
• Toilet tissue, one square per child, cut into fourths.
• Salt and pepper (several shakers per table)
• Dishwashing detergent in small cup or bowl (one or two per table)

Leader Preparation:

• Read the scripture ahead of time. 
• Try the experiments.
• Gather the materials.
• Create David & Jonathan Picture and Clothes Stickers:
  I made sticker pages from paper dolls at www.makingfriends.com. I used the Bible Friends pages. I made two friends, dressed them in Bible-times-looking undergarments, and copied them onto a page together. I copied clothes onto sticker paper for David and Jonathan. (I made a bow and arrow to go with the clothes.) I pre-cut the sticker pieces and placed in baggies for the children. Email me for more information.

Room Set-up:

• 1-2 round tables with chairs. (We are using round tables so each group can see group activities and each person has room for their own work as well.)

Presentation

Opening- Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Greet the children and introduce yourself

Open with a prayer.

Divide children into two groups. If you have a multi-age class, be sure older children are at both tables. Have kids sit at tables and turn so they can see you.

(You will tell the Bible story as you go through the experiments. Warn the children not to get ahead in the story or the experiments.)

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Right after David killed Goliath he was brought to King Saul. Saul was pretty happy with David because he had defeated a giant that no one else in his whole army would face. Saul invited David to live at the palace with him. David also married Saul’s daughter. He became like part of the family. Saul’s son, Jonathan became VERY BEST friends with David. In fact, they even made a covenant with each other, promising to be friends forever.

A covenant is like a contract. It is a solemn promise to do something. Sometimes we say, “I promise” and we don’t really mean it, but it was a very serious thing for David and Jonathan. They promised to be friends and love each other for their whole life.

Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. That is how close they were.

Science Activity #1:  Stickers - Cohesion (Jonathan gives David his clothes)

(Pass out David and Jonathan pages.) When they made the agreement, Jonathan was a prince. David was a poor shepherd. Jonathan gave David his robe, tunic, sword and bow and arrows. Let’s place the clothes on David. They are stickers, so just peel them and stick them on the David picture. (Wait for children to finish.)

A covenant is like the stickers: it can’t really be undone. The clothes stick on the picture because of the sticky stuff called adhesive. We call this Cohesion. Cohesion results from the attraction that atoms and molecules have for one another. It is the force that holds material together. Cohesion also occurs on common everyday objects without glue and all kinds of everyday situations - rain sticks to a car's windows, dust to the ceiling fan, chewing gum on Mom's carpet.

And it’s a good way to describe David and Jonathan’s friendship – they were stuck together. They were both great military men. But David became such a great military leader that people sang songs about him. They sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."

Saul was very jealous when he heard this song. You see, he was all about getting the glory for himself. He also knew this was not good news for his son, Jonathan. Saul wanted Jonathan to be king after he died, not David.

Instead of seeing and doing God’s will, Saul tried to have David killed, but Jonathan intervened.

Jonathan spoke to his father about David and reminded him that David had not done anything wrong, and that what David had done had benefited both Saul AND the kingdom. Saul listened and promised not to kill David. Jonathan thought everything was over, but as soon as Saul sent David out to war again, he was jealous all over again. Over and over Saul and David had conflict because of Saul’s jealousy. Finally, David went to Jonathan and asked, "What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father, that he is trying to take my life?"
"Never!" Jonathan replied. "My father doesn't do anything without confiding in me. It's not so!"
But David said, "Your father knows we are best friends. He will not tell you. But Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do for you." So they came up with a plan to figure out what Saul was up to.

David was right. Saul wasn’t telling Jonathan his plans because Saul knew they were too close. Saul also knew he wasn’t going to break their bond of friendship because it was backed by God.

Science Activity #2:  Pennies - Water Domes (Bond of Friendship)

Special Notes/Tips:
Start with a clean, dry penny. Traces of moisture may cohesively attract the dome to spill over the edge too soon.
A bottle cap raises the penny above water that spills during repeated trials.
Students will naturally compete to see who can heap the most water on their pennies. Drops should free fall onto the dome for counting accuracy.
A penny typically holds 20 drops of water (1 mL) or more before spilling over the side.
If the competition takes too much time, just have the children put 18-20 drops on their penny.

(Pass out bowls, bottle caps, pennies and water droppers.) Let’s see who how many drops of water your penny will hold.

Turn your bowl upside down. Set your dry penny on a dry bottle cap on top of the upside down bowl.

Very carefully drop one droplet at a time onto your penny. Count each one. How many drops will the penny hold?

(Children will probably take two or three tries to build a water dome on top of the penny.)

Now, what do you think would happen if you very carefully poked it with a needle? (Let children answer.) Saul was trying to break the bond of friendship between David and Jonathan. (Pass out the needles.) Very slowly poke your water dome. What happens? (Children SHOULD be able to poke the dome without spilling it. Have children put needles on the table in front of them. Pick up any needle that is being played with so no one gets hurt.)

Saul could not break the bond of friendship just like the pin did not break the water dome.

That just showed how close David and Jonathan were. Jonathan didn’t care if it meant he would not be king, he still loved David and wanted what was best for him. And David loved Jonathan, too. Jonathan found out that his dad was again trying to kill David.

Science Activity #3:  Floating Arrows - Bowl/Pin/Water/Toilet Tissue (Jonathan warns David with an arrow)

Special Notes/Tips:
If the tissue doesn’t fall away, gently push down on the corners with a pencil.

He warned David with his bow and arrow. So let’s have our needles be our arrows and see if we can get them to float. Cut the string until just a little bit is left, to be the feathers on the arrow.

Next, turn the bowl over and fill with about 1 inch of water. (Pass out toilet tissue.)

Now, let’s see who can float their arrow. First, gently place a square of tissue on the water. Then gently lay the needle on the tissue. Now wait to see what happens. (Tissue should eventually fall to the bottom leaving the needle afloat. If children touch the needle, or drop the needle too harshly, it may fall. That is why there are extra squares of toilet tissue. Get everyone to the point where their needle is floating.)

When Jonathan warned David, he shot the arrow past where he sent his servant. Gently lift one side of your bowl and let your needle float from side to side.

(You may need to get the kids’ attention at some point. Say something like: We have more to do, so set the bowl down and listen to the next part of the story. Do not proceed until you have their attention. Remind them that they may not get to do all the experiments if they don’t listen.)

David and Jonathan were heartbroken that Saul wanted to kill David. Jonathan knew this was very sad news. The Bible says they cried because they were so sad.

Science Activity #3:  Tears - Salt/Pepper/Dishwashing Soap (David is sad when forced to leave his friendship with Jonathan)

Add some salt to your water and make it like tears. Does it make a difference?

Now sprinkle some pepper on top of the water. When David went away, many men went with him. They followed David because he was a great military leader. Let’s pretend the pepper is David and his men.

Now, take your dropper and get a little dishwashing soap. (wait) Drop several drops of dishwashing detergent in the center of the water. What happens to the pepper?

David ran away and hid from Saul. He knew this meant he had to give up his friendship with Jonathan and that made him very sad. When you drop the detergent into the water, it reduces the cohesiveness between the water and the pepper. And the pepper ran away, just like David.

• Do you have a friend who is like Jonathan to you?
• Is there someone in your life who isn’t very nice like King Saul?
• How does your friendship help you deal with the mean person?

Closing:

End with a prayer.

(Have children help clean up and put things away.)

Note:  This is potentially a long lesson. Skip the salt or other areas if you need. Make sure you have time to discuss the questions at the end.

Be sensitive when asking the questions at the end. Be prepared: children sometimes deal with bullies and real abusive situations.

Modifications/Suggestions for Younger Children:
For preschoolers: They can do the stickers. The teacher could do the experiments for the group while the preschoolers help or do their own. For example preschoolers can use the water droppers, but may not be exact enough to make it work, so have one that is done according to the directions for them to look at.

Resources:

• Stickers Created from - http://www.makingfriends.com/friends/f+bible.htm
• Penny Dome from a book at topscience.org - https://topscience.org/product...adhesion-grades-6-10 - look at the free lab download sample.
  
• Penny Dome Picture - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O8PuMkiimg
• Floating Needle - http://www.thenakedscientists....exp/floating-needle/
• Pepper & Soap - http://ichoosejoy.org/2014/03/...ience-volume-1-dvds/

A lesson written by Staci Woodruff from: Jenks Church

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.