Craft: Chosen to be king

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SHADOW PUPPETS

You will need: lolly sticks or straws; sticky tape; card (any colour is fine as the shadow will be black); scissors; a sheet and a suitable place to hang it; a lamp

This is a well-loved craft that helps children respond to the story as they retell it.

Decide as a group which shapes you will need to make if you are going to use puppets to retell the story. Cut these shapes out of card and stick them to a straw or a lolly stick so that it becomes a ‘handle’ to move the puppet with.

Set up your puppet theatre by hanging a sheet and asking your puppeteers to sit behind it. Position the lamp behind them so that it shines onto the back of the sheet. Your audience can sit in front of the sheet and watch the show as the puppeteers retell the story. Practise for a while beforehand so the puppeteers can be sure their audience will be able to see what they are doing!

OIL ART SUN-CATCHERS

You will need: oil (eg vegetable oil); cotton buds or thin paintbrushes; cups; coloured paper cut into circles, hearts or other shapes

In the Bible, oil is used to anoint kings, and is also a symbol of God’s blessing and Spirit being upon someone. This craft uses oil to create artwork and gives plenty of opportunity to chat about the story.

Pour some oil into the cups and use this as ‘paint’. Use cotton buds or paintbrushes to paint pictures or designs onto the paper shapes. The paper will darken where the oil is painted, but if you hold it up to the light, the light will shine through. These oil pictures work well as sun-catchers, stuck to windows, and can open up discussions about God’s blessing being on people and shining through them.

COOKIE-CUTTER STAMPING

You will need: heart and people-shaped cookie cutters; paint; paper; bowls

A key verse in the choosing of David as king is: “The Lord does not look at the things human beings look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). This craft is especially suitable for younger children and gives plenty of scope to open up the conversation around what it means for God to see what is in our hearts rather than just what is on the outside.

Fill the bowls with paint and dip the cookie cutters into it. Stamp down onto the paper with the cutters to make unique pieces of artwork, using the creative time to chat to the children about their thoughts.

HIDDEN GIFTS BALLOON INFLATING

You will need: empty bottle; vinegar; bicarbonate of soda; balloon; teaspoon; marker pens

Again, this is a craft that explores the idea of God seeing what is inside David – his potential – rather than what others see on the outside.

Fill the bottle halfway with vinegar. ‘Hide’ a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in the balloon (some children might need a little help with this bit!). Fix the balloon to the neck of the bottle, letting the balloon hang down. Lift the balloon up and let the bicarb fall into the bottle.

The reaction between the vinegar and the bicarb will inflate the balloon. This can open up conversations about how we often have gifts hidden inside us (like the bicarbonate of soda in the balloon) that only God can see. Give the children an opportunity to celebrate their hidden gifts. They may then want to decorate their balloons with words or pictures relating to those gifts.