Toddler Bible Lessons – Week 6: Ruth

Day 1: Naomi Left Empty

*There are 3 activities for this day’s lesson. Feel free to choose one or two of the activities OR spread them out over several days! :)

• Materials:
• Bible (I like the NirV)
• Children’s Bible (I’m using the Say & Pray Bible for this lesson)
• Activity #2: Ziplock bag filled with pom poms (or cotton balls), Other containers for pom poms, Plastic tongs (or clothespin or clip) – I used 2 different sizes of plastic tongs, and I discovered that the larger ones were actually easier for Katelyn to squeeze and use
• Activity #3: Plastic cups (I used some paper cups for the non-water part and disposable plastic for the water pouring)

Day 1: Lesson and Activities: Open Bible to Ruth 1, verses 1, 3, and 5. Ask if child wants to touch God’s Word. Touch gently. Then, “read” story. There wasn’t enough food in the land of Judah, so Elimelek took his wife Naomi and their two sons to live for a while in the country of Moab. Naomi’s husband died, so she was left with her two sons. Then they died, too. Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

Activity #1: Fingerplay & Song

• Fingerplay: Open, close – Open, close (open and close hands) Give a little clap (clap) Empty, full – Empty, full (open and close hands) Lay them in your lap
• Song: (London Bridge) Naomi was, oh so sad, oh so sad, oh so sad. Naomi was, oh so sad – her life was empty.

Activity #2:

• Prep: Fill a bag with pompoms or cotton balls.
• Give child bag filled with pom poms. FULL! Open the bag and take out the pom poms one by one (or dump them out). EMPTY! (repeat)
• Show FULL and EMPTY with various containers

• Fill one cup with pom poms. Which cup is empty? Which cup is full? Show child how to remove the pom poms one by one with plastic tongs. Place the pompoms in the empty cup. Now which glass is empty? Which glass is full? (repeat)
• Katelyn had never used tongs before. She was intrigued, but at first decided it was easier to transfer the pom poms with her fingers or pouring from one cup to the other. After a while she decided she did want to try the tongs again. With help, she was successful, and it was exciting!

Activity #3:

• Prep: Fill one cup with water.
• Place two clear cups side by side – one empty and one full of water. Point out which one is empty and which one is full. Practice pouring full glass into empty glass.

• I used 3 full cups and 3 empty cups, which was fun – but also maybe more confusing to keep track of the full and empty.

• Open Say & Pray Bible. Read verse James 1:17, Every perfect gift is from God. Naomi’s life was empty. Maybe God will give her a gift!
• We actually did this part of the lesson after Activity #2 before we went outside… and we forgot to close in prayer today.

Closing: James 1:17, Every perfect gift is from God. Naomi was empty. But God never leaves us empty!

Child-led Exploration:

• This lesson lent itself to two different times of exploration: after the pom pom and container activity and after the water pouring activity.
• Katelyn enjoyed playing with all the containers, tongs, and pom poms.
• She also loved pouring water with the cups outside. She remembered her spinning wheel funnel outside and decided to pour the cups of water there to make the wheels spin. She is just learning to pour out of a cup, so it’s a new and exciting skill for her. She’s fine tuning her process (she likes to pour towards herself with both hands) and her aim as she’s pouring.