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Creation Kids |
Creation Kids Site Contents: Subscribe to newsletter -- click or send an e-mail to: creationkids- |
Heroic Hummingbirds Characteristic: courage Bible Verse: Be strong and be brave… Deuteronomy 31:6 (Don’t be afraid. The Lord your God will go with you. He will not leave you or forget you.) Concepts: Hummingbirds are the smallest of the birds. There are more than 400 kinds and they live only in the western hemisphere. They can be found in 49 states (Hawaii doesn’t have any). Most hummingbirds are less than six inches long. The largest variety is nine inches, the smallest is two inches. These tiny birds move their wings 60 to 70 times per second and can travel at a speed of 60 miles per hour. The rapid movement of their wings makes a humming sound, which is how they got their name. Their special wings enable them to fly upward, downward, forward and backward, all at very high speeds. Hummingbirds are some of the most brightly colored birds in the world, with glittering patches of emerald green, violet, red and orange. They have no sense of smell and find food by sight. Their long tongues roll to form a straw, allowing them to suck nectar from flowers. They are especially attracted to red flowers, but they also feed at flowers of other colors and they eat insects. Although the hummingbird is very small, it has a reputation for being very brave. It often attacks its enemies when they approach. God tells us not to be afraid of our enemies, or of anything else. God is always with us, so we can be strong and brave in all that He wants us to do. Center Activities Science: Weigh each child, then measure the height of each child. Do the same for each adult. Chart the measurement on a graph. Compare height and weights. Do the children see any relationships? Does being taller or weighing more make us braver than someone else? Blocks: Build a tower. How high can the children make it. Count the blocks, then measure the tower’s height with a measuring tape. Talk about some common fears, such as the fear of heights or fear of the dark. Help children understand that it’s okay to be afraid sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with being afraid of things. Sometimes fear can even help us stay safe. But it’s not okay to be afraid of doing the right thing, like telling the truth when we’ve made a mistake or going to the dentist, etc. These are the times when we can be brave knowing that God is with us and helping us. Dramatic Play: Encourage pretend play involving community helpers who often lay their lives on the line to help others: police officers, firefighters, doctors and nurses. Craft: Spatter Painting Materials: hummingbird pattern, heavy paper or card stock, construction paper or drawing paper, 2 or more colors of tempera paints, old toothbrushes, old newspapers, paint smocks, re-stick glue (like on Post-It notes) or masking tape, crayons and/or felt pens. Trace hummingbird onto card stock and cut out. Place cut-out on construction paper, using re-stick glue or a small loop of masking tape to hold it in place. Place on old newspapers. Dip old toothbrush in paint. Show children how to brush their thumb or finger across the bristles to make the paint spatter onto the paper. Make sure children are wearing paint smocks, then let then spatter paint their paper. After paint has dried, have children trace around the bird cut-out using crayon or felt pen. Carefully remove the bird cut-out. Children can now use crayons or felt pens to color the hummingbird image left on the paper. Click here if you need a pattern. Story Time: I’m no longer happy with the original story I wrote for this lesson. Here’s a link to a cute story to use while I work on another. Enrichment Ideas: 1. There are many stories in the Bible that portray courage. These include: Daniel and the Lion’s Den, Three Men in the Fiery Furnace, Noah, David and Goliath, and Gideon. 2. Focus on the concept of “small.” Bring an assortment of small things to class: a penny, a thimble, a few frozen or fresh peas/corn kernels, a paper clip, a push pin, a ring, etc. Use synonyms for small: tiny, little, wee, itsy bitsy, etc. Discuss the importance (or unimportance) of size: does being small mean being unimportant? A sewing needle is small, but think of all it can do. A wedding ring is small, but think of all it symbolizes. Picking something up off the floor for great-grandma might be a small task, but is greatly appreciated by great-grandma. 3. Let the kids examine a hummingbird feeder. Make sugar water and fill the feeder, then hang it somewhere near (but not too near) the children’s play area. 4. Purchase a small bird and nest from a craft or floral supply store. Give the children playdough or baker’s clay to mold into their own small birds and/or nests. Some children might also like to try making tiny eggs for the nest. If you choose baker’s clay, bake their creations and paint them after they’ve cooled. 5. For snack, make bird nest cookies. Substitute broken up shredded wheat biscuits for about half of the Rice Krispies called for in Marshmallow Treats. Put a large spoonful of cookie mixture in pre-greased muffin tins. Use a greased spoon to shape each into a nest. Optional: fill with jelly bean eggs. Using a mini-muffin tray and mini jelly beans will make these come close to the actual size of a hummingbird’s nest. 6. Research the kinds of flowers hummingbirds like. Plan a hummingbird garden to plant when the weather is right. About.com is one good place to start for looking for information on the internet. 7. Here’s a first grade teacher’s lesson plan for teaching the anatomy of a hummingbird. 8. Check your library or
bookstore for books about hummingbirds. Here’s a
few: (Note: the age recommendations are from the
publishers.) * |
Copyright 2002 Sandra Harris. All rights reserved. |
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