During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide and Student Page, can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
“My thoughts are not like your thoughts. And your ways are not like my ways,” announces the Lord. “The heavens are higher than the earth. And my ways are higher than your ways. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8–9
God makes it clear in these verses that He does not think like we do. His perspective is much higher and greater than our own. Take time to think about a problem you faced in the past which you struggled to solve. Why was it difficult to solve? Perhaps reliance on God and His way of thinking would have helped you to solve the problem.
You can choose to have hope about the problems that you will face. Trust that God will guide you and help you to solve even the most challenging of problems if you ask Him for assistance. He can show you ways to look at your problem that you would have never considered because His ways are higher than yours. It is sometimes hard to put aside worry and fear and open yourself up to what God has planned. But you can trust that God will lead you to the answers you seek! Take a few moments to pray and ask for His creative wisdom for that problem. Then trust that He will guide you!
Encourage the children to share with their families about the creative ways they solved problems in the activities they did today. Doing this will reinforce the concepts they have learned about creative problem-solving.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Welcome the children as they come into class and find partners. Ask the boys to partner with other boys and the girls to partner with other girls. Make sure each child has a partner before beginning the activity. If there is an odd number of children in your class, make 1 group of 3 children.
You may be wondering why each of you needed a partner. You and your partner will solve a problem together. You will have to stand up without using your hands! To do this, follow the instructions I give you.
As you give the steps to the children, pause after each for them to do that instruction.
Sit on the ground with your back against your partner’s back.
Put your legs straight out in front of you so that only the backs of your legs and your heels are touching the floor.
Stretch your arms behind you and link elbows with your partner. Then place your hands on your hips. You will keep your hands on your hips for the rest of the activity.
This is the difficult part. When I tell you to stand, work with your partner to stand up. You may move your legs however you need to. But, you must keep your backs together, and you cannot use your arms or hands. Ready? Stand!
Allow the pairs to work on the activity until everyone is standing or until 5 minutes have passed. If none of the pairs are standing after 4 minutes, give them hints. Tell children to push against one another to help stand or to think of ways they can move their legs that will help them push up from the ground.
Nice teamwork! I know it was difficult to stand with your partner. Sometimes, when we are faced with a problem, it is helpful to work through it with someone else. This is called cooperation.
Allow 3–4 pairs of children to respond to the following questions.
Sometimes, when we cannot solve a problem one way, we can solve it by thinking differently. Raise your hand if you and your partner tried more than one way to stand up.
When you tried to stand up with your partner, you had to look at the problem in different ways. You had to think through possible solutions. This is called creative thinking. And today, we will talk about creative ways to solve problems.
When you are faced with a challenge, God can help you. Let’s read what the Bible says about how God can help us think creatively.
Read these verses directly from your Bible.
“My thoughts are not like your thoughts. And your ways are not like my ways,” announces the Lord. “The heavens are higher than the earth. And my ways are higher than your ways. My thoughts are higher than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8–9
He thinks differently. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.
Listen as I read something God says about when we need help to understand things.
Call out to me. I will answer you. I will tell you great things you do not know. And unless I do, you wouldn’t be able to find out about them.
Jeremiah 33:3
This verse says that God does something special to you when you call out to Him. He will show you things and help you think differently about things that you could not know otherwise.
When you are not sure how to solve a problem, pray to God. God listens to our prayers and helps us. When you pray, believe that God is there to help you. God gave you a creative mind to help you solve problems. When you do not know how to solve a problem, you can ask God to help you find the answer. The Bible encourages us to come to God for wisdom.
If any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He will give it to you. God gives freely to everyone and doesn’t find fault. But when you ask, you must believe. You must not doubt.
James 1:5–6a
When you face a challenge, it is important to have hope. You can depend on God to help you because God is creative. After all, He is the One who created the world and everything in it! You are created in His image. You are also creative, and God gave you the ability to use your creativity by thinking differently about problems. When you face a problem, you can trust God to help you think about a solution.
As you grow up, you will experience many different situations in life. Some situations will be good while others will be challenging. Some challenges will be easy to solve but others will be very hard. Some will be more difficult than trying to stand up with a partner like you did today. Know this: when you try doing something that seems hard, do not give up but try again and again until you find an answer. There are times you will face challenges alone. For other challenges, you will need to work with others to come to a solution.
Let’s work in teams to solve a problem!
Create groups of 4–5 children.
Let’s solve a problem. I will tell you a story. As I read the story, I want you to act out what is happening. For example, if I say that you are going outside, you could pretend to open a door and step through it. Ready? Let’s read.
One cold morning, you go outside to play. You want to play on a swing. But as you get closer to the swing, you see some big boys there who are saying mean words to your best friend, Mary. The boys do not want her to play on the swing.
In your groups, talk about the following questions. You have 2 minutes to answer in your groups. Be sure to say why you would respond this way.
After 2 minutes have passed, allow 2–3 children to share their thoughts with the class.
Mary wants to play away from the boys who are being mean. She is really sad that she cannot swing. So you and Mary decide to make a swing together.
You will have 2 minutes to answer the following questions in your groups. Then, I will ask 1 person from each group to share his thoughts with the class.
Allow the groups 2 minutes to discuss what materials they would need to build a swing and where they would find those items. After they finish their discussions, ask 1 child from each group to share her group’s solution with the class.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, have the children use crayons to draw solutions to the swing problem on their pages.
You all had many creative thoughts about how to create a swing for you and your friend. Remember, God gave you a creative mind. When you have a problem you are struggling to solve, think about it in a different way. If you can work with others, ask for help. Remember you can also ask God for help.
Ask the children to stay in their groups for the next activity.
Let’s practice solving problems creatively!
In a moment, your group will make a tower. Try to make a tower that will not fall down. I will give you many different objects to build with.
Give each group some objects such as sticks, rocks, leaves, etc. Give them 5 minutes to build their towers. Once the children are done building, or after 5 minutes have passed, tell them to stop building and ask them to come stand with you. Tell them to place their hands together behind their backs to prevent them from touching the towers. Walk around the teaching space with the children and look at the tower built by each team.
When you are done, sit in a circle with the children. Allow 2 children to answer each question.
Whether or not your tower is still standing, all of you thought in very different ways about objects you see every day in order to create your towers. This activity shows us that it is important to think about different ways to solve problems. God gave you a creative mind! Thinking creatively helps you to solve difficult problems.
Our memory verse today talks about asking God to help you solve your problems.
Show the Memory Verse poster, if you are using it.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5
End class by praying this blessing, based on Jeremiah 33:3, over the children.
Blessing: May you call out to God who will answer you. May He show you things you do not know.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
