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.
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
Have you ever paused to consider that God wants you to offer your body to Him as worship? That means how you treat your body matters to Him. God loves you and cares about you. He is your good Father. Like any good father, He wants good things for you. He wants you to be healthy. Think about your lifestyle choices. This week ask God to reveal 1 change He wants you to make to become healthier. In what way can that change lead you to deeper worship of Him?
Tell families that this week their children will learn about caring for their skin, teeth, and hair. Some families may not be aware of the importance of hygiene in these areas. Encourage the children to share what they learned to help their entire family be healthy!
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Begin with a fun physical activity. Stand with the children in a big circle. Tell them you will sing and do the motions of the “Silly Song.” If you know the tune that goes with these words, have everyone sing along. If you do not, say the words clapping a strong rhythm. Everyone does what you say, putting that part of the body in or out of the circle. When you say, “You sing the Silly Song,” everyone puts their arms high into the air and spins around. You might want to demonstrate this motion before you begin the song.
When you have finished the song, have the children sit down.
Exercise can be fun. It helps keep our bodies healthy. God created our bodies and cares about them. He wants us to be healthy. Today we will talk about specific ways to keep our bodies clean and healthy.
Today we will learn about 3 important parts of our body we must clean in order to stay healthy. The first is our skin.
Listen to this story from the Bible about a man who had leprosy. Leprosy is an infectious skin disease that causes ugly skin sores and nerve damage in arms and legs. In Bible times, people thought that just touching someone with leprosy would make you catch the disease. It can actually only be spread through repeated contact with nose and mouth droplets, such as from being sneezed or coughed on over and over. Now doctors know that they can treat this disease and cure it. However, in Bible times they did not know this yet.
While Jesus lived on earth, lepers lived in separate villages apart from everyone else to prevent the spread of the disease. They could not be with their families and friends. They even had to call out to everyone to stay away from them. It was a lonely thing to have leprosy.
One day a man with leprosy came and knelt before Jesus. He said to Jesus, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” Let’s read the next part of the story directly from the Bible.
If you have a Bible, read Matthew 8:3 directly from it. The verse is also printed here.
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.
Matthew 8:3
What does this story show us about Jesus?
Jesus cared about the man and was willing to touch him when others would not. Jesus is powerful and can heal us.
Jesus healed this man’s skin disease. Every part of us, including our bodies, is important to Jesus. If Jesus cares about our bodies, then we should care for them too. Some diseases can be prevented by keeping our skin clean.
Do you think it is important for people today to have clean, healthy skin?
Why or why not?
Having healthy skin is very important! Let’s learn more about our skin.
Let’s talk more about how the skin controls our temperature. What happens when we exercise? Our bodies get warm. Sweat glands in our skin produce sweat to keep us cool. Tiny holes called pores let the sweat out of our skin. Skin under the arms, between the legs, and on the feet can get very sweaty. If you do not wash sweat off, bacteria start to feed on it and grow, and then things get smelly and unhealthy.
Skin produces oils, chemicals, dead skin cells, and sweat. All these things make the skin dirty. It gets covered in germs. Washing regularly with soap gets rid of smelly sweat, oil, dead skin,
and dirt.
If possible, wash your face and neck every morning and night. Try to wash your body every day. Start washing at the top with your face, neck, and ears. Then, work your way down to your toes. Make sure that you really wash the places where dirt and germs like to collect—under your arms, between your legs, and on your feet. Then dry yourself carefully from head to toe.
When your skin is clean, it is best to put on clean clothes too! Underclothes are right next to your skin and collect dead skin cells, sweat, and other stains. Germs grow on dirty clothes and can start to smell bad. You need to clean your clothes with soap and water.
Now let’s talk about our teeth.
Have the children give you big, toothy smiles. Compliment their beautiful smiles—they are all different, and God delights in every one!
Teeth are the hardest part of the body. If we do not brush our teeth regularly, germs and food, especially sugar, can get stuck on our teeth and make holes in them. These holes are called cavities, and they can hurt. Unless these cavities are filled by a dentist, the holes will get bigger and bigger. Sometimes a tooth with a big cavity needs to be pulled out.
Germs that are not brushed off of our teeth can spread to our gums and make them red and sore. They can even bleed. This is called gum disease, and it makes our breath smell bad. Unhealthy gums can make our teeth become loose and fall out. They can even contribute to serious diseases and other health problems.
Let’s learn how to clean our teeth. There are 8 surfaces in your mouth that you should clean 2 times a day if possible.
Show the children the picture of the teeth at the end of the lesson. Explain that your finger will be a toothbrush or other tooth-cleaning tool. Pretend to clean the teeth in the picture in the 8 different areas listed here. Say the areas as you clean them.
You should brush your teeth, gums, tongue and the inside parts of the mouth at least two times a day. Morning and night before going to sleep.
You can use a toothbrush bought from the shop or use one made from tree in your community. Also use toothpaste when available. If not salt works as well.
Now I will say these steps again, and you can pretend to brush with me. Do not put your fingers in your mouth since your hands may be dirty. Just pretend to brush your teeth.
As you review the areas, they should pretend to clean their teeth.
The last part of our bodies we will learn about today is our hair. Hair is made up of dead cells. Hair grows all of the time but not always at the same speed.
Some people have dry hair and some people have oily hair. Dirty hair looks dull and oily. It also makes your head itchy and smelly because there are germs living on the dirt, oil, and dead skin. When you do not comb or bush your hair, it can get full of messy tangles and knots. Having clean, healthy hair looks nice and makes you feel good.
Listen to these 2 common problems some people may experience in their hair. Neither one of these problems are your fault. They just sometimes happen to people.
There are special lotions for killing lice and combs for getting rid of the eggs. Head lice are not your fault. Lice can happen even in clean hair. Lice move easily from person to person. Lice do not have wings, so they cannot fly, and they cannot hop or jump, but they can run or crawl quickly. Do not share your brush, comb, scarves, or hats with others. This way you can help prevent sharing lice.
Here are some tips for caring for your hair:
How many strands of hair do you think you have?
Allow children to have fun guessing very large numbers.
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
None of us knows exactly how many strands of hair we have. But there is Someone who knows and cares for every detail of our lives. Listen to what Jesus said to His disciples:
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Matthew 10:29–31
Jesus said that God knows and cares about each little sparrow, but He cares even more about you. In fact, God loves and cares about you so much that He even knows the number of hairs on your head! God created your body, and He knows everything about you. He wants you to be healthy, just like He wanted the man with leprosy in today’s story to be healthy.
I will call out a part of your body that we learned about today. When I do, think of 1 thing you will start doing today to care for that part of your body and keep it healthy. Turn to someone next to you and tell her what step you will take.
Pause for 20–30 seconds after each body part for each child to decide on a step to care for that body part.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, there is space for children to write what they plan on doing to care for their teeth, skin, and hair.
End class by reading 3 John 1:2 as a blessing over the children.
Blessing: I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.
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.
