Sunrise
Children's Activity
Object:
Parents or Teachers: Today's lesson is about truth. The example used is
that of a sunrise; its beauty, how it changes from minute to minute and
how we know it's there even when it's behind a cloud. Spend some time
talking about the "truth" about the sun. It is a star, the closest one to the
earth. It is 93 million miles away. We travel around it. It is made of
burning gases. It keeps us warm. It produces energy. Sometimes it appears
to be covered up during an eclipse. Some of these facts children have
already learned. Some they know, but do not fully understand. You will
need some paper and a variety of crayons, from bright red to bright yellow
and all the shades in between, plus black, grays and pinks. You will be
making an animated sunrise. Begin by explaining how animation works. It's
a series of pictures, each one slightly different. When they are thumbed
through quickly it looks as if they are moving. Divide the larger paper (12
inch by 18 inch) into sections 3 inch by 3 inch. You will have a total of 23
sections. (You may want to cut down the total for younger children to 12.)
The beginning picture will be darkness. The next one a little gray, the next
one lighter gray, the next one a little pink, the next one a little darker.
Now it is time to add a tiny sliver of red sun at the bottom. Enlarge it on
each picture until you have a bright red ball. Then enlarge the ball on each
picture until it changes shades from red to yellow. Your last picture will
be a ball of yellow that nearly fills the square. Cut the squares apart and
put the black one on top and the bright yellow ball on the bottom. Staple
one side together and see what your animated sunrise looks like as you
flip quickly through the pictures. When you are finished, talk about
changes in the sunrise taking minutes, but changes in the church are still
happening thanks to Martin Luther and others like him who believed in
God's truth that we are children of God.
