Esther Summer Bible Study 2017

Two summers ago, I had an idea to do a summer Bible study at the park and invite kids of all ages to come together and do activities, stories, crafts, and games.  We had an overwhelming turnout of kids and families to study the book of Jonah.  Last year, I just didn't feel like I could do the study because we went on a mission trip to Guatemala.  However, this summer I was ready to do another study together.  We studied the book of Esther together this summer with a kids inductive study called God Has Big Plans for You by Kay Arthur and Jana Arndt.  This was one of my personal favorites because it incorporated so much history in the study.

Week 1:

We learned about how the US government and how laws are made in our nation compared with how Persian laws were made.  This was a lap book with tons of cutting.  Perhaps it was a little advanced for some of the younger ones, but it was certainly educational!  I had a great refresher by creating this project.

Week 2:

This week was one of the best!  We studied in week 2 about the beautification process that all the young women went through to see who would be chosen the next queen.  We had the girls to dress up like princesses and they had their own beautification process at the end.

In the study we talked about the wars between Persia and Greece, and since we are from Sparta, TN, I thought they should know a little history of our name sake.  We talked about the 300 from Sparta and the boys got to do a little Warrior training led by Rachel Auburger.  We were so thankful to have her come and help.

Week 3:

This week we did a mod podge craft with our Bible verse.  We put a wax seal on the bottom of it because in the chapters we studied in Esther, the king's signet ring in wax gave authority to create an irrevocable law.  We also had the dreaded sackcloth and ashes that also were in our chapters from the week.  They are incredibly itchy and on a hot summer day, it makes them more memorable.  

Week 4:

This week, we acted out the scene of the banquets with Esther going bravely before the King and Haman.  The kids did such a great job on their parts and they really got into their parts.  Lucas really enjoyed being the one to take Haman (his buddy Rhett) away.  

For our craft, the kids made a crown and scepter. 

Week 5:

For our last week, we had a Purim Party.  The kids dressed up and made noise makers and megillahs. Mrs. Joyce Goff made some Hamantashen (Haman's Ears) cookies.  They were delicious!!  Suzanne brought all the food for preparing goodie bags to share with family.  I haven't ever celebrated Purim, but after studying Esther and learning more about it, I personally think it should be a holiday that we celebrate today.  It combines elements of both our Halloween and Christmas traditions by costumes and making goodies to give to others.