Sink or Float: Jesus Walks On Water (John 6:16-25)

Each week, I lead a preschool chapel lesson with three, four, and five year olds from our church's half-day preschool program. It's truly the highlight of my week!

Last week in preschool chapel, I was teaching story of Jesus walking on water. I needed an attention grabber/demonstration that would incorporate water, but not get all the children wet! I went with an old standard - the sink or float game! 

To start with, I had a clear plastic tub filled about halfway with water. In a separate container, I brought several different objects that would be familiar to the children and made sure to include some items that would float and some that would sink. Some item suggestions are:

• wooden blocks (one big one and one small one)
• crayon
• marker
• cookie cutter
• plastic animal
• pencil
• small ball
• paper clip
• rock
• Legos
• keys
• toy food
• stuffed animal (if it can get wet)
• coins
• toy person (such as a Barbie doll)

I started by telling the kids we were going to play a game. I told them I would hold up an item and I wanted them to show me "thumbs up" if they thought it would float on top of the water or "thumbs down" if they thought it would sink to the bottom. I went through each item, holding it up, waiting for their response, and then testing it out. 

Shown are a metal cookie cutter, green block, rubber duck, and marker.

I used the toy person last. Then, I asked them what would happen if a real person tried to stand on top of the water. Many of them said, "He would swim!" Several, however, said the person would sink. Then, I told them the story of Jesus walking on water and Peter coming out to meet him.

Of course, the whole point of this particular bible story is to remind us that we need to keep our faith in God - when our faith waivers (like Peter's), we start to "sink." The concept of faith, however is difficult for really young children to understand. It's too abstract. So, I simply explained it by saying that when we forget Jesus loves us and is with us, we get in trouble - like Peter. But, if we remember Jesus loves us, we will be safe. 

In chapel, we don't do any crafts or activity sheets, but if you are doing this lesson in another context, here are some links to a few resources that might be helpful:

• Word Search
• Fill-in-the-Blank Decoder Activity
• Maze
• Find the Differences Pictures
• Some group Activities/Games

What creative ideas and activities do yo have for this lesson? 

Blessings,
Lisa
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