John The Baptist-Grasshopper In A Jar
(Matthew 3:4) And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.
- Empty Baby Food Jars
- Fake or Live Grasshoppers
I attempted this project at church, and the kids went wild over the grasshoppers. They really enjoyed this. I went out in the yard the day before Sunday morning service, and gathered up about 30 grasshoppers. We have lots of those little boogers where I live. If you live in the city somewhere, and do not have those little things jumping all over the place then I suggest getting fake ones. I took all the stuff to church Sunday morning and then I put three holes in the top of the lids of the baby food jars. Then I put the little green guys into the jars for the kids.
We talked about John The Baptist, and how he ate locust with honey. Then we poured honey over the grasshoppers, and let the kids take a bite. haha Okay, I was kidding. I taught them how John was telling everybody that Jesus was coming. He lived in the desert and dressed in clothes made of camel's hair.
After they finished their lesson and snack I sent them home with their new pet. We added just a tiny little bit of water for the grasshoppers to drink. The kids let the little grasshopper go later on after they got home. I would like to say that no grasshoppers were harmed in the making of this project however that was not the case. One child decided to bring me a piece of the stick leg to the grasshopper. They said, "It fell off." So if you attempt this one at church just let the kids know that they shouldn't hurt the little grasshoppers, and tell them to let them go later.
The whole point of the story was to show the kids that John the baptist actually ate these creatures with honey, and that he was proclaiming the coming of Jesus. It was a nice lesson, and the kids were jumping up and down with excitement over this one.
