Week One of Summer Sunday School

“I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.”

First Stanza of the Nicene Creed

He’s Got The Whole World in His Hands is a magnificently illustrated book, by artist Kadir Nelson, of the spiritual song that celebrates God’s love. It is a treasure for a family library.

Welcome to Sunday School Updates, Summer School!

Starting with God’s Love, Care, and Creation of the Whole World…

Each Sunday for eleven weeks you will find an art project or two, a Bible reading for children and adults, and a fun writing opportunity for young students. Since Sunday School Updates is an enrichment website for Catholic families (with children of different ages) different readings will be provided for the same theme of the day. After this week, the readings will include: A reading from the Bible from the USCCB.org website; an excerpt from The Catholic Children’s Bible from Saint Mary’s Press for children with strong reading skills; and from The Catholic Bible for Children from Ignatius * Magnificat. Both of these books carry an Imprimatur. We’ll be learning about the the people of Old Testament from “Creation” to “The Three Kings–Saul, David and Solomon. It’s great to have the summer to learn these wonderful Bible Stories.

 

 

Sing Along with Lyrics

He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands By Odetta

He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole wide world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the little bitty baby in His hands
He's got the little bitty baby in His hands
He's got the little bitty baby in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole wide world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got you and me brother in His hands
He's got you and me sister in His hands
He's got you and me brother in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole wide world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got everybody here in His hands
He's got everybody here in His hands
He's got everybody here in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole wide world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole wide world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands

He's got the whole world in His hands
He's got the whole wide world in His hands
He's got the whole world in His hands

A Psalm Celebrating God’s Creation of the Universe Through His Hands

Excerpt from Psalm 95:1-7 from USCCB.org

“Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;

cry out to the rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with a song of praise,

joyfully sing out our psalms.

For the LORD is the great God,

the great king over all gods,

Whose hand holds the depths of the earth;

who owns the tops of the mountains.

The sea and dry land belong to God,

who made them, formed them by hand.

Enter, let us bow down in worship;

let us kneel before the LORD who made us.

For he is our God,

we are the people he shepherds,

the sheep in his hands.”

 

“May God Hold You in the Palms of his Hands”

An Old Irish Blessing

“May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.“

The Whole World Art Project

This is a fun art project showing the beautiful world God has created. It uses painted bubble wrap to make a print on watercolor paper. Little kids can try this, too. Here are the steps:

Use paint to make a big circle on bubble wrap. Then paint on colors of the earth to depict water, land, and vegetation. Let dry. If the circle is misshapen like mine was, invert a plate on top of it and trace with a Sharpie. Then cut out the traced circle. Center, then glue with Elmer’s or school glue onto a piece of sturdy watercolor paper. Then decorate with sun rays or make hand prints by painting your hands with washable the poster paint.

Idea for Bubble Wrap Print-making from MermaidsCreation.

Materials and Method

Young Child’s Handprint Art Project

This easy and fun art project can be done using finger paints or washable tempera paint, both which are readily available at Walmart, Target, Rite Aid, etc. Use watercolor or finger paint paper, or a large sheet of white drawing paper. Paint with a brush, sponge or fingers for the background, with colors that look like the earth. Invite your child to cover their hands in paint, and make a handprint onto of the colors.

Materials

Poem Project

Encourage your child to write a short poem about “God’s Handprint on the World.”

Here is a sample of a poem written by Elizabeth Skiba on PoetrySoup.com:

“God’s Handprint”