Summer Sunday School– Week Three- Adam and Eve

Adam and Eve in the Garden

“God named the garden, ‘Eden,’ which means ‘pleasure’ and ‘delight,’ and indeed, the Garden of Eden was just such a place. Adam and Eve lived in that garden. God gave them everything they needed: a safe place to be with all the food they could want. They were never lonely, and never afraid. God love them. They trusted their creator.”

Source: Stories from the Bible 17 Treasured tales from the world’s greatest book, Page 16

 

Stories from the Bible

Click Here for For More Art and Enrichment on Adam and Eve

 

For Parents to Share with Their Children

We Continue to Learn Our Creed, Stanza by Stanza

“For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”

Source: SaintCharlesBorromeo.org

 

The Guardian Angel Prayer

According to The Catholic Children’s Bible, Page 27, “When God made the world, he also made angels.”

Angel of God, my guardian

dear,

to who God’s Love

commits me here.

Ever this day be at my side

to light and guard, to rule

and guide. Amen.

Our Readings

An Excerpt from the Book of Genesis, Chapter 2

Source: UCSSB.org

“The Garden of Eden.”
4
“This is the story* of the heavens and the earth at their creation. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens—
5
there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man* to till the ground,
6
but a stream* was welling up out of the earth and watering all the surface of the ground—
7
then the LORD God formed the man* out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.d

8
The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,* and placed there the man whom he had formed.e
9
* Out of the ground the LORD God made grow every tree that was delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.f

10
A river rises in Eden* to water the garden; beyond there it divides and becomes four branches.
11
The name of the first is the Pishon; it is the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
12
The gold of that land is good; bdellium and lapis lazuli are also there.
13
The name of the second river is the Gihon; it is the one that winds all through the land of Cush.g
14
The name of the third river is the Tigris; it is the one that flows east of Asshur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

15
The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.h
16
The LORD God gave the man this order: You are free to eat from any of the trees of the gardeni
17
except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; when you eat from it you shall die.* j

18
The LORD God said: It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him.* k
19
So the LORD God formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each living creature was then its name.
20
The man gave names to all the tame animals, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be a helper suited to the man.

21
So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.l
22
The LORD God then built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman. When he brought her to the man,
23
the man said:

“This one, at last, is bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

This one shall be called ‘woman,’

for out of man this one has been taken.”*

24
m That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.*

25
The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.*”

Note* The symbols and letters are related to the commentary on the USCCB.org webpage that has this reading, Genesis, chapter 2. All of the Bible readings have this notation for readers.

An Excerpt for  Children

“And so, the whole universe was created.” Page 24

After God had made the sun and the moon, the stars and the sky, water, birds, fish and sea creatures, He populated the world with animals.

“Then God said, ‘And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small.’ So God created human beings, making them be like himself. He created them male and female, blessed them, and said, ‘Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals. I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat, but for all the wild animals and all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food’–and it was done. God looked at everything he had made, and he was very pleased. Evening passed and morning came– That was the sixth day.”

Source: The Catholic Children’s Bible, Pages 21-24, Genesis chapter 1:26-31

An Excerpt for Young Children

The First People–Adam and Eve

After creating everything, “Finally God decide to create man.” ‘Your name is Adam,’ he said. ‘I give this wonderful garden to you. Farm the soil, and take care of the earth I have created.’ Adam ruled over the animals. But God did not want Adam to be alone. So he created woman. Adam named her Eve. Their life in this wonderful garden was to be full of delights. It would make them happy to show God all the joy in their hearts. On the seventh day, God was pleased with his work, and he rested.”

Source:  The Catholic Bible for Children, Pages 12-13, “The Creation of the World” Genesis 2:1-25

Singing “In the Valley of Love and Delight”

“‘Tis the gift to be simple”  An American Hymn

Author: Joseph Brackett

“Tis a gift to be simple, ’tis a gift to be free
‘Tis a gift to come down where I ought to be
And when I am in the place just right
I will be in the valley of love and delight
When true simplicity is gained
To bow and to bend I will not be ashamed
To turn, to turn will be my delight
‘Til by turning, turning, I come ’round right.”

Source:  Hymnary.org

 

Writing Project

Introduce your child to the ancient Japanese form of poetry call “Haiku.” It is a poem that only has three lines and counts syllables in words. The format uses 5 syllables for line one, 7 syllables for line two, and then 5 syllables again for line three. Invite your child to try out several Haikus with the theme of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Then, have your child write the Haiku he or she likes best on a piece of white paper, and illustrate it. Young children may need help and suggestions. (I count the syllables on my fingers to get it right!) Older kids will love the simplicity of a three line poem for a last-minute poetry homework assignment!

Here are a couple of samples of Haiku poetry I quickly made up:

Eden

God made a garden

For Adam and Eve to live

Free from need and strife.

 

The Garden

Eden was perfect

As was God’s plan for Adam

God gave Adam Eve.

 

Kids’ Drawings of Eden

Our Materials

Children love the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden. I remember a first grade child, about age six or seven, retelling the story. She was full of excitement and passion for her opportunity to tell the story to the class. The highlight was her description of the angel God had placed to guard the gates of heaven with a flaming sword. She really had the story down perfectly. I am sure she’ll always remember it.

Invite your children to illustrate the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden. White drawing paper, pens, markers, crayons, Sharpies or Kwik Stix (thin or original ) all will do the job. I used bright construction paper and glued the children’s drawing into it to make a sturdy poster for their rooms.

Older Kids’ Garden of Eden Art Project

The idea and instructions for this project come from Art Projects for Kids.

The Garden of Eden Materials

This is a fun- to- do project that uses a small piece of watercolor paper, a black Sharpie, a school pencil, and watercolor soluble pastels. First, use a pencil to lightly make a line down the middle of the paper to help center the drawing. Then, about a half inch from the top– and then the bottom– draw a horizontal line to block off two margins. This gives a guideline for where to put the drawing. Next, draw flowers and leaves in pencil, then trace in Sharpie. Fill in the black outlines of the leaves and flower with crayons or water soluble pastels. Lastly, color the background however you like.

Note to Parents

Next week will be about “The Fall” where Adam and Eve disobey God’s law of not eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Adam and Eve story is too long and important for one post!