In the Belly of a Whale

Jonah’s Lesson in Obedience A Unit Study

By Tara Bertic

I have to preface this unity study with something the Lord has been showing me, and because this unit study is unlike any I have written before. Yes, there are activities, games, snacks, songs, and other fun learning activities for your child. However, this unit study is not based off a popular character or favorite author’s book. This unit study is based on the awesome truths found in God’s Word. When my son Jeremiah was four-years-old, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. I wish it were that simple. When he was eight, he was re-diagnosed with Autism. He has other learning difficulties coupled with his autism that make teaching Jeremiah a real challenge for me most days. Since Jerry’s diagnosis, I have spent countless hours and a lot of money in compiling together all of the resources I could find to help teach him what his independent educational plan said he needed to learn in his first year of school. For those of you who don’t know, an IEP is a detailed description of a child’s strengths and weaknesses and what specific concepts he must aim to grasp within any given school year. Jeremiah’s IEP was drawn up by our county’s school board, though we declined their aid in teaching him and felt it was in his best interest to be taught at home with his siblings. Anyway, there were colors he needed to know, numbers he needed to be able to count to, shapes he needed to recognize, as well as letters and facial expressions he was expected to learn. The list goes on and on. It was quite overwhelming at first to say the least. And so that has been my goal, to help Jeremiah successfully meet his first IEP goals. Then I attended our state’s 2008 home education convention. You know how you believe you’re going somewhere for a certain reason you have come up with and, then when you get there, you discover that God has you there for an entirely different reason altogether? I thought I was going to the convention for my third year in a row to buy my children’s curriculum. I was there for the fellowship with my friends, there for a little recouping and regrouping without my children after a very long school year. I was there for some encouragement and even there to sell a few of my own books in the vendor hall. That’s not why God had me there though. On Friday, May 23rd, I sat in on a workshop that will forever change the way I view my home schooling my children, especially Jeremiah. The speaker was R.C. Sproul Jr. and the title of the workshop was “The Three G’s”. In a nutshell, R.C. maintains that the “goal of education is discipleship; the goal of seeing your children bear fruit, grow in grace, and become more like Christ”. He challenged us to find the words school, curriculum, or even education in the concordances of our Bibles. Guess what we found? Nothing! Our children need to be taught who God is, what God has done for them, and what God requires of them. In answering the last question, we need to direct our children to the One whom God required everything from and He delivered…our Savior Jesus Christ. And those concepts are found in the Bible! I walked away from the workshop encouraged, yes…but also a little discouraged. Not in what was said or R.C., but in myself and what my goal of home educating my children had been for the last six years.

Sure I wanted to protect them from the influences of the “world” in a public school setting, but I also wanted them to learn to be good readers, good mathematical thinkers, you know, “well-rounded” (whatever that looks like). Every year, I would lose sleep over upcoming test days with a county approved and certified teacher. Would they be smart enough? Would they remember what we’d covered in September? Did they remember how to work those word problems? After their testing and results were in, I would focus on ways to improve the scores that may have been lower than anticipated. What books could teach that skill? What level should I start them at? Where can I find those resources? I go to the convention each year with a list of vendors to visit, curriculum to purchase, and workshops I want to attend. I am ashamed to admit that during our school year, and more specifically test time, I lose much less sleep over more daunting questions concerning their spiritual education. “Does Jonathan understand God’s sovereignty in not getting to say goodbye to his poppy before he died?” “Does Michaela understand the consequences of her sins and how others may be affected by them as well?” “Does Benjamin know that God loves him and will forgive him for ALL of his sins if only he would confess them?” And then there’s Jeremiah. “How in the world do I teach Jerry, who takes things so literally, like that he needs to have Jesus in his heart?” I felt so convicted by R.C.’s message! It was as though he were speaking directly to me. Now he didn’t say that SAT and other test scores were completely unimportant. He didn’t say that we shouldn’t be concerned with what’s in the curriculum we’re using to teach our children. But if our goal as parents and educators is to educate our children well so that they can get a good job and make a lot of money someday, then our priorities are all screwed up! And I’ll be the first to admit that with three boys who will someday need to be providers of their families, that’s always been on the forefront of my mind. But if we only want for them what every other parent in the world wants for their children, then why do we choose to home school them? Yes, I want my children to be smart enough someday to earn a living to provide for themselves and their families, but don’t I want them to know who their Savior is and have a personally relationship with Him more? Should being a missionary who lives in a thatched-roof hut in the jungles of South America depending on a monthly support check from parishioners back home be seen as any less prestigious than a lawyer or a doctor? On the contrary! And I have some friends who are doctors and lawyers and use their God-gifted skills for the Lord’s glory so please don’t misunderstand me. Now my children would love for me to scrap all of those language arts and math books at this point, but that would be going from one extreme to the other. Instead, I am reorganizing my priorities with them, more specifically with Jeremiah. I have been so focused on Jeremiah meeting his IEP goals that I have neglected how to teach him in a way that will help him meet his ISP…independent spiritual plan goals. Because of the way Jeremiah sees things and communicates with us, the way he will learn about God and who He is will be different from my other children as well.

Though they are discovering new truths about their Savior everyday, as we all should be, my three oldest children are assured of their salvation in Christ and do have an active personal relationship with Him. And that’s my new goal for Jeremiah. Eric Carle’s stories are wonderful, but did you know that there are stories in the Bible that are also wonderful…and true? And these same stories, just like ones found in fiction books at your local library, can be used to teach our children about letters, numbers, colors, shapes, matching patterns, social skills, and more. And more importantly, our children can learn from these stories valuable life lessons about who there God is, what He has done for them, and what He requires from them. The Bible!! Who needs textbooks? Sorry for the lengthy introduction to this unit study, but I felt you needed to know how I went from “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” to Jonah. So here goes, the first installment in what I pray will be a whole series of unit studies designed to meet all of the goals we as parents have for our children, both educational and spiritual. God bless you fellow home schoolers.

Objective: To teach preschoolers & kindergartners the lesson of obedience found in God’s Word through the story of his prophet Jonah. In doing so, to

teach patterning, readiness skills, sensory and social skills, language – communication skills, and work on fine motor development.

Though this unit study was created for my son with Asperger’s Syndrome, an

autism spectrum disorder, it can be taught to any early elementary aged student, regardless of learning capabilities.

Jonah and the Whale Story Supplies Bible Jonah and the Whale Story Instructions

• You may read Jonah’s story to your child directly from the Bible, but if he is anything like Jeremiah, he will not sit for an entire Bible story. If you have a children’s storybook about Jonah, read that to your child, but open your Bible to the book of Jonah just the same. Your child needs to know that the story comes from the Bible first and foremost. Here is a kid friendly version of Jonah’s story if you do not have one.

God asked Jonah to go to a place called Nineveh and tell the people there that they were not being very nice. They were not listening to God and behaving themselves and they needed to apologize and ask God for forgiveness. If they didn’t, God was going to punish them. Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh. He didn’t like the people there and wanted God to punish them. So Jonah got on a boat to go somewhere else instead. God sent a big storm after Jonah. All the other people on the boat were so scared. The wind and waves and rain were very strong and they were all afraid they were going to drown when the boat sank. Jonah knew that God made the storm to come after him and so he let the other people on the boat throw him into the ocean. The storm stopped right away! No more waves or rain or wind. The other people on the boat were so happy. Jonah was scared though because he knew that God was mad at him for not obeying him and going to Nineveh to talk to the people there. Next, a big whale came and swallowed Jonah up! He didn’t chew him. He just swallowed him.

Jonah stayed inside the whale’s tummy for three days and three nights. He was so scared! Finally, he prayed to God, told God he was sorry for disobeying, and asked God to forgive him. The whale spit Jonah out on a beach and Jonah went to Nineveh like God wanted him to. He told the people there that God was not happy with them and that they needed to behave and tell God they were sorry and ask for forgiveness. Jonah learned a great lesson about obeying God, but he still had an ugly heart. He didn’t want the people in Nineveh to change their bad behavior. He wanted to see God punish them. Jonah still had a lot to learn about God’s love and forgiveness. Objectives Met: Language - Communication: Reading to your child and telling them stories is always a great way for them to learn communication skills and new vocabulary. Talk about the storm and the waves and the wind. Spiritual Lessons: Talk about Jonah’s ugly heart and how God sees everything we do and we can never hide or run away from him. Talk about how important it is to obey God and mommy and daddy, our teachers, grandparents, etc… Social Skills: Talk with your child about how Jonah must have felt. “Do you think he was scared? Did he think he would die? How would you feel if a giant whale was swallowing you? Show me your scared face.” Talk about how Jonah must have felt on the boat. “Do you think he felt bad that all the other people were scared of the storm and it was all his fault? Do you ever feel bad when you make a bad choice and other people get hurt or scared because of it?” Give them some of their own real-life examples to help them process these thoughts. Ask them how they feel when others get in trouble. Does it make them feel bad or do they think it’s funny? Talk about how we should feel when we see other people getting in trouble or punished. Gross Motor Skills: Be dramatic while you tell and re-tell the story. Pick your child up and throw him onto your bed to illustrate how the people on the boat might have thrown Jonah into the ocean. Have them swing their arms and crash around on the floor like the wind and the waves. Let them pretend to throw up like the whale did when he spit Jonah out of his mouth. Speech Therapy: Have your child purse his lips and blow like the wind might have. This is great to exercise those mouth muscles important to making distinct letters and sounds. History: The Bible is HIStory!

Jonah and the Whale Tic Tac Toe

Supplies Jonah and the Whale Tic Tac Toe game board Jonah and the Whale Tic Tac Toe game pieces Scissors White cardstock Jonah and the Whale Tic Tac Toe Instructions

• Print out the Jonah and the Whale Tic Tac Toe game board onto cardstock. • Get it laminated. • Print out the Jonah and the Whale Tic Tac Toe game pieces onto cardstock. • Get them laminated. • Cut them out. • Play tic tac toe, three in a row.

Objectives Met: Language - Communication: Talk about the different directions associated with tic tac toe (up, down, across, diagonal). Readiness Skills: Talk with your child about the number of each game piece on the board at any given time. “I just put another Jonah on the board. Now there are four Jonahs on the board. How many whales are there? Which one is there more of, Jonahs or whales?” Also, talk about the concept of three in a row. Whale Dot-to-Dot Supplies Whale dot-to-dot printable Pencil Crayons (optional)

Whale Dot-to-Dot Instructions

• Print out the Whale dot-to-dot printable. • Ask your child to use his pencil to connect the numbers. • He may color the picture if he desires.

Objectives Met: Readiness Skills: Counting while he connects the numbers will reinforce counting skills and number recognition. Fine Motor: Connecting the dots will exercise fine motor skills. Jonah Word Search Supplies Jonah word search printable from http://www.dltk-bible.com/word-search/wordsearch-jonah.htm Pencil Jonah Word Search Instructions

• Print out the Jonah word search printable. • Help your child find the five words in the puzzle and circle them with his pencil.

Objectives Met: Readiness Skills: While your child may not be able to read, he can work on letter recognition skills by helping you search for the letters in each word until the actual word itself is found. Fine Motor: Circling the individual words in the puzzle will exercise fine motor skills. Jonah and the Whale Coloring Sheet Supplies Jonah and the Whale coloring sheet (from http://www.coloring.ws/t.asp?b=m&t=http://www.coloring.ws/animals/whale.gif) Crayons Jonah and the Whale Coloring Sheet Instructions

• Print out the Jonah and the Whale coloring sheet. • Ask your child to color the picture.

Objectives Met: Fine Motor: Coloring will exercise fine motor skills. Vocabulary – Communication: Talk about what your child sees in the picture (the hat the whale is wearing, whether or not he believes whale’s really wear hats, how Jonah is being swallowed…head first or feet first, etc…) Social Skills: Talk with your child about how Jonah must have felt. “Do you think he was scared? Did he think he would die? How would you feel if a giant whale was swallowing you? Show me your scared face.” Jonah Memory Verse Supplies Bible Jonah Memory Verse Instructions

• Everyday during this unit study, read Jonah 1:17 to your child and ask them to repeat it to you. Say it at random times throughout the day also.

But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights. Jonah 1:17 Objectives Met: Vocabulary – Communication: Talk about any parts of the verse or words that your child may not understand. Spiritual Lessons: Memorizing Scripture will arm your child against the enemy in his future walk with Christ. Memorizing God’s Word is a powerful way to learn more about who God is and grow in Christ’s likeness. Readiness Skills: Don’t forget the importance of your child memorizing the Scripture reference as well. Show them in the Bible how each passage of Scripture is found in a numbered chapter and specific verse as well. Fingerprint Whale

Supplies White, green, blue, and yellow tempera paint 4 Paper plates Q-tip Blue construction paper Fingerprint Whale Instructions

• Go to http://www.dltk-kids.com/Crafts/miscellaneous/fingerprint_whale.htm and follow the directions to make this project.

Objectives Met: Language - Communication: Talk about the different parts of a whale (his head, tail, waterspout). Social Skills: Talk about water safety with your child, especially at the beach where it is easy to get pulled under by the tide. Talk about floaties, life vests, and other flotation devices that can be used to help them stay afloat. Talk about how they can yell for help, but only if they really need it. Readiness Skills: Discuss the colors your child is using to paint with. On a separate paper plate, you may want to let him experiment with mixing them to see how they change colors when blended together. Sensory Skills: Making fingerprints with tempera paint helps your child if he has sensory issues. You could also use scented inkpads instead of the tempera paints. Scented inkpads would work on sense of smell as well as sense of touch. Fine Motor Skills: Using specific fingers alone to make fingerprints will work those fine motor muscles.

Paper Bag Whale

Supplies Blue or gray tempera paint White paper lunch bag Newspaper Blue construction paper Rubber band Scotch tape Glue Permanent black marker Paintbrush Pencil Paper Bag Whale Instructions

• Go to http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mbagwhale.htm and follow the directions there to create this cute whale project.

NOTE: If you desire, you can cut out a paper Jonah from the template, have your child color him, and then place him inside the paper bag whale once the whale is about half stuffed. Then complete the craft following the instructions. Now Jonah is really in the belly of their whale. Objectives Met: Fine Motor Skills: Shredding newspaper is a great exercise for fine motor muscles. So is painting! Spiritual Lessons: Talk about Jonah’s choice to disobey the Lord. Maybe even read the story to them again while they are shredding their newspaper or stuffing their whale.

Things Found in a Whale’s Stomach Supplies Things Found in a Whale’s Stomach Printable Crayon Things Found in a Whale’s Stomach Instructions

• Have your child circle the things found in a whale’s stomach on the worksheet. Objectives Met: Fine Motor: Circling objects with a crayon exercises fine motor development. Language – Communication: Talk with your child about how there are many different kinds of things whale’s will eat or can swallow. Some of the things on the worksheet are just nonsense items. Talk about why a whale could never eat those things. Sandy Beach Cookies

Supplies Sugar cookie dough Vanilla frosting Blue food coloring Sugar Bowl Plastic knife Sandy Beach Cookies Instructions

• Bake the sugar cookies according to the package directions. • Tint the vanilla frosting light blue with the food coloring. • Let your child use the plastic knife to frost the cookies. • Put some sugar in a bowl. • Show your child how to dip only half of the cookie into the sugar in the bowl so that

it looks like sand on a beach with the ocean.

Objectives Met: Fine Motor: Frosting the cookies and dipping them in the sugar exercises fine motor development. Readiness Skills: Show them how adding just a few drops of food coloring to the vanilla frosting changes the frosting’s entire color. “Jonah and the Whale” Song (sung to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot”) Jonah ran from God to get away. He didn't want to hear what God had to say. He climbed on board a boat and sailed to sea He told the Lord to let him be. God said to Jonah, "not so fast", My time with you has not yet passed. The Lord sent a storm and rocked the boat. Jonah fell into the sea and tried to float. A fish swam by and swallowed the man. Jonah prayed, "Lord, I'm sorry I ran." God forgave Jonah after three days. Jonah thanked God and was on his way. ~ Author Unknown Objectives Met: Language - Communication: Rhyming songs are always a great way to enhance a child’s vocabulary and help him remember facts. Spiritual Lessons: Again, talk about how Jonah disobeyed God and God punished Jonah. Act out parts of the song that can be acted out. Sea Scapes

Supplies Clean, empty 16 oz. plastic soda bottle with lid ¼ cup sand 1 tablespoon glitter Small seashells Small plastic sea critters (found at party supply stores) Water Blue food coloring Hot glue gun Spoon and/or funnel Sea Scapes Instructions

• Let your child fill his plastic bottle at the sink until it is about ¾ full. Draw a line to mark that for him if needed.

• Let him squeeze in just a few drops of blue food coloring to change the water’s color.

• Now let him put the sand, sea critters, and glitter into the bottle as well. He can use a spoon and/or funnel if he needs to.

• Put hot glue around the inside rim of the bottle’s lid and then quickly screw it back onto the bottle’s top, insuring a good seal.

• Once cool, your child can tilt his sea scape back and forth to create a different effect each time.

Objectives Met: Fine Motor: Using pincher fingers, a spoon, or working with a funnel with develop those fine motor muscles. Readiness Skills: Show them how adding just a few drops of food coloring to the water changes its entire color. Also, have him count the objects as he puts them into the bottle. “How many fish are we putting in?” Language – Communication: Talk about all of the different things found in the ocean, all of the living and non-living organisms. “Is sand alive? What about the fish? Do fish need to eat and breathe? What do they breathe? Do they breathe air like we do?” Sensory Skills: The touch of the water, sand, glitter, seashells, and other sea critters will enhance sensory skills.

Kid-Size Whale

Supplies Large, plastic, black lawn or trash bag Old newspapers Colored construction paper Tape or glue Garbage bag tie or masking tape. Scissors Kid-Size Whale Instructions

• Have your child crumple up old newspapers. • Let your child stuff the large garbage bag with the crumpled newspapers to a little

more than ¾ full. • Bunch the end of the garbage bag together and use a garbage bag tie or masking

tape to close it off. This is the whale’s tail. • Shape the rest of the bag into the shape of a whale. • Using colored construction paper, cut out eyes, a nose, a mouth, and whatever other

features you would like to add to your whale. Glue them on. You could even add large white circles and shapes in just the right areas to make your whale look like a killer whale.

• If you want to, using the same rectangle method (only with an entire sheet of blue construction paper), you could even make a water spout for your whale. Wrap it around a soup can instead of a pencil to tape it.

• Again, you could also let your child stuff a Barbie or other doll as Jonah into the belly of his whale before closing it off at the tail.

• I know this will be big and you probably won’t want to keep it around for long, but put it in a corner of your child’s bedroom for a while or let it “watch” a kid’s movie about Jonah (Veggie Tales have a good one) with your child out in the living room. It’s really just for fun.

Objectives Met: Fine Motor: Crumpling newspaper and stuffing the garbage bag whale will work fine motor skills, and some gross ones too in those upper arms. Frosting the cookies and dipping them in the sugar exercises fine motor development. Language - Communication: Talk about all the whale’s body parts as you make and attach them. Spiritual Lessons: Talk about Jonah’s choice to disobey the Lord. Maybe even read the story to them again while they are crumpling their newspaper or stuffing their whale. Beach in a Baggie

Supplies Quart size Ziploc baggie ¼ cup sand Shaving cream Blue food coloring Small seashells Small plastic sea critters (found at party supply stores) Clear packaging tape Spoon Ocean creature stickers Beach in a Baggie Instructions

• Hold the baggie open and let your child squirt about 1 cup of shaving cream into the bottom of the bag.

• Let him add a few drops of blue food coloring to the shaving cream. • Seal the baggie and let him squish the shaving cream and food coloring around until

they mix and the shaving cream turns blue. • Open the baggie and let your child put in the sand, seashells, and other sea critters.

They can use a spoon if they wish. • Seal the bag closed one last time, making sure no air is in the bag. • Fold the top of the bag over about one inch. • Use clear packaging tape to seal that fold and ensure that this beach stays in its

baggie! • Put some ocean creature stickers on the outside of the baggie.

Objectives Met: Fine Motor: Using pincher fingers and a spoon to fill their baggies, as well as peeling off and applying stickers will develop those fine motor muscles. Readiness Skills: Show them how adding just a few drops of food coloring to the shaving cream changes its entire color. Also, have him count the objects as he puts them into the bottle. “How many fish are we putting in?” Language – Communication: Talk about all of the different things found in the ocean, all of the living and non-living organisms. “Is sand alive? What about the fish? Do fish need to eat and breathe? What do they breathe? Do they breathe air like we do?” Sensory Skills: Squishing their baggie beach around in their hands and feeling the different textures of the sand, sea critters, seashells, and shaving cream will enhance sensory skills. Room with a View Supplies White, green, and blue crepe paper streamers Pictures of sea creatures Fishing net Fishing Pole Seashells Tan or yellow bed sheets Your paper bag and kid-size whale Jonah story Tuna finger sandwiches Goldfish crackers Blue Kool-Aid Jonah kid’s movie (Veggie Tales has one) Ocean sounds CD Sand (optional) Bowl (optional) Small items (optional)

Room with a View Instructions

• Hang the streamers from the ceiling of your living room. • Print out the pictures of the sea creatures. • Get them laminated. • Hang them around the walls. • Lay the yellow or tan sheets on the floor to look like sand. • Prop a fishing pole in a corner. • Put seashells on all the tables. • Hang a fishing net from the ceiling or on a wall. • Put your child’s paper bag whale and kid-size whale in the room. • Now invite over some of your kid’s friends for a Jonah party. Serve tuna fish finger

sandwiches, goldfish crackers, and blue Kool-Aid as snacks. Have all of the kids sit on the “beach” while you tell them the story of Jonah and the whale. Be dramatic! Make them feel like they’re really there. Play an ocean sounds CD in the background for effects. Play a kid’s movie about Jonah…something short.

Play some of the games from this unit study, like the whale matching game, the Jonah beanbag toss, or fishing for Jonah. Play “I spy” with the ocean critter pictures hanging on the walls. For example, “I spy something with eight legs.” – Octopus. Set up centers if your living room is big enough so that all of the kids can be busy playing a game and not waiting for their turn. If you want, you can even have the supplies for one of the crafts in this unit study available and have a craft station so that each child can take home an ocean souvenir from the party. Make sure the souvenir has Jonah 1:17 somewhere written on it so that the kids remember what they learned from the story. If you’re really brave, prepare a bowl of sand with little treasures hidden in it for each child to sift through with his fingers and dig out. Re-bury the items after the child has found them all so that the next child can have a turn. Some items you could bury include a paper clip, a marble, an army man, a plastic bug, etc…

Objectives Met: So many objectives will be met here. In addition to the objectives met for each of the games you play and crafts you make from this unit study, other met objectives will be: Language – Communication: “I Spy” is a great language – communication skill builder. Sensory Skills: The sand dig is a great sensory skill developer. Social Skills: Taking turns and getting along with others in a group setting will be learned from this activity.

Here are some pictures of our Jonah party:

Making Our Sea Scapes Stuffing Our Whale

Snack Time Jonah Bean Bag Toss Beginning Sounds

Supplies “J” beginning sound page “W” beginning sound page Old magazines Scissors Glue Beginning Sounds Instructions

• Give the child the “J” beginning sounds page and some old magazines. • Ask him to look for words that start with the same sound. • Have him cut the pictures out and glue them onto the page. • Repeat with the “W” beginning sounds page.

Objectives Met: Fine Motor: Using scissors to cut pictures out of magazines will exercise fine motor muscles in the child’s hands. Readiness Skills: This activity will work on beginning letter sounds as well as the child’s learning to match other words with similar beginning sounds.

God Sent Jonah Maze Supplies God Sent Jonah maze printable Pencil God Sent Jonah Maze Instructions

• Print out the God Sent Jonah maze printable. • Ask your child to use his pencil to help Jonah find his way to Nineveh.

Objectives Met: Fine Motor: Tracing Jonah’s path with his pencil will exercise fine motor skills. Spiritual Lessons: Talk with your child about how when God asks us to do something, he expects us to obey right away. He expects us to obey our parents and teachers the same way. Whale Matching Supplies Unlined index cards Whale pictures Poster board or cardstock Scissors Whale Matching Instructions

• Print out the whale matching card pictures. • Cut them out. • Glue the pictures onto unlined index cards. • Laminate the cards onto poster board or cardstock. • Cut the cards out and then cut the cards in half so that each whale gets cut in half. • Play a matching game where the child is given one half of the whales and asked to

match them to their corresponding halves.

Objectives Met: Matching Patterns: This activity will help the child work on his matching skills.

Jonah Bean Bag Toss

Supplies Empty, clean gallon milk jug with lid Permanent black marker Scissors Sharp knife (for adults only) Uncooked beans ¼ yard white linen fabric that you can see through (thin) Markers Hot Glue Gun Spoon (Optional) Iron-on transfer paper (Wal Mart office supplies or crafts section) (Optional) Jonah Bean Bag Instructions

• Print out the beanbag Jonah template. If you choose, you may print the template

onto iron-on transfer paper that can be purchased in the office supplies or crafts section at Wal Mart. But this is not necessary.

• Lay the Jonah template under the white linen fabric. • Using a black permanent marker, trace the Jonah pattern onto the white fabric,

using the Jonah pattern underneath the fabric as a guide. You may need to trace the Jonah pattern lines with the black permanent marker first to darken them so they can be seen through the fabric.

• Now cut a square around Jonah. • Cut another square of the same size from the fabric to be the backside of the

beanbag. • Let your child use markers to color the Jonah pattern on the fabric if he wants to. • Lay the piece of fabric with Jonah on it on top of the black square of fabric. • Hot glue three of the sides together.

Whale Instructions • Set a clean, empty milk jug in front of you with the handle up and the opening with

lid facing away from you. • With the permanent marker, draw a wide mouth on the base of the jug, extending

part way up the sides. • Cut the mouthpiece out in one piece and set aside to be used for the tail. • Use the permanent marker to outline the whale’s mouth and draw eyes on the sides

of the whale’s milk jug head.

• Now take the mouthpiece you cut away and cut it like so:

Before After

• Now use the permanent marker to draw lines on the whale’s tail. • Using a sharp knife, cut a slit just behind the milk jug’s cap. • Insert the tailpiece in the slit as shown.

Here is a picture of your finished whale:

Jonah Bean Bag Toss Instructions • Let your child stand a few feet away from the whale with his beanbags and try

tossing “Jonah” into the whale’s mouth. I also held the whale and let Jerry toss the beanbags while I leaped to catch them.

Objectives Met: Fine Motor: Coloring the Jonah beanbags with markers and filling them with beans will exercise fine motor muscles. Gross Motor: Tossing the Jonah beanbags into the whale’s mouth is great for upper body gross motor development. Social Skills: Have your child take turns with his siblings or you at tossing the beanbag into the whale’s mouth to develop good social skills. Whale Water Fun

Supplies Milk jug whale from Jonah Bean Bag Toss Bathtub toys Whale Water Fun Instructions

• Let your child use his milk jug whale to play with in the bathtub. He can pretend the whale is swallowing up his bathtub toys as he scoops it along in the water

• If your child has any toy boats, let him pretend Jonah is on one in the midst of a great storm.

Objectives Met: Spiritual Lessons: Encourage your child to re-tell the story of Jonah in his own words as he uses his whale to swallow his toys. Encourage creativity! Jonah and the Whale Wall Picture Supplies Jonah and the Whale Wall Picture printable Markers Frame (any size) Scissors Jonah and the Whale Wall Picture Instructions

• Print out the Jonah and the Whale wall picture printable. • Color it with markers for your child. • Cut it to fit in your frame and frame it. • Hang it in your child’s room as a reminder of the lesson of obedience he learned

during his Jonah unit study. Counting Whales

Supplies Whales for Counting printables Counting Whales Scenes printables Cardstock Magnets & hot glue gun (Optional) Scissors Counting Whales Instructions

• Print the Whales for Counting printables and Counting Whales Scenes printables onto cardstock.

• Get them laminated. • Cut them out. • Let your child place different whales on the different scenes and practice counting

the whales as he adds them to each scene. • If you want, add a magnet to the back of each whale. Then give your child a magnet

and show him how to hold it on the back of the scene with the whales on the front. The whales will move and so look like they are swimming on the scenes.

Objectives Met: Readiness Skills: This is a great counting activity. Have your child count up as he adds the whales on and count backwards as he removes them. Practice adding and subtracting skills as well. “There are five whales in that ocean. How many will there be on it if I take two off? There are three whales in that ocean. If I add two more, how many will there be then?” Fine Motor: If you add the magnets, your child holding a magnet under the ocean scene while he moves it to move the whales on the scene will exercise his fine motor muscles. 1st Time Obedience Game/”Mommy Says” Supplies None 1st Time Obedience Game/”Mommy Says” Instructions

• This is just like “Simon Says”, with a twist. Talk to your child about how God expects us to obey Him the first time He asks us to do something. Tell them that mommy and daddy expect the same thing. Tell your child you are going to play a game. Every time you tell him to do something, he needs to do it right away without arguing with you and with a happy heart (a smile on his face). You can start out by saying, “Mommy says” each time, but be sure your child knows that he needs to obey every time you ask him to do something, whether or not you say, “Mommy says” first.

Objectives Met: Language – Communication: This is a great game to practice receptive language skills. Try giving your child just one command at a time, but then gradually increase the number of steps in what you ask him to do to see if he can follow multi-step directions. Spiritual Lessons: Teaching your child how to obey God the first time, with a happy heart, and without arguing will be a valuable spiritual lesson he will be able to use for the rest of his life. Fishing for Jonah

Supplies ½” thick dowel rod cut to three feet long Drill Thin rope (about two feet long) Magnets Whales for Fishing printable Scissors Hot glue gun Cardstock Fishing for Jonah Instructions

• Print the Whales for Fishing printable onto cardstock. • Get them laminated. • Cut them out. • Use a hot glue gun to attach magnets to the backs of the whales. • Drill a small hole through the top of the dowel rod, about 1” down. • Thread the thin rope through the hole and tie it off. • Hot glue a magnet to the loose end of the rope. • Put the whales in a pile on the floor, a few feet away from your child. Give him the

“fishing pole” and encourage him to try and “catch” as many whales as possible.

Objectives Met: Readiness Skills: Have your child count the whales as he catches them. Gross Motor: Holding the fishing pole steady while trying to catch the whales is great for upper body gross motor skills and development. Foam Whale Friend

Supplies 8 ½” x 11” sheet of gray craft foam Party favor Paper Jonah Stapler Hot glue gun Foam Whale Friend templates Big google eye (Optional) Unruled Index card Popsicle stick or tongue depressor Foam Whale Friend Instructions

• Go to http://www.kidssundayschool.com/Gradeschool/Crafts/1craft04.php and follow the directions for this Jonah craft.

Objectives Met: Speech Therapy: Your child puckering up to blow on the party favor exercises parts of his lips and mouth that he needs strengthened to make certain sounds when speaking. Social Skills: Talk with your child about how spitting is not a nice habit. Spiritual Lessons: Talk with your child about how, once Jonah decided to obey God, and asked him to forgive him for disobeying, the Lord had the whale spit Jonah out. Jonah was blessed for his eventual repentance and obedience.

Bean Bag Jonah & Paper Bag Whale Jonah

Jonah and the Whale Tic Tac Toe Board

Jonah and the Whale Tic Tac Toe Game Pieces

Picture to Frame for Wall

God Sent Jonah Directions: Jonah needs help finding his way to Nineveh! Can you help him get there by tracing his way through the maze for him?

Whale Matching Cards

In the Belly of a Whale

Directions: Circle the things you might find in a whale’s belly.

Whales for Counting and Fishing

Counting Whales Scenes

Jonah 1:17 - But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

Starts with a “J”! So Do These:

Starts with a “W”! So Do These:

“I Spy” & Room with a View Pictures