Fishers of Men

This post is months overdue as the pictures were taken back in February after my blogging break began. I thought they were worth pulling out of the archives though.

While teaching the 2's and 3's class at church, I tried to incorporate some fun activities to keep them engaged and to help them make a connection to our lesson at hand. Our lesson this day was on being fishers of men.

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 
Matthew 4:18-20

Afterward, I gave them each a plate with goldfish and pretzel sticks (fishing rods) and cream cheese (a.k.a. bait). I saw this idea a couple years ago in my Parents magazine. The kids had so much fun dipping their fishing poles into the bait and then catching fish. Ellie was more than excited to eat her goldfish so I couldn't get a great picture of any of the fish she "caught." This would make a great activity for your Family Bible Time too.

If you do this for a Bible class, I would suggest portioning out the cream cheese beforehand to save time. I brought a plate with dollops of cream cheese ready to be placed on each child's plate. If I did this again, I would look for some blue paper plates to look more like water. Either way, the kids will enjoy it. To keep the parents involved, I snapped a picture of each child showing the fish they caught and texted/emailed it to their mom. I know I love pictures that give me a glimpse of what my child has been doing in class and it helps us discuss their Bible lesson more when we get home.