Scripture: Genesis 15-17
- Students will review the story of Abraham, God’s Promises and Ishmael.
- Students will learn Ishmael was Abraham’s first child.
- Students will learn living things like babies grow and change over time.
- Students will participate in an activity to help them discover how babies grow and change over their first year.
Guiding Question: How do living things grow and change over time?
Materials: babies of various ages under one year old, paper with rows for the number of infants and columns for height, weight, abilities, etc.
Procedure: Review the story of Abraham, God’s promises to him and Hagar and Ishmael. Explain to students Ishmael was Abraham’s first child and just like any parent, Abraham probably enjoyed watching Ishmael change and grow so much over the first year of his life. Explain that all living things change and grow over time. Introduce the students to the mothers and infants visiting your class. You should have several infants a few months apart in age. You may also wish to have a couple of infants the exact same age to show that there is variation even within the same age. Divide the students into small groups so they don;t overwhelm the babies. Have each group rotate from child to child. The mothers can share the baby’s height and weight and have the baby demonstrate some of the things it can do. Have students record their observations. Once students have “examined” every baby, have the class share their findings. Compare their observations to the “standard” developmental milestones for babies. How do the babies visiting your class compare to the average? Ask students why it might be important to track developmental milestones for babies.
- What developmental milestones are there for children aged two to five years?
Supplemental Activity: Have more advanced students research developmental milestones for children aged two to five years. Have them interview various children in that age span and see how accurately they reflect the standard for developmental milestones. (Very advanced students may wish to research how much variation is considered within the accepted norms for development.)