Our 10 Plagues and Passover Studies-Part 1

Because of the forthcoming Spring Holy Day season, we put our *regular* studies on hold for this week to allow me the time I need to finish preparing my home for the Passover, Night to be Observed and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. But rather than just not having school at all, we are doing half-days with our focus on learning more about the Holy Days we keep.

I am taking my cues from these WONDERFUL activity books called Y.E.S. lessons which were printed and available by my former church organization when I was a child. Some amazing people somewhere scanned them in to a program and now anyone can access them online and print them off. I actually own blank hard copies of every single one from Kindergarten thru Level 8 (I think?)...but it's so much easier to just print them straight off the computer. Anyways, I totally recommend them if you are looking for little activiyy books for teaching the Bible (mostly Old Testament) to your kids. The back cover of each one even has things for memorization. I remember that it is due to these little activity books that I can still remember my books of the Bible, 12 tribes, Feast Days and various scriptures! I had to memorize it and it stuck! LOL!

Anyways, we are using the Level 1 (K) Spring Holy Day lesson for our "curriculum" this week. It begins with the Israelites in Egypt and the 10 plagues, so that's where we started.

Monday: (Re)Introducing the Plagues
We spent yesterday remembering why the Children of Israel were in Egypt and Little Britches already knows Moses, so we just jumped right in with reviewing the plagues. He got out his little Primary Notebook and we drew a line down each page. Then he drew a little picture related to each plague and wrote the name of each plague. We did this for plagues #1-9. I read each account from my Bible (NKJ) and then had him chime in for the "Let My People Go" and the "Pharoah said No!". We discussed what each plague would have been like and acted some of them out. He did a very good job.

Tuesday: Plague #10 and the Old Testament Passover
Today we started by reading the account of the final plague and then the instructions for the Israelite about protecting their homes and families. And also the initiation of the first Passover. We talked about what the Death of the Firstborn would be like for us, had we been Egyptians. He was shocked to figure out that Baby Britches would be the only one left in our family, for my husband and I are both firstborn...and since Little Britches is too...well, he was NOT happy to make that deduction. And we talked about how that would lead to "a great cry in Egypt." Then I had him pretend that we were Israelites and he showed me how he would put the blood on our doorposts and lentil. We discussed how they were given very clear directions and if they didn't obey they too would have suffered the same death as the Egyptians. Which lead to a reminder on why it is so important that we obey God.

He colored the picture in the YES lesson of the Israelite family preparing their home for the Passover.

Then to help us remember the order of the plagues, I had him do the matching worksheet from this lesson plan (pg 7-8) and he used his Bible to help him when he got stuck. Then we also learned a 10 Plagues song which is to the tune of "This Old Man". He LOVED it and we sang it a few times. We will continue to sing it this week and then I'll have him sing it to daddy on Friday night.

That's what we've done so far...I'll be back later for the rest of our week!