Getting Started

Choose the activity that best fits your family’s interests, age levels, and availability. Or, do multiple if you’re having fun! Words in bold are for you to say out loud: feel free to paraphrase, if you prefer.

Activity 1

Mud Making and Mud Talk

For this activity, you will need a big bowl (or several small bowls), water and dirt. If you have a lot of hands that would like to get dirty, give each child or pair of children a bowl. Send them outside to gather some dirt (if it’s a wet or cold/snowy time of year, have your children collect mud rather than dirt). Gather everyone with their bowls of dirt into the kitchen.

How can we turn this dirt into mud?

Set up on a countertop or island or overtop newspaper on a table. Have your children bring cups of water to pour into their dirt bowls, stirring until it is a good mud consistency. Allow kids to mix the mud up with their hands, using their senses to explore the mud. Let’s be honest. Mud is fun to play with.

As kids are getting a “feel” for the mud, ask these questions to lead a mud talk:

What is mud?

What is mud good for?

Can mud do anything?

After your mud talk, say:

Mud is messy. It can cause destruction to carpets. It can cause car tires to be stuck. But, on its own, mud can’t do anything.

In today’s story, we’re going to read about a time that Jesus made mud. He spit into the dirt and picked up mud. Let’s read and find out what He did with that mud.

Activity 2

Light in the Darkness

After enjoying time talking about mud, gather together in your living room/family room. Turn off most or all lights and light some candles (I find that this settles most of our family members down). Today’s story ends with a healed blind man finding out that Jesus is the Messiah. That man immediately worships Jesus.

Knowing who Jesus is should draw our hearts to worship Him. So, today, spend some time worshipping our Messiah, the Savior of the world in song, Bible reading and prayer. For younger children, feel free to keep this time short, picking songs they know and love (like Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children, This Little Light of Mine, etc), reading one passage of Scripture, instead of multiple, and doing “popcorn” prayers…short prayers of praise. For older children, feel free to sit together (or get up and dance, kneel during prayer, etc.) for longer, worshipping Jesus.

Since the focus is on worshipping Jesus for who He is, choose songs of praise (feel free to Google some), Psalms of praise (Psalm 8, Psalm 86, Psalm 121, Psalm 145 are all good ones), and praise Him with prayers. Enjoy this time together!

If time allows, read today’s story. If doing these activities are all you have time for, save the story for another night. But, explain that a man in your story discovered who Jesus really was and worshipped Him.