Gideon’s battle was won with a tiny army because he kept dividing and sending home many of his men. This craft reinforces that idea of dividing up by constantly breaking apart the folding cube.

To make it easier for you to see I’ve made the images using blocks I’ve taken from a toy train. You could use any sort of wooden, plastic or solid block. The prototype (image at the end) was made with Styrofoam cubes painted yellow.

You can chose to use all six images or only use some of them if you are pushed for time.

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Here are the images you need for the hero’s attributes linked to Gideon (Judges 7)
 
The images are displayed small here, click on the image you wish to have, then save the image that loads.
 

English

 

card-English

 

 
worksheet
This Gideon worksheet is a simple design your own shield activity, alongside a few discussion sparks.

The sheet is designed to be worked through from the top, with the comprehension check questions first, the open discussion questions second, the activity third, and the bible reference as extension material (or things to discuss during the activity).

The PDF can be downloaded by clicking HERE.

 

The most iconic things about Gideon are his fleece and his trumpet. Trumpets are just more fun! We loved this craft and it was really easy to make.

This trumpet craft uses Styrofoam as it’s base and attaches party blower to the back. If you don’t have any flat Styrofoam any thick material would work as long as it doesn’t bend easily. If all you have is card then make two shapes and sandwich them each side of the party blower.
 

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If you want the teacher sheet then click HERE

Gideon is today’s Bible hero because he showed us daft division.
(You may have to explain the concept that he divided his army again and again to make them weaker, something that seems quite daft when you are going to battle)

Essential Teachers notes:
Try to reinforce the idea that this war was won by God not Gideon. While I’ve portrayed Gideon with a fleece on his shoulder, I’ve not included him testing God in the story. This is because when Jesus is in the wilderness, he warns of testing God (Matthew 4:7). Some children will take the fleece story as an invitation to test the miraculous, and may even discount God entirely if he does not fulfil their request. Because the material is designed for multiple ages it has been left out of the main story.

Does God support war? If you have older children this is a good question to examine, especially with this story where the war is won without using swords. Be careful not to impose your own view on war morality, and encourage then to respect each others views.

Main Passage: Judges 7 (recommend reading chapter 6 as it’s referenced) (more…)

 

If your group has a favourite competitive game then do use it, if not then here are some slightly less competitive suggestions.

 

What’s that sound – Find some free mp3 sound effects and download them. Try to quieten the children and get get them to identify the sounds you play. What emotions do they link with the sounds they are hearing?
 

Mug pieces – Using the image of a mug provided here. Cut the image into sections, to form a jigsaw. take all the pieces for one mug and then a few extra pieces and place them in a bag. Deliberately include too many pieces to complete the image. Get the children to reassemble the image. Talk about how sometimes we have more things than we need.
 
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