Family Faith Companion

The Last Supper, with apologies to Leonardo

Posted on March 13, 2012April 8, 2022 by Carol Hulbert

Here it is! The pictures created in our Photography Workshop for our Rotation on The Last Supper. (Just the 4th, 5th and 6th graders visited this workshop.)

The 6th Graders (and their Shepherd) create a tableaux of Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper.

Students start off this workshop talking about what dinner time is typically like in their home, and what is done differently at special times, such as birthdays. Then they review the story about Jesus’ special last meal that he shared with his disciples on the night before he was killed. Something happened at this last supper that makes us still talk about it more than 2000 years later! Jesus gave his followers a way to remember him. Today, we still practice this same ritual!

The 4th graders re-enact Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, The Last Supper

There weren’t very many there that day, but the 4th Grade (plus their Shepherd) create their version of Leonardo’s painting.

What’s the process involved in creating this picture? Students are randomly assigned to portray the participants that were at the first Last Supper. They study art prints (with magnifying glasses!) of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, The Last Supper. Then it’s into costumes and recreating da Vinci’s painting using a technique called “frozen picture” or tableaux.

The workshop leader at work with her camera

The Shepherd gets everyone into postion and the Workshop leader snaps a few photos of the 6th graders.

After the photos are shot, the students look at the pictures on a TV screen and choose the best shot. For further learning, the student who portrayed each disciple reads a blurb about that disciple.

students view the resulting pictures on the TV.
Which picture turned out the best?

The 5th graders create a tableaux of The Last Supper

And here are the 5th Graders on the week when they visited the Photography workshop.

From notes made by da Vinci we can identify each of the disciples in his painting. From left to right it would have been: 1– Bartholomew, 2–James the Younger, 3–Andrew, 4–Judas, 5–Peter, 6–John, Jesus, 7–Thomas, 8 – James, 9– Phillip, 10–Matthew, 11-Thaddeus, 12–Simon.

For comparison, here’s a look at da Vinci’s The Last Supper…

How did they do?

Photo credits…
Photos of kids portraying The Last Supper by Alice Nuttall. Used with permission.
Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper is in the Public domain, the picture shown is via Wikimedia Commons.

Our Moses workshops – pictures!

Posted on March 9, 2012February 11, 2018 by Carol Hulbert

We’ve just finished up a couple of Rotations on Moses. We started in January with Moses’ birth, his trip through the bulrushes in a basket and his adult experience with a burning bush. Then in February we continued the Moses story with the plagues on Egypt and the very first Passover. (I love how this will tie into our March Rotation on the Last Supper.) Here is a review of our study of Moses, with lots of pictures!

Each workshop starts off with reading the story in the Bible. By the third week everyone knows the story! But finding it in the Bible is still important.
(This photo from our Green Wood location.)

In January there was a Games Workshop using our life-sized board game. Kids played a game modeled after the board game, Cranium.
1st grade use the large game board in the Games Workshop


See that cube thing? (At the orange arrow). That is the game die. A team tosses it and depending on the picture they roll, they have a certain type of activity that they need to do.	Here the card might have said “Using Playdoh, see how quickly team members can create a pair of sandals.” Of course, meanwhile the leader was asking everyone, how sandals enter into the story.

There was a Storytelling Workshop…

Moses visits in the Storytelling Workshop

“Moses” visits the Storytelling Workshop downtown (for 4th-6th graders)

And “Moses” at Green Wood.

(Okay, so it wasn’t really Moses. Just a couple of guys who did a great job portraying Moses!)

In the Drama Workshop kids acted out the burning bush portion of the story…

the 5th grade poses on stage at the Drama Workshop

Nice burning bush. Notice all the sheep? There were lots of props. Which ones can you name?

Meanwhile, in the “Greenhouse” (ages 3 years old to kindergarteners) they were learning about Moses as well. Here they learned about unleavened bread.

In February it was on to the Plagues and Passover portion of the Moses story. There was a different Games Workshop. This one was Bible Bowling. Here the 1st and the 6th graders work together in teams. Teams had names like “the Gnats” and “the Frogs.”


Kids sure do know the answers to the questions!	When the team answered correctly, they got a chance to knock down the pins.

There was a Cooking Workshop…

Mixing up some unleavened bread – in a hurry!

And there was an Art Workshop where kids made comics using thumbprints…




Can you tell the story using these thumbprint drawings?	What part of the story does this one tell?

What was your favorite Workshop?

Photo credits: Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
Other photos by Beth Pascoe, Carol Hulbert and folks at Green Wood. Used by permission.

Studying the Last Supper

Posted on March 2, 2012February 11, 2018 by Carol Hulbert

At FUMC our Cool Disciples experience Rotation Model Christian education, as they learn about Bible stories and concepts through kid-friendly multimedia workshops.

In this season of Lent we are studying the story of the Last Supper. Since Easter happens annually, we get to spend time on a different aspect of the Easter story every year. In other years we’ve covered the Garden of Gethsemane, the Empty Tomb/Resurrection Appearances, Easter through Peter’s eyes, and the overall sequence of the events of Easter week.

The Last Supper is the last meal that Jesus and his disciples share prior to Jesus’ death. Read about the story of the Last Supper in Luke 22:7-20.

A frozen picture of da Vinci's Last Supper

From the Photography workshop from the last time we did this Rotation. These kids have now graduated from high school! They were in 6th grade in 2005.

Here is how we studied this story:

In the Art Workshop we discussed the celebratory meal that Jesus shared with his disciples. Kids decorated a glass plate; a plate to use at your next special meal.
In the Cooking Workshop students will help make and experience a “mini” Seder meal, the meal that Jesus’ and his disciples were sharing at the Last Supper.
In the Photography Workshop students will use a technique called “Frozen Picture” to experience the Last Supper (as painted by Leonardo da Vinci).
In the Video 1 Workshop (for 1st – 3rd graders) students will watch a video with puppets called How Can I Celebrate Passover? A Young Christian’s Introduction to the Seder.
In the Video 2 Workshop (for 4th – 6th graders) students will watch the live-action video The Last Supper.

This Rotation comes around again in 2018. I wonder what workshops we’ll use this year?

Photo credits:
The Last Supper re-created, copyright 2005, by Alice Nuttall.

Family Lenten activities, part 2

Posted on February 23, 2012January 5, 2020 by Carol Hulbert

Lent is the 40 days (minus Sundays) leading up to Easter. A long, long time ago Lent was the period in which new converts to the church prepared for baptism. They learned about what it meant to be a Christian before becoming a member of the church community. It was basically “spring training” for disciples!

baseball - spring training!

Lent is a great time for your family to take a serious look at your calendars. It’s all about focus. Is there time for being a disciple of Jesus? For including Christ in your lineup? (An hour a week at church isn’t enough!)

Time Out. Talk about…Ask… A speech bubble
What can our family do? We’d like to spend some of our time together warming up our faith.

Last week I had given you ideas for family activities to try out during Lent. If you missed that it’s here. (These activities are not time-sensitive.) It seems only proper to provide more activities to help everyone be a “utility player!”

Ready to “take the field” for Lent?

Practice gratitude: Set up a place for praises. In a noticeable location, place a stack of papers and a pen near a basket or a bowl. (Or post a list on the refridge; or give everyone their own journal.) Encourage everyone to draw or write about things that make them grateful. Once a week, ponder your collection. For more ways to transcribe thanksgiving, visit here.
Celebrate: Life is a precious gift from God! Work in the habit of celebrating this in some small way, every day! Perhaps start off your day in song (“This is the day” would be a good choice. I often woke up my kids with this one.) Or perhaps change the words to the Superman table grace, adding in “Thank you God, for giving us life.” Re-writing this could be a fun, dinner table activity!
Serve others: pick one way to offer your time to someone else from this incredible list. (Includes ideas such as creating “snack packs for Ronald McDonald residents” but did you know they are still collecting pop tabs?
Practice solitude: First introduce the concept of breath prayer. Then, designate a signal for when it’s time to gather back together. Next, for an age-appropriate amount of time send everyone to opposite corners of the house. When the “time-out” is up, discuss your experience.
Give something up (Fasting): Rather than fasting food try giving up a word. How about the word “no” – try it and see what happens! (Remember that an alternate for the word no can be “let’s think about that.”)
Prayer: Make time for prayer every day. Visit here for ideas.

Photo credit:
Spring Training by Michelle Riggen-Ransom, licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Breaking down the Moses, Plagues to Passover story

Posted on February 9, 2012February 11, 2018 by Carol Hulbert

Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh

We are about to embark on a follow-up Rotation on Moses. Last month we covered Moses from his birth to his encounter with God in a burning bush.

That was a lot of ground to cover in the Bible, as is part two: Plagues and Passover. But have no fear! Here is a reading plan for your family group to use, to break down this month’s story into manageable chunks. (For the part one reading plan click here.)

Might I suggest covering our story over several days? Start off with a review of God’s call to Moses. (The Burning Bush!) The next day, read about Moses and Aaron’s first encounter with Pharaoh. (See picture above.) On subsequent days you can read about each plague, as God displays his power to Egypt. Eventually you’ll read about the first Passover and about how a lamb’s blood saved the Israelites.

As an added bonus there are questions for discussion at the family dinner table. (Or wherever your family is gathered together.)

If you’d like to print out this reading plan/discussion guide (I’ve tried to squeeze it into a one-page document!) click here.

Read	Discussion question
Exodus 3:1-6	Why take off your sandals? What sort of relationship to God does this imply?
Exodus 3:7-15	What does God want Moses to do? How many different ways does God identify himself?
Exodus 4:1-17	Does Moses sound like he is whining? When was the last time you whined? Reread verse 11. Which of your perceived limitations needs this sort of talking to?
Exodus 5:1-18	How did you expect Pharaoh would react to Moses’ request? Tell about a time you asked for something and were turned down. What can help you to keep in mind that God is with you in times of stress?
Exodus 5:22-6:8	Do you suppose Moses is ready to give up? So soon? When have you felt this way?
Exodus 7:1-7	Why do you suppose God “hardened” Pharaoh’s heart? Or did Pharaoh harden his own heart? What do you hope to be able to accomplish at age 80?
Exodus 7:8-13	How do you suppose Moses and Aaron felt when Pharaoh’s magicians made their staffs into snakes? Who (in your opinion) “won” this round?
Exodus 7:14-24	To the Egyptians the Nile River was a god. What does this say about God’s power? Do you see “magicians” in society who try to mimic God’s power?
Exodus 8:1-15	How do you suppose it would feel to find frogs in your oven and in your mixing bowls? Why do you suppose the magicians didn’t try to stop the frogs?
Exodus 8:16-19	Starting with this plague, the magicians were no longer able to reproduce a plague. Why do you suppose this didn’t have an affect on Pharaoh?
Exodus 8:20-32	What sort of pattern of behavior is happening? Starting with this plague, the Hebrews were unaffected. What sort of message did this send to Pharaoh? To the Hebrews?
Exodus 9:1-7	How do you suppose Pharaoh planned to recover Egypt from these plagues?
Exodus 9:8-12	God didn’t tell Moses how many plagues would happen. How is Moses likely feeling?
Exodus 9:13-35	What does the warning in verse 19 say about God? How about verse 32?
Exodus 10:3-20	If God knows that Pharaoh will change his mind, why does he keep stopping a plague when Pharaoh says he will let them go? Why does Pharaoh ignore his officials advice?
Exodus 10:21-29	The sun was a god to the Egyptians. What does this story teach you about your allegiance to the “gods” of today’s society?
Exodus 11:1, 12:1-13	Why do you suppose there are such explicit directions for a Passover feast? How does Jesus’ Last Supper relate to this story? How about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross?
Exodus 12:21-30	In the manner of verse 26, discuss your family traditions.
Exodus 12:31-42	What sort of blessing do you suppose Moses gave Pharaoh? Have you ever received a blessing? How do you suppose the Hebrews felt as they left town in a hurry?

Photo credits:
Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh by Benjamin West (1738-1820) in the Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Moses: Let My People Go!

Posted on February 2, 2012April 26, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

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Hebrews are enslaved in Egypt — Let my people go!

On Saturday nights and on Sunday mornings at FUMC our Cool Disciples experience Rotation Model Christian education. They learn about Bible stories and concepts through kid-friendly workshops that each focus on different learning styles.

In February 2012, we are continuing the story of Moses. Last month we learned about Moses from his watery beginning in a papyrus basket, to his dramatic experience as an adult meeting God in a burning bush. God wanted Moses to bring his people, the Israelites, out of Egypt to the Promised Land (Exodus 3:9-10).

We saw Moses reluctantly agree to lead God’s people to freedom. And this is where we pick up our story for this month. As we will see, freeing the Hebrews from Pharaoh’s grip is not an easy task. It involves frogs, and gnats, and flies! And a mysterious “passing over” with protection provided by the blood of a lamb. Read about our story in Exodus 5:1-6:13, 7:1-12:42. (It’s another long one. ~~Stay tuned for~~ Here is another reading plan to break it into manageable chunks!)

This is where the “Schedule” used to appear — which grades were visiting which workshops over the course of this Rotation. However it was removed as it was sort of out of date 🙂 Our current schedule of workshops, for whatever Rotation we are currently on, can be found on this page.

For prosperity, here is what we did in each workshop for this story: (Be sure to catch pictures of the action!)

In the Art Workshop students will create comic strips that tell the story using their thumbprints (Ed Emberley style).
In the Cooking Workshop students will make unleavened bread and discuss the Passover and the Israelites’ departure from Egypt.
In the Games Workshop students will participate in a Bible Bowling game as they learn story characters, events and story sequence. Which team will win – the Gnats, or the Flies, or the Frogs?
In the Music Workshop students will learn a silly song about the story. The words to B-I-N-G-O never sounded like this!
In the Video Workshop students will watch portions of the animated video The Prince of Eygpt. I wonder how closely the creators of video follow the story as told in the Bible?

If you are in the area please join us for the fun learning at First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor, MI

Photo credits:
Line drawing of Hebrews enslaved, from the book The Big Picture Bible Time Line by Gospel Light. Used with permission.

I dare you to notice God at work

Posted on February 1, 2012May 14, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

Now that we are turning the calendar page to February, how are your New Year’s resolutions coming? I personally have already given up on daily exercise. (Such lofty thoughts!) There is one area however, where I am going full speed ahead: Noticing and counting God’s gifts.

I’m pursuing the “Joy Dare”

A real dare! It goes like this: in 2012 can I make a conscious effort to write down one thousand gifts? (That means roughly three a day!) These gifts are more than just things, they are graces from God.

Can I mark that many ways that God shows me love?

I’ve been writing down gifts for the last three years. But my annotations were intermittent. (It took me two years to get to 500.) Climbing to one thousand more in 2012 takes an effort! But this dare is aptly named: A Joy Dare, because I’m finding real joy even on days filled with chaos and confusion; I look for beauty in the ugly mess. It’s become for me a habit: repeatedly giving God praise – for everything.

Then it occurred to me that this tallying of thankfuls is a way to notice God in our lives! Exactly what we are trying to teach kids in our current Rotation on Moses.

It’s not too late to start this dare. Perhaps it could be reworded?

I dare you to notice God at work in your life.

Click on this button to find out more about the dare.

Some of my list (from its beginnings back in November 2008 but with up-to-date photos)…

a family gathering

6. A healthy family

11. Authentic refried beans

35. Blue sky days

a blue sky fall day

702. Texting blessings

279. Family discussion with tears

833. Smiles noted when someone unexpectedly lends a helping hand

1010. Foot pain

1013. A cheerleading friend.

Want to start this dare in your family but worried about where to find God’s graces? Might I point you to help? Click here for a wonderful list – a way to capture God’s gifts – three a day all through February!

Photo credits:
Photos are from my archives.
Button from onethousandgifts.com

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Holy ground

Posted on January 26, 2012February 11, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

Our current Rotation on Moses is so full of areas for contemplation. We can’t do it all in 45 minutes of Saturday or Sunday’s Cool! Here’s a topic which is not touched on but is still important. Ask these questions at the family dinner table. (Or wherever your family is gathered together.) To print out a one-page family discussion guide go here.

Moses met God at the burning bush. God’s first instruction to Moses was: take off your shoes. (Okay, he called them sandals.)

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Exodus 3:5

“Holy,” in this instance, means “set apart,” “specially recognized” or “declared sacred.” What made this spot holy for Moses, was the presence of God. Anywhere we meet God can be considered holy!

Ordinary desert dirt became holy ground.

When you hear the words “holy place” what do you think of? What/where are
the holy spots in your life? Mention a holy place and right away our thoughts go to chapels, churches and cathedrals. Think of our church sanctuary. The word sanctuary means “safe place” or “holy place.” Churches are places designed for us to have an encounter with the holy. The next time you are waiting together as a family for worship to begin, talk quietly about what parts of the sanctuary help it to feel like “holy ground.”

At home, where can you talk to God? Discuss how any space can feel like holy ground, an acceptable spot to meet God! Anywhere we talk to God can be considered a “holy place;” it’s not that a space needs to be holy before God will enter! How do you prepare yourself to enter holy ground?

Do you suppose there ought to be a special “holy spot” in your home that
reminds you that God is near? What should that space feel like? Look like? Spend time arranging such a holy place – a bench or a chair or windowsill. Encourage everyone to spend quiet time in this holy location.

Photo credits:
Empty shoes by Jérôme, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.