Camp Creation Day 2 – Water and Sky
Note: Click here for the Day by Day List of Materials (PDF)
1. Theme of the Week: Creation Song (Song and Motion)
2. Welcome, Prayer, Song and Smile
David Fremo, Director/Superintendent, Catholic Education Ministries
Smiles: Speaking of Water and Sky…
3. Bible Story: Day 2 of Creation – Water and Sky
To Introduce today’s Bible Story:
Give each child a balloon. “When I say ‘go’ I want everyone to blow up their balloon and then hold it closed when it is full.” After the children have all blown up the balloons, talk about the fact that it is air inside the balloons that holds the skin of the balloon out. Let the children slowly allow air to escape (of course they will want to make funny sounds). You might even want to try a contest to see who can make their balloon land in a certain spot when they let it loose and allow the air to escape all at once. “Children, did you know that there was a time when there was no air on the earth? There was only water covering the whole earth! We could never have lived on the earth like that could we? On the second day of creation, God divided the water up so that there would be water and sky. Then there was air!”
The Story:
Then God said: Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other. God made the dome, and it separated the water below the dome from the water above the dome. And so it happened. God called the dome “sky.” Evening came, and morning followed—the second day.
Alternative version, from the NIrV (New International Reader’s Version):
God said, “Let there be a huge space between the waters. Let it separate water from water.” He separated the water that was under the space from the water that was above it. God called the huge space “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning. It was day two.”
What would happen if there was no air? What if the whole world was covered with water? That is how it used to be when the world began. There was no sky anywhere. There was no air.
On the second day of creation God did something very amazing with all of that water. He divided the water into parts so that there would be water and air. After this there was sky and there were clouds. The cold or warm wind could blow through the sky and move the clouds around. The wind could blow on the water and make waves and swells. Raindrops could fall out of the sky and into the water.
Every time we breathe in air . . . let’s think about God and His awesome power!
4. Activities
Activity 1
Water Blessings!!
Here is an easy activity to remind us of how we are blessed each day and to help us be grateful for the gift of water.
- Beginning on Day 2, every time you pour water you call out something you are thankful or grateful for that day. Continue this throughout the week.
- For example: If you pour water into a glass to drink you may say…”Thank you God for your favorite meal mom makes”. OR “Thank you God for this clean glass of water.” Pay attention to how refreshing the water tastes.
- Continue to do this when you:
- wash your hands
- fill the tub for a bath
- play outside with a hose
- water the plants
Activity 2
Paint, color and create a paper plate depicting the atmosphere (see Illustration 1) from https://ithappensinablink.com/creation-day-2/
Activity 3
Water Conservation
After you have your list, watch this video to see if they included everything you have:
Here is an introduction to Laudato Si’, the Letter from Pope Francis on care for our common home, for kids:
Activity 4
Paper Plunge
“Today in our Bible Lesson, we learned that God created the sky to separate the water from below and above. The sky is air. Can air hold up water? Well, we are going to do a little experiment to see if it can.”
- Fill a bowl with water
- Scrunch or crumple up a piece of paper
- Push the paper into the bottom of the glass so that it cannot fall out
- Turn the glass upside down and plunge it straight down into the bowl of water
- “What happens to the paper? It stayed up inside of the glass, didn’t it? That’s the power of air. It held up this paper, just like it holds up the water in the sky. How this works is the air inside the glass takes up space and pushes. The paper stays dry because the water can only get into the glass by squashing the air inside it. Air can be squashed, or compressed, a little, but then it pushes back and prevents the water from reaching the paper. So God added “air” to the earth, pushed back the water and created the sky. And when he created us he made us able to breathe air. Isn’t that clever?
5. The Wonder of God’s Creation
6. Lesson and Reflection
- Yesterday was about God creating Light and Darkness. Today we learned about plankton that show a light in the water. What other wonderful surprises can be found in the water, like your local lake, river, or even the far away oceans?
- What role does water play, still today, in God’s continuing creative process? Can life even exist without it?
- Name ways that water is connected to sky? How does the sky make give us water?
7. Psalm Response
Let us Pray:
Leader: Tender God, we thank you for all of your Creation!
Let us pray together (based on Psalm 148).
Praise him, highest heavens,
you waters above the heavens.
Let them all praise the LORD’s name;
for he commanded and they were created
As we remember Jesus’ words calling us to be lights of the world, let us pray for those who need help and prayers:
(Invite all to express what they would like to pray for, and think of how you can be a light in their world)
Response to each petition (Psalms 119:105): Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.
Leader: We pray this as we pray all things, in the name of Jesus Christ, the one through which you made your love known to us in human form. Amen.
8. Dessert with Fr. Doug
Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen
Blue Jello (Berry Blue) with (Cool Whip) Clouds (Kraft’s original recipe is here)
- Make Berry Blue jello the ahead of time, or use this method to speed up the process (from “How to Make Jello from the Box, Step by Step,” Flour on My Fingers):
- Dissolve the gelatin mix in 3/4 cup boiling water.
- Add ice to 1/2 cup cold water to make 1 1/4 cups.
- Stir the cold water into the gelatin until it’s slightly thickened.
- Then just remove any unmelted ice, and refrigerate for 30 to 90 minutes, or until firm.
- “Rake” the jello, with a fork, into small flakes or chunks.
- Put some into a clear plastic cup, then a dollop of cool whip, which you will press against the side of the cup.
- Repeat until the cup is full, and clouds appear as in Figure 1 above.
Alternate Snack Idea
Marshmallow clouds! Find the full Chef in Training recipe here.
- 16 cups popped pop corn
- 1 cup butter
- 1⅓ cups sugar
- ½ cup corn syrup
- 1 (10 oz) bag marshmallows
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Melt butter, sugar, and corn syrup together. Stir in marshmallows until melted. Remove from heat, then add vanilla. Pour over pop corn and mix. Spray your hands with cooking spray and form 3 inch balls onto parchment paper. Makes about 17 to 18 popcorn balls.
Pray Psalm 147:7-8:
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre,
Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who provides rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
9. Outdoor Activities
Activity 1
Water balloon volleyball
Fill ballo0ns and tie. … The Judge will place a water balloon into the towel of the serving team. The servers will pull back on the towel and throw the water balloon over the net to the opposing team. The other team will try to catch and then throw the balloon over the net to the other side.
You don’t really need a net to play. Just play opposite each other and try to catch the balloons. You can also try more than one balloon at a time and use small sheets if the entire family plays.
Activity 2
Cloud Gazing
Grab a blanket big enough for everyone and go outside in a shady spot and lie down on the grasss.
Watch the clouds drift by and see how many different shapes, animals or other objects you can spot flying overhead. If you’d like bring paper and markers and list what you spot.
Take time to appreciate God’s wonderful gift of clouds, water vapor and sky.
Activity 3
Watch this uplifting video:
If you would like to make a pinwheel, watch the following video for instructions. You’ll need thicker paper, a wooden dowel, a push pin, scissors and glue.
10. Share with others a Photo or Text mentioning what you learned today
This page contains a Padlet. Share what you learned about Dark and Light/Night and Day by clicking anywhere to upload a photo, or take a picture of something your made today, or simply post a text about how you will be a Light to the World today. Perhaps you want to share a prayer.
Click here to go to the VBS Day 2 Sharing Padlet
11. Closing Prayer
Let us conclude our time by giving thanks to the God who created us by praying together with the words Jesus gave us:
Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done,
on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.