Moses: Plague of Locusts, Plague of Darkness, Plague of Firstborn ~ Exodus 10, 11, 12:1-30

Scripture Reference
Exodus 10, 11, 12:1-30

Activity
I know that the Plague of the Firstborn is a very significant one, but I'm not really going to touch on that one in my Bible studies with the kids.  Biblical stories about the death of children really trouble Kiera; she gets extremely upset (inconsolable) and worries for days that something will happen to Andrew.  Kiera knows about this plague so I'd rather not dwell on it and instead get to the crossing of the Red Sea and all that follows. 

I'd planned to make locusts out of construction paper (with wings attached by brads, so that they moved), but Kiera had different plans...

In her new Crayola Doodle Pad, Kiera found instructions for drawing bugs and butterflies with symmetry.  She wanted to follow those instructions, so we sat down for our Bible study and went on to the activity that she wanted to do...I just improvised a little and made locusts.  The following are the directions given in the Crayola Doodle Pad:
"Symmetry means that something looks the same on both sides.  Explore symmetry by creating your own creatures!  Fold a sheet of Doodle Paper in half.  With a pencil, draw one half of a unique bug or butterfly.  Trace over the drawing again with your pencil so the lines are very dark. 
Now fold the page backward along the same crease so the drawing is inside. 
Rub hard with your thumbnail over the folded paper. 
Unfold the paper to see the light pencil transfer of the other half of the bug or butterfly.  Trace over the drawing with your pencil so you can see the lines.  Use your Crayola markers and crayons to add colorful details to each side so the bug is symmetrical."

I was also planning to go on a quick search for locust "shells".  (The skins they shed that are left on trees, decks, and the like.)  We've also been finding a locust or two most every time we're out.  We were going to talk about what it must have been like to have locusts everywhere.  The kids had been cooped up in the house all day and were much more interested in just playing outside than in having a "project" while they were out, so I let that idea pass!
How It Went
I'm so glad that this is the last day of plagues!  I'm feeling a little "down" at the thought of what the Egyptians went through during the plagues and the thought of what the Israelites went through while in Egypt.  It exhausts me just to think about it! 

Kiera really enjoyed the symmetry activity.  I did most of the work, but she liked seeing how the process worked and thinking through why it was able to work.  She did do most of the tracing on her own, though I had to go back and fix a few spots.  She also colored her locust and was quite pleased with the result, though I think it really looks more like a fly!  While Kiera was adding the finishing touches to her locust, Andrew and I drew his hands on another sheet of paper and talked about how God loves each of us, "God loves Andrew.  God loves Kiera..."  We had never drawn around his hands before; his immediate response was "Ooohhh!  Paw prints!!"  (He really loves the videos we have of Blues Clues!!)