Genesis 11:1-9
"Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
They said to each other, 'Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly.' They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.'
But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The Lord said, 'If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.'
So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel - because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth."
Activity
Long ago, Kiera won a set of "big blocks" from an event through the school district. These blocks have a variety of sizes and shapes, the largest of which are about twice the size of a men's shoe box. The kids love to build with them. Actually, my sister and I had a set of similar blocks when we were little and I remember building everything with them. They were wonderful!!! Today we're going to use our "big blocks" to build a Tower of Babel. If you don't have blocks similar to ours, you could use a variety of boxes (anything from cereal boxes to shoe boxes to storage boxes...) If you'd rather not go that route, use small wooden blocks. You might even include a small action figure type doll to give kids the feel for the size of the Tower.
How It Went
Kiera really loved our story today. She was particularly interested in hearing words in other languages. After we built a tower, I ask her what happened next. She replied that the people started speaking different languages, then started "speaking" in her own made-up language. I love my kids' creativity!
Andrew enjoyed building towers too. When Kiera and I started picking up the blocks to put them away, he started crying! We decided it would be best to build a block tower in the corner of their room that could stay there for a while as a reminder of today's lesson. Andrew was very excited about the story and enjoyed saying, "Tower up to the sky!!"
Other Possible Activities
Cut out small rectangles of construction paper. Have the kids create a tower out of the construction paper rectangles by gluing them to a sheet of paper.
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If you have children that are quite a bit older, have them build a tower out of playing cards. (Kiera would be old enough to create a small tower, but it would never survive Andrew's 2-year old energy!!)
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Kiera loves to make mud "recipes" lately, so she would enjoy this one... I searched the internet for "make mud bricks" and came up with several free guides that looked promising (and easy). They basically involve mixing water, dirt, and straw together, then letting it dry in a mold in the sun. It might be fun to make these bricks and then use them to create a planter around a tree, etc. It might remind your family of today's lesson long after the lesson is over.
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Since she was about three years old, Kiera has enjoyed learning words in other languages. If your children have an interest, give them a quick vocabulary lesson in a different language!
