The Dark Day – Eclipse Activities for Kids
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The Dark Day
The heavens declare the glory of God! Children are naturally fascinated by outer space and the incredible things, like solar eclipses and planetary orbits, that happen there. This free activity guide includes an object lesson, coloring page, outer space trivia game, and snack idea that you can use to share God’s love as you enjoy an eclipse or study outer space with kids in your family or church. Through these activities children will discover how eclipses occur, fascinating facts about the sun and moon, the relative size and distance of the sun and moon, and learn about the darkest day in history when the Son of God lovingly laid down his life for the sin of the world. This free lesson includes:
- Eclipse Themed Gospel Object Lesson
- John 3:16 Coloring Page
- Sun & Moon Trivia Game
- “Eclipse Cookies” snack idea
- Printable visuals and PPT slides
Description
The Dark Day Sample Text
Do: Show pictures of the sun and moon and ask the children when they usually see these things. Show pictures of a solar eclipse and ask children if they know what causes a solar eclipse.
Say: Eclipses happen because of how the earth, sun, and moon move through the sky on the paths God created for them. God made the sun to shine during the day and the moon to reflect the sun’s light at night. He set them in the sky and made paths for them to follow as they give light to the earth. (Read Genesis 1:14-18.) The sun, moon, and earth all follow the paths (orbits) God gave them in the sky because God rules as King over everything he made. God made you too! He made you much smaller than the sun or moon, but he cares about you way more. In fact, he wants to use the sun to help you remember how much he loves you. God says his love never stops and is always there every day, sort of like the sun is always there every day. (Read Lamentations 3:22-23.) At night or during an eclipse, it can look like the sun stops shining, but every morning we can see that it was really there shining all along. Let me show you how it works.
Do: Dim the lights and use the flashlight and globe to represent the sun and earth. Show how morning is caused by the earth’s rotation so that the sun is always shining, but we can’t see it when our side of the earth rotates away from the sun. Next, show how a solar eclipse works by using the small ball to represent the moon and moving it between the flashlight and globe to temporarily block the light from shining directly on the globe. Point out that the “sun” never stops shining throughout this demonstration. If you have enough time and space to do so, children would enjoy having turns holding the globe, the flashlight, and the ball as they explain these natural phenomenon in their own words.
Say: It may look and feel like the sun stops shining at night or during a solar eclipse, but this activity reminds us that the sun never stops shining. This reminds me of the way God’s love is always real, even when we can’t see or feel it.
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