God Is Always With Us

Craft

Target Age Group: Kindergarten – 2nd Grade

Craft: Pencil Pinwheel

Bible Verses: Deuteronomy 31:6

Main Point:  Even though we can’t see God, we can know He is near.  And just like we need air, we also need God!

Supplies:  Pinwheel Template, Short Pushpins, Pencils

Craft

• Make a pair of squares. Start out by cutting two identical squares from paper or cardstock. If you are keen on using templates, you can choose two from any of our pinwheel template and print them out on Letter or A4 size paper or card stock.
• Decorate the squares. You can leave the squares plain or draw some patterns or designs on them.
• Cut out the squares. Cut out both paper squares.
• Glue the squares together. Glue the undecorated sides of the squares together. Remember to apply glue not just along the edges, but on the entire back area of the squares. Let the glue dry.
• Cut four slits. Cut along the four diagonal dotted lines. If you’re not using templates, cut four diagonal lines starting from the corners going up halfway to the center of the square.
• Bring one tip to the center. After making the four slits, you will have 8 tips on your square—these are labeled with numbers on the photo. Take one of the tips (Tip #1) and bring it to the center of the square without creasing the paper. You can glue the tip in place or just hold it with your hand as you do the next steps.
• Bring the next corner of the square to the center. Take Tip #3 and bring it to the center of the square. You can glue it in place or just hold it with your hand.
• Bring the remaining tips to the center. Next, bring Tip #5 and then Tip #7 to the center. Either glue them in place or hold them with your hand.
• Insert a push pin. Insert a push pin at the center. If you did not glue the ends of the tips in the previous steps, the push pin should hold all four tips together. Wiggle the push pin around to make the hole a bit larger.
• Attach the pinwheel to a pencil. Attach the pinwheel to a pencil by pushing the pin into the pencil’s eraser. Don’t push on too tight to allow the pinwheel to spin more freely. As an option, you can put a bead or small button between the pinwheel and the eraser. This helps the pinwheel rotate better and prevents the pin’s point from going through the other side of the eraser.

Enjoy your pinwheel. Finally, try blowing at the edges of the pinwheel to make it spin. Loosen the pin a bit if the blades do not rotate well. Enjoy!

Lesson Application

Ask the kids if they can see air.  Have them take a deep breath and ask – “What did you just breathe?”  Have them take a deep breath again and notice how their chest fills with air.  Show them how to puff out their cheeks and ask them what they have in their mouth.

Say – “We are going to make a super fun craft that will show you what air, that we can’t see, can do. “

Make the pinwheels. After you make the pinwheels, blow on them and make them spin.

Say – “We can’t see air, but we know when we breathe it. We can see how it fills our chests, our mouths or even see it move your pinwheel.  We can’t see God, but we know He is all around us just like air.”

Next have several objects preschoolers can move by blowing on them such as a balloon, a pinwheel, a ping pong ball, etc.  Have them blow and move each object.  

Say – “We can’t see the air, but we see how it moves other objects such as the leaves on the trees or the flag blowing in the wind. We can’t see God, but we know He is all around us and can see how He is at work.  God makes the sun come up every morning.  He makes the flowers bloom.  He gives us food to eat.  He comforts us when we are sad. He gives us peace. The bible says in Deuteronomy 31:6 says “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave or forsake you.” We are His children and He loves us. He has our backs! He is with us and helps us even though we can’t see Him.”