Click on each lesson for more info

• Introduction and Set-Up
  • Click here for Pizza Nametags
  • Click here for sample God and Family Song
  • Click here for the Bookmark
  • Click here for John 3:16 mezuzah
  • Click here for Joshua Labels (formatted to print on a sheet of mailing labels)
  • As students guess how families and pizzas are alike, counselors are to emphasize that families (just like pizza) are made in many different ways. Here is a link that shows just how “different” pizza can be. Check out the Japanese pizza that features unique combinations of seafood & mayonnaise, bamboo shoots & seaweed, and lots more! http://www.chachich.com/mdchachi/jpizza.html
     
• Session 1: Crust
  • For lesson one, in addition to the legos and dominos, I got out a Jenga tower and we took turns pulling out the blocks. The kids and adults loved it and it really got us off to a good start. Later during the session on rules, one scout said a good rule is to think first. Another responded yes, like when we were pulling the blocks out of the Jenga tower. If we didn’t think first, it would collapse.
  • When we studied the passage from Deuteronomy, we used a version of the Bible that said to love the Lord your God with all your “strength.” We talked about strength, and then had a tug-of-war. It was classic. At first nobody moved, even though everyone was pulling with all their strength. But it was inevitable. One side slowly started inching along. They picked up momentum and then won. We are to love God with all our strength, even when it doesn’t seem like we’re going anywhere.
  • For building the crust, here are some sample symbols that can be used for the center of the crust.  Images courtesy of Microsoft.com Clip Art.  Click here for examples.
  • To help with building the crust, here are some sample images of people that can be used for filling in the crust.  Click here to print.
  • For the God and Family Curriculum when we talk about the crust or the foundation, I have salt dough made up ahead of time. The participants handle and work with the salt dough to get the feel of "crust" and the dough. The more they work with the dough, the better it becomes. This gives the participants an idea about the commitment and time spent with God. The more time you spend with God, the better your relationship is with Him and the better it becomes. We then take the salt dough "crust" and turn it into a Mezuzah. This ties the concepts of the crust being a good foundation that you must work with to make good - just like your relationship with God -  with the idea that our prayers to God and the scriptures and prayers used in the Mezuzah are our foundation with God. – S. Brockington
  
   
• Session 2: Sauce
  • Opening activity: Human Bingo
  • Another suggestion for a family project (similar to making a family tree), is to make a family “crest”.

  • A family crest shows the positive traits or history of a family. You may use your own design or the sample provided to create your own family crest. Draw a shield on a large poster-size sheet of paper. Choose a family color for the cross. Then include pictures, words and/or photographs in the sections as follows:

     

    a. A strong virtue or character trait of your family

    b. Something your family enjoys doing together

    c. A Favorite memory

    d. A favorite Bible verse

  • To introduce the lesson on sauce, I find all the spices in my kitchen that might be added to Spaghetti sauce, i.e. oregano, salt, season salt, pepper, sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, parsley.  I bring a sample of each spice in its own zip lock bag. Students try to identify the spices. Some are obvious. Some are similar (salt and sugar). Some may not be familiar. Talk about the special blend of herbs and spices that are required for spaghetti sauce. Talk about the quantity (sometimes only a dash or a pinch is enough for a recipe). 
     

• Session 3: Toppings
  • The Counselor Manual provides sample toppings on page 35. The following links contain these same toppings, including pages of each topping on its own separate sheet of paper. This gives you the option of printing the hot peppers on green paper, the tomatoes on red paper, etc.
  • Glue the toppings onto a transparency. This makes it easier to see the different layers of the pizza.
  • Full sheet of Mixed Toppings
  • Full sheet of Anchovies
  • Full sheet of Hot Peppers
  • Full sheet of Mushrooms
  • Full sheet of Onions
  • Full sheet of Peppers
  • Full sheet of Sausage
  • Full sheet of Tomatoes
     

  • In Lesson 3, instead of drawing the t-shirt in the book, we decorated actual t-shirts with tag lines like "I am God's special child" or "I am a GIFTED child of God" and let the kids add in pictures and words illustrating their special gifts with puffy paints.

    We discussed how our individual talents and skills make a stronger family,

    and we took turns complimenting and listing good things we noticed about each person as we made master lists to help with the t-shirt project....and to strengthen and encourage one another.   Who doesn't like to hear someone important in your life say nice things about you?!!! :o)
     

    It's takes 2-3 days to do both sides (since one side has to dry first) but a lot more fun for the kids and a good reminder of what they have to contribute to the family and the church talent-wise.  Lots of fun!

    
     

• Session 4: Cheese
  • Give bookmarks to your students to help them learn the Ten Commandments. Click here for NIV version. Click here for CEV version.
  • Ten Commandments numbering system variation sample. Click here to view.
  • Use the acronym BLUEPRINTS to remember the Ten Commandments. Click here to view.
  • Counting the Ten Commandments on your fingers. Click here for instructions.
  • A counselor in Long Beach recycled old CD’s and had her students make Ten Commandment mobiles out of them. Each CD had a commandment on it. Students decorated them with stickers.
  • When making the “cheese” for the pizza, instead of having the students write out each commandment, we had them fill in the blanks. Click here for fill in the blank pages. This was a quicker way for them to make a lot of cheese.  Cut the pages into 3 strips, each having 2 sets of commandments.
  • Glue the cheese onto a transparency. This makes it easier to see the different layers of the pizza.
     
• Session 5: Bake
  • Click here for the Oven Mitt template
  • Agree / Disagree Signs
  • On page 22 in the student workbook, the review chart on Faith Tools can be turned into a review activity.  Use these cards to match the Themes, Lessons and Faith Tools.  Then have the students complete the chart in the book.
  • We changed the opening activity. Instead of trying to punch holes without a hole-puncher, we tried to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches without butter knives. Our students really understood the importance of having the right tools!
  • To introduce the Bake lesson (which is a lesson on faith tools), I bring in as many different kitchen gadgets that I can find. The more unusual the gadget the better! Students love to try to guess how each “tool” is used and how it makes our job easier.
  • Instead of making a paper oven mitt, I bought cheap hot pads and let the girls decorate them with liquid embroidery and a Bible verse.
  • We showed the VeggieTales tape, “Rack, Shack, & Benny” to our fifth graders. They loved it!
  • Sarah made a real “God and Family” apron for our closing pizza party (see photo at right). She also made a casserole for the church freezer for a needy person. Sarasota, FL
     
• Session 6: Eat, Share, Enjoy!
  • I got unassembled pizza boxes from an upscale Italian restaurant and we assembled them inside out so that kids had a blank surface to work on.
  • We used the last class as a practical lab by “making and eating” real pizza. We finished the last week and discussed different parts of the pizza as we made it. We then discussed how sharing this builds our families just like God builds our families through sharing. We had all family members present for the party and it was a very meaningful experience.
  • We held our party at a local pizzeria. The students got to make their own pizzas!
  • We played a game of "Jeopardy" to review all that the students have learned in the God and Family program. The categories are the different parts of the pizza. The game is easy to set up. I tape the numbers to the chalkboard and hold the list of questions in my hand. Click here for a set of questions and number cards.
  • God and Family Pizza Hunt – this works like a scavenger hunt. Form teams (include at least two adults with each team!), and give each team a pan with pizza dough. Set a time limit for teams to visit homes in the neighborhood and find pizza toppings. Teams can only get one food item for their pizza at each house and it must be placed on the pizza. Meet back at the church at the designated time for a pizza party. You may want to invite family members. Bake all the pizzas (plus some “real” ones). Announce winners for different categories, i.e. best tasting, worst tasting, most unusual, most creative, most attractive, least attractive, most toppings, least toppings, etc. Close with discussion comparing the “scavenger pizzas” they baked with the “God and Family pizzas” they built over the previous weeks.
  • Sample pizza coupons - The Bremer family in St. Louis designed coupons for "Bremer Hut Pizza" (see photo at right)that they shared with their God and Family classmates. The coupon included a special treat: a miniature gummy candy pizza!
     
• Wrap-Up
  • Recipes
  • Sample Presentation Ceremony