A Large Group Lesson for a Snowy New Year

Many people have seen a lot of snow this winter. Even people who live in places that don’t ordinarily see snow.

Sometimes we complain about snow especially when it’s on the sidewalks and streets, but snow everywhere else can paint a beautiful picture.

We read in the book of Job:

Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail? (Job 38:22)

Here’s a thought for a beginning-of-the-year Large Group lesson (or something to discuss with your own children).

Wilson Bentley (1865-1931) was a young boy when he heard the phrase “no two snowflakes are alike.” He lived on a Vermont farm and spent a lot of time outdoors and saw a lot of snow. He become curious about snowflakes and after receiving a microscope for his fifteenth birthday, set about to draw snowflakes. That didn’t work because they melted too quickly so he decided to move to photography. However, back in the late 1800s, there was little equipment for photomicroscopy. After much trial and error he became one of the first people to photograph a single snow crystal. (Of course, no one has looked at EVERY snowflake – but scientific research supports the principle. )

He went on to photograph more than 5,000 snowflakes – putting each one on a piece of black velvet to highlight their intricacies. Eventually he became known as the Snow Flake man. (Snowflake Bentley is a children’s book – the 1999 Caldecott Medal winner and is available on Amazon.) Many of his images are on the web. A quick Google image search will bring up several. Somehow seeing the closeup pictures makes God’s treasury of the snow even more miraculous. (Although we have no indication that Wilson Bentley was a Christian or gave any indication that he recognized God as the Creator of the snowflake, we can certainly see the wonder of God’s creation through his photos.)

Here are some suggestions for a Large Group lesson:

1. Print out some of Snowflake Bentleys pictures for the clubbers to see.

2. Check out Snowflake Bentley from the library and show the pictures to the clubbers. (You could briefly give his bio.)

3. Bring in a snowball from outside (if available) and ask the clubbers how many different/individual snowflakes they think are in that one snowball.

4. Allow the kids to cut snowflakes from white paper and decorate the club room. You could have them each write a reason they are thankful on their snowflake. Add some glitter so the snow sparkles. (Or, if you’re doing this with your own personal child, decorate the dinner table with the snowflakes.)

A good gospel correlation is Isaiah1:18:– Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Most children love snow. Remind them how snowflakes are one example of God’s miraculous creation.