LearningCycles series The Prophet and the Potter Creative Activities for Teaching about Jeremiah

The LearningCycles series offers a creative approach to faith formation based on different learning styles, appropriate for K-5th graders.  Each LearningCycles unit generally includes seven workshops: Art, Story & Games, Drama & Activity, Music, Kitchen, Movie, and Publishing.  This series works well for whole family/intergenerational catechesis and is a great basis for grandparent camps or other vacation bible schools.

In this cycle, we will study the story of Jeremiah, a prophet who was called as a child to bring God’s messages to the kingdom of Judah. Jeremiah was persistent and never gave up on Judah, even after their defeat and fall. His message to Judah before the fall was a warning and a condemnation for worshipping false gods and their failure to administer justice. However, after the fall, Jeremiah offers oracles of hope, reminding the people that God is with them and has promised a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34).

The most well-known image from Jeremiah is the Potter and the clay, a crucial element of this unit. Jeremiah doesn’t see Israel’s exile in Babylon as a final punishment for wrongdoing, but rather a tool in God’s hand to bring Judah back into restored relationship. All these events are seen as the restoration and rebuilding of Judah, and the future of Judah is ultimately a promise of hope and a reminder that God has loved them – and all of us – “with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).

• Art Workshop – Make clay pinch pots and talk about (or show) a potter’s wheel as a way to deepen the understanding of the Potter and the clay in Jeremiah.
• Publishing Workshop – Write a job description for the role of prophet and do word puzzles to engage with the question, “What is a prophet?”
• Drama Workshop – Do a freeze frame drama where students act like either sculpting clay or the potter/sculptor.
• Movie Workshop – Watch a movie that depicts the story of Jeremiah, and discuss how God called Jeremiah and what Jeremiah might have had to do or even give up to respond to that call. (Supporting DVDs can be found for sale here.)
• Story Workshop – Read stories and play games to open a discussion about forgiveness and consequences, which are both themes within Jeremiah.
• Kitchen Workshop – Make edible clay and use this clay to make shapes depicting different moments or images within the story.
• Music Workshop – Listen to and sing songs about being molded by God and reflect on how we are the work of God and how we might bear God’s fingerprints.

Click to find additional resources for use with this unit.