Ruth Kid’s Lesson

Here is an easy 45-minute kid’s lesson on the story of Ruth. This lesson can be made from materials you already have and takes minimal prep.

At church, we have been working our way through “The Story” by Randy Frazee and Max Lucado. Every other week we meet as a group for dinner, worship, and then adult Bible study and kid’s lesson.

This week we’re studying Ruth, and I really struggled to find a Ruth kid’s lesson! I finally came up with something and thought I’d share for anyone else needing a lesson!

This lesson is meant to last about 45 minutes. We typically have about 12 kids ranging in age from 2-12

1) Ruth Video (4 minutes)

I’m in love with the video series called “God’s Story” from Crossroad Kids’ Club. They are solid videos that the kids love.

Here’s the video on Ruth:

2) Craft Time (15 minutes)

Next, the kids will make baskets out of paper plates. These will be used for activity later. Remind kids that these are like the baskets Ruth used to glean in the fields. Even though she wasn’t an Israelite, God took care of her by providing plenty of grain to collect. She became part of God’s special family and eventually be part of the family line Jesus came from!

Step 1: Draw folding and cutting lines on paper plates.

Step 2: Have kids cut on “cut” lines and fold along dotted lines.

Step 3: Have an adult staple the sides and make a hole punch.

Step 4: Tie on ribbon (I used pieces about18 inches long cut ahead of time)

Step 5: Decorate with stickers

Activity: (15 minutes)

Before kids arrive, hide “barley” throughout your space. I made enough copies so that each kid would be able to get about 4 pieces of grain.

Tell kids “Just like Boaz left grain for Ruth to collect, I have left grain for you to collect. Show example. You are going to see how many you can find and put them in your baskets! There are enough for each of you to have 4. If you find more than 4, share with someone who hasn’t found theirs yet”

Let kids know exactly what space they may search in, and what areas they should stay away from. We use the church sanctuary, so the stage area is off-limits and they do not need to search the balcony.

Free Printable PDF of Barley: (cardstock works best)

Discussion Questions

These can be done after the video, casually during craft time, or after the activity.

1. How did Ruth show kindness to Naomi? How did Boaz show kindness to Ruth?
2. Why do you think Ruth and Boaz were so kind to others?
3. Ruth and Boaz pleased God with their kindness to others. What are some ways you can show kindness to others?
4. How does Boaz marrying and redeeming Ruth mirror what Jesus did for us?
5. How does God use Ruth (a non-Jew) to bless and continue God’s plan? What might this tell us about God?
6. Just like Naomi and Boaz taught Ruth about God, who can you teach about God?

Closure- Prayer (2 minutes)

Extra time:

If there is leftover time- I like to have a few music videos ready to play. The group I currently have LOVES to dance, and really enjoys videos by SuperBook. Here’s a fun playlist.

If your group isn’t into dancing, have them take turns re-hiding and finding the barley.

Do you do lots of printing for your kids’ activities??

Read my post about how to save serious money on printing using the HP instant ink program.