The Great Story in Beads

Continuing with the camp activities that have been big hits with the kids, I present: The Great Story in Beads.

Over at thegreatstory.org, they have a page with curriculum for doing this with children with beads.  The beads symbolize different events in evolution: The Big Bang, the first flowers, etc.  Depending on how fancy you want to get about it, you can get special beads to represent those events or use a big mixed bead bag and leave it to the imagination.  I opted for simple and less expensive, but with fewer kids you could afford to spend more time and effort and money on a string.

Beading, and the tactile experience of sorting through a big bag of beads, appeals strongly to most of the children.

Another fun resource we used is the giant evolution playmat available from Charlie's Playhouse.  I own it and have used it in the past at home to have the kids put actual fossils out on the timeline, but it's sturdy enough for children to actually walk on, so it's very versatile.


Evolution is a great story - and most children just naturally find it fascinating. :)