What better way to interact with this song then to build your own houses, with one that will wash away! In this The Wise Man and the Foolish Man Build a House singing time idea, you’ll do just that! Draw one house with permanent marker and then another with a washable marker and see what happens with the storm hits!
This will be such a fun way to interact while you teach The Wise Man and the Foolish Man (archives) in Primary!
The Wise Man and the Foolish Man Build a House
Preparation:
- Print out a copy of the beach scene and the rocky foundation scene. Laminate each or slip them into a sheet protector.
- Bring a permanent marker like a sharpie and a washable marker like a Crayola washable marker or even a wet erase marker. If you can source a wet erase marker, you’ll be able to wipe your finger across the drawing and show it looks just as steady as the sturdy house.
- Also prepare a spray bottle filled with water and a paper towel.
How to Play:
Sing through The Wise Man and the Foolish Man song once, before introducing this activity.
Invite a child to come up and draw a house on to the rocky foundation while you sing through the song again. Make a point to tell the kids how strong and sturdy the home is! Try not to make a big deal or let the kids notice when you switch markers.
Next, invite a child to come up and draw a house for on the sandy beach while you sing through the song again. This time, draw using the wet erase or washable marker. Wow! That looks like a nice strong sturdy house too! Which one do you think is the strongest house? What do you think will happen during a storm?
Reveal the hidden spray bottle! Invite a child to come up front and spray the water bottle “storm” on each of the houses – spraying the front of the scene. Watch as the house on the firm foundation stays, despite the rain. Then, the home on the sandy foundation will wash away as you spray!
Remind the children that the foundation in our lives is Jesus Christ! He is the sure foundation we can build our testimony on that will help us survive the storms in our lives.
Extension Activities:
Extended this activity into building a house using different materials (and foundations surfaces). Here are some ideas:
- Legos vs Marshmallows and toothpicks
- Lincoln logs vs straws
- Magnets on a chalkboard vs blocks on a table – shake the chalkboard and table to see what happens to your builds!
Hand out a small version to each child and let every child participate and draw their house! You might have one side of the room draw a home on a strong foundation – being careful to hand out sharpies to that side of the room. Then hand out sandy foundations to the other side of the room with washable markers!
For another fun similar activity, head over to see this Mother Dear Make Mom Cray singing time activity!
The Wise Man and the Foolish Man Build a House Printable Song Helps
This free in-post printable includes a 1-page printable with both foundations pictured in color!
This activity has extended printable available, including 1/4 page and full page illustrations in color, textured, and black and white! You’ll find these bonus files included in the INSTANT Primary Singing membership when The Wise Man and the Foolish Man is the featured song of the month.
Get more out of singing time with the INSTANT Primary Singing membership that includes printable lesson plans, tons of extended printables and an ad-free experience for each featured song of the month, or get immediate access to the entire song list for the year!
Learn more about INSTANT Primary Singing membership options here!
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For another engaging and fun hands on lesson to help you teach this song, you don’t want to miss this unique The Wise Man and the Foolish Man Rain Storm Object Lesson!
What other fun ways will you use this build a house singing time activity in your Primary room?
