My kids had a great time with our Jonah Unit Study. We re-enacted the entire story on video, which you can watch inside the Unit Study Treasure Vault.
First Jonah was on a ship trying to escape from the Lord, going the opposite way of where God told him to go, to Tarshish instead of Nineveh. The ship was the back deck, and when Jonah was discovered sleeping, the captain woke him up. Everyone on the ship picked straws to see whose fault the storm was. Jonah picked the shortest straw (or pine needle, in our case). Then the kids threw Jonah gently off the side of the deck, where he splashed into the grass water. He swam for a while in the grass water of our backyard.
Jonah sank lower and lower into the water until he was swallowed by a large fish. In our case, it was the dining room table with a dark blue sheet over it. The children cut out teeth and taped them to the top of the table. The bottom teeth were taped together and taped to the sides of the table legs. We added a decorative spray that you can buy around the Fourth of July. We stuck the spray into a narrow flower vase.
Jonah prayed while he was in the belly of the great fish or whale. God spared his life for 3 days and 3 nights, and then the whale vomited Jonah onto land. Ptooey!
My son vomited himself out of the whale by jumping through the teeth. I told him not to be afraid to tear through the teeth. Jonah looked up as God commanded him once more to go to Nineveh. He finally obeyed.
Jonah preached one sentence, “In 40 days, God will destroy this city.”
He walked away. The people all repented in dust and ashes, so God relented and did not bring calamity. Jonah was upset with God because of His mercy toward these brutal Assyrians. He sat at the top of a hill overlooking Nineveh, and God caused a plant to grow overnight and give him shade. Suddenly a caterpillar ate the plant, and Jonah cursed the heat and wanted to die. God was mad at Jonah for being sad at the demise of a plant that grew up overnight, but not at the impending destruction of a city. Thus ends the book of Jonah.
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