This soap craft is adapted from an old recipe that used Ivory soap flakes. The flakes are no longer being produced but this rendition worked well as an alternative.
The secret prize soap was used for a bible lesson in Sunday school for a preschool aged group. The concept was to create something that utilized the idea of inside and outside because God knows what we are thinking inside as well as what we are going outside our bodies.
The bible versus that relate to this lesson are I Samuel 13:5-14 and 15-16:13. This theme is when God rejects Saul because of Saul’s disobedience and chooses David as king of Israel.
Materials needed:
Meat grinder
Bars of ivory soap
Small token or toy, I used a ball – for each child
Paper bowls for each child
Small amount of water
Prior to our Sunday school lesson, I used my old-fashioned hand cranking meat grinder. If you don’t have one, you might try a potato peeler or a food processor. I brought the shredded soap to class in one large bowl. It looks a lot like snow.
Sunday morning, each child was given a bowl with a ball in it. I then gave them a heaping handful of soap shreds. This is a really messy craft because of the small pieces of soap that tend to travel. Pouring a small amount of water into each bowl to be used as a binder, the children then picked up a handful of soap shreds along with the toy. Apply pressure to the handful of soap and toy working much like making a snowball to bind it all together. You may find that an adult might need to help them get started, but once the ball begins to form, it is easy for the children to continue building it. They can make it as large as they desire.
While this craft is a bit messy, it is great for a wintertime craft whereas the children will wash with water only afterwards to clean themselves up. One adult in our class suggested it was a great craft for flu season because everyone needed to wash up afterwards.
The finished ball of soap was placed in a plastic bag for taking home. Asking the children what was inside? Who knows the ball is inside? Of course they do as well as God. We shared with the parents the concept of God knowing us inside and outside and that the soap was a reminder of this concept. We also alluded to the fact that there was a surprise inside but didn’t tell them so they could have a discussion with the children to further enforce the learning concepts.
The children seemed excited about the soap and were interested in using it for bath time at home according to the parents. While this craft was used to reinforce a bible lesson, it could also be used for a great wintertime craft that made snowballs that don’t melt!
