You probably don’t normally think “Charlie Brown” when you think of Bible lessons. You probably don’t think “chalk art,” either, for that matter.

Our small church body is in that place where we have a small class with a few students in a wide range of ages, and teaching to each age simultaneously can be a bit of a challenge. (Thankfully, I do have a smidge of experience in that department.)

That said, I do like to think outside the box a little bit. I initially thought I’d do this Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Chalk Art Tutorial from Hodge Podge at home with my kids, but then I decided to use this for a Sunday School lesson instead. It would work for either, obviously, and for any age!

Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Sunday School Lesson for All Ages

Supplies: 

• Chalk Pastels (we have this set of 48 chalk pastel colors)
• Drawing Paper with at least a medium texture
• Paper towels (for wiping hands, and can be used for blending.)
• Bible
• Permanent Marker
• trash bags (we made quick art smocks for the littles to protect their clothing)
• The Charlie Brown Thanksgiving tutorial from Hodgepodge

A note about paper: Our paper we had at the church turned out to be a little too smooth, but we used it anyway. For chalk pastels, you really need some texture, or “tooth.” Here’s a good reference article to use when choosing paper for different projects. 

Gather your Bible Verses

There are many, many Bible verses and passages that we can reference when thinking about Thanksgiving.

Here are a few of my favorite: 

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever! 1 Chronicles 16:34

I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High. Psalm 7:17

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! Psalm 95:2

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name! Psalm 100:4

Read through several Bible verses with your group. Talk about why it’s important to thank God for what He does for us, and what we are each thankful for. I love listening to children list everything they are thankful for, don’t you?

Draw Your Chalk Pictures

After the lesson, it’s time to draw! Letting each kid work at their own pace and level, pass out papers and chalk. I worked a step ahead of the kids, drawing the first part and letting them see it, and then drawing the second step while they worked on the first. When you have a wide variety of ages and interests, you will have a wide variety of attention spans and finished projects. And that’s okay! 

• My 15 year old joined us, she loves this. She was always several steps behind me because she paid more attention to detail and pulled up pictures of Charlie and Snoopy on her phone to look at.
• My 10 year old son wasn’t interested in the chalk pastels, so he opted to recreate it in MineCraft on his tablet instead.
• The 6 year old boy in our class LOVED THIS. It may have been the first time he’d worked with chalk pastels. He did the best he could, and I wasn’t sure which was Snoopy and which was Charlie, but that doesn’t matter because he did GREAT, he followed directions, and most importantly, he enjoyed it! He was so proud, and I missed getting a picture of his. =(
• The 6 year old’s little 2 year old sister wanted to stay with us, too. She scribbled with chalk pastels for a few minutes and then lost interest for other things–as expected. 😉
• My 12 year old started working on the picture with us, and then occupied the two year old in the nursery (which is also expected, because that’s her nature, too!)

It’s not important that everyone gets it “right”– there is no “right.” Encourage everyone to do their best, and to have fun.

After your pictures are finished, if you choose, you can write one of your Bible verses along the top in permanent marker.

Isn’t that simple? What a simple way to have fun while pointing the kids back to God as our provider and source of all that we have.