Ask the children how many of them know this song. Either have someone in your congregation who is musical teach it to them or you can do it spoken like a poem. The reason you are teaching this song is to illustrate how items and experiences can compound and at times become overwhelming.
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea.
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea.
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea.
There’s a hole, there’s a hole
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea.
There’s a log in the hole in the bottom of the sea.
There’s a log in the hole in the bottom of the sea.
There’s a hole. There’s a hole.
There’s a hole in the bottom of the sea.
(Complete this pattern spoken or sung with the following additions. Let the children use their imagination but the following are some suggestions.)
There’s a bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea…
There’s a frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea…
There’s a hair on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea..
There’s a flea on the hair on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea…
There’s dust on the flea on the hair on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea…
Once everyone is giggling and no one can find their way anymore then talk about how the words just became too much. They were impossible to handle anymore.
Talk about how life can seem that way sometimes. Give an example of a day when you had too many things to do and you couldn’t possibly handle all the tasks, or, talk about a day when too many things happened to you and you were overwhelmed by them. Help the children to explore that life can be challenging sometimes. Give illustrations of people who find life hard. For example, people who are faced with hunger or even starvation, people who are trapped in wars, people who are sick and cannot care for their children. Emphasize that Jesus loves everyone including people who are really struggling. Jesus wants us to help people who feel like life is piling up with one hardship after another.
Explore ideas of how they could help someone who is poor to feel less overwhelmed
Explore ideas of how they could help people who are sick and unable to care for themselves or their loved ones.
Explore how they could care for a young person who has not only learned that his/her parents are separating but that this youth will also have to move away from his/her friends and school.
Help the children to appreciate that life can be hard especially if one trouble comes right on top of another. Jesus gives us hope and helps us through those times. Jesus also invites us to share that kind of hope with others by showing that we care. We probably can’t solve the problem, but we can give people relief and hope. “A burden shared is a burden halved.” Let’s find ways to be friends to those who are hurting.
