10 BACK TO SCHOOL PRETEEN OBJECT LESSONS

The end of summer is upon us, and preteens will soon be headed back to school.

So, we put together these 10 free back to school preteen object lessons for you. Add them to an upcoming message or use them as a foundation to build your own lesson.

Check them out below.

On a personal note..

You may or may not know this, but I launched my first preteen ministry way back in 1998. We started with a handful of students and leaders. I was humbled to see it grow. We soon had around 100 preteens at our weekend services. We were also able to develop a rock star team of committed volunteers. God did so many amazing things in those students and leaders. I led that preteen ministry until 2007. I moved to San Diego a couple of years later where I led a couple of preteen ministries, and eventually transitioned into youth ministry (junior high and young high schoolers). I stayed in youth ministry for a number of years. I thought I was done with preteen ministry.

In August of 2022, I dove back in preteen ministry as a volunteer small group leader at my church. Something opened up inside me. I felt God was calling me back to this age group. So, I went “all in”. The last year has been amazing journey. I had the opportunity to co-lead the preteen ministry on an interim basis, and I built some amazing relationships with the 6th graders in my small group. The interim position has now ended, but I remain on the preteen ministry staff part-time. I’ve also moved up with those 6th graders, who have now entered 7th grade in our junior high program. I’m a hybrid leader. Serving on the preteen staff, and volunteer with junior high.

Why do I mention all that? To let you know I’ve gone back to my roots.. preteen ministry. Back to the beginning of my ministry journey. Back to the reason I launched this website. I’ve come full circle. As a result, I’m motivated more than ever to rally our team to create amazing resources for preteen ministry! And I want to share my current journey in preteen ministry with you, hoping it inspires and educates you along the way.

So, stay tuned for many good things to come!

–Nick Diliberto

Looking for preteen curriculum?

BACK TO SCHOOL PRETEEN BUNDLE – Save 61% on $254 worth of preteen curriculum for back back to school & beyond. 

10 BACK TO SCHOOL PRETEEN OBJECT LESSONS

Here’s a snapshot of all 10:

1. Backpack (Burdens)
2. Chair (Faith)  
3. Computer (Purpose)
4. Glasses (God’s Eyes) 
5. Highlighter (Living for God) 
6. Lunch Money (Accepting Salvation) 
7. Markers (Unique & Valued)
8. P.E. (Prayer)
9. Pencil Sharpener (Stronger Together)
10. Whiteboard (Forgiveness) 

OBJECT LESSON 1: BACKPACK

Lesson: Burdens 

Bible Verses: Luke 6:36, James 2:13 

We don’t know what burdens others are carrying. 

Prep: Get 3 backpacks of different sizes if possible (but they can be the same size if necessary). In the largest one put some light weight items, such as feathers. In the medium sized one put some heavier items, such as a number of water bottles and in the smallest backpack put as heavy of items as you can, such as bricks or a lot of canned food items. 

Mark your Bible to Luke 6:36 and James 2:13. 

Demonstration: Call up 3 volunteers and privately tell them that you are going to give them each a backpack weighing a different amount and that you want them to try to each act like their backpack is the opposite of what it really is. So the person with the light backpack should try to act like it’s really heavy, the 2 folks with the heavier backpacks should act like they are pretty light. 

Then give them each a backpack to put on their backs and have them follow you to the front of your class. 

Tell your preteens you now need 3 additional volunteers who are willing to do jumping jacks in front of the class. Call up the 3 one at a time and let them choose which backpack they each want to wear while doing 10 jumping jacks. 

As they choose which backpack they want, have them say why they have chosen that backback. 

The point is to have them pick the ones that seem the lightest. 

Then have all 3 put on a backpack on their back and try to do 10 jumping jacks. 

“When you saw the backpacks being worn it was hard to tell how much each of them really weighed. One only had light objects but it seemed heavy and one had very heavy objects and it seemed pretty light. 

Many times this same thing happens in life. We see what people are like outwardly but we don’t know what they are going through in their lives or the feelings they may be dealing with. 

We are called by God to have mercy on everyone. Having mercy means having compassion for someone, especially someone who doesn’t deserve it. 

Luke 6:36 reminds us that “We first show mercy because God has shown us such great mercy by forgiving ALL our sins.” And the last part of James 2:13 says, “Mercy is better than judgment.” 

Instead of judging people by looking down on them, we should have mercy on everyone and love people no matter what.” 

Wrap Up 

“Remember that it doesn’t matter what we see about others on the outside. Maybe someone’s life seems perfect or maybe someone seems like a real jerk, but we have to remember to love everyone and show everyone mercy because we don’t know what others are going through.” 

OBJECT LESSON 2: CHAIR

Lesson: Faith 

Bible Verse: Hebrews 11:1 

Faith is trusting God. 

Prep 

Put a chair at the front of your room facing the class. 

Mark your Bible to Hebrews 11:1. 

Demonstration 

Ask a volunteer to come up and sit down facing the class. 

After they take their seat, act surprised questioning the student, “You aren’t going to make sure that chair is sturdy before you sit in it?” “You sat down so quickly. What if the chair wasn’t strong enough to hold you?” 

“Why did you trust that chair without knowing anything about it?” 

Object Lesson 

“If we walk into a new place, we don’t usually think before we sit right down in a chair. We don’t check to see if the chair is stable or strong enough to hold us; we just trust that it can do it. 

Faith works the same way. Faith means believing or trusting something without proof. 

Just like we have faith that chairs will hold us, God has called us to have faith in Him and in his word, the Bible. 

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”” 

Wrap Up 

“Trusting God can be hard because we can’t see him, and often we can’t understand what He’s doing in our lives. But He has told us to have total faith in Him.”

Looking for preteen curriculum?

BACK TO SCHOOL PRETEEN BUNDLE – Save 61% on $254 worth of preteen curriculum for back back to school & beyond. 

OBJECT LESSON 3: COMPUTER

Lesson: Purpose 

Bible Verse: Matthew 22:37-39 

We have been created for a purpose. 

Prep 

Get a laptop, a plate, a small amount of food, and a napkin. 

Mark your Bible to Matthew 22:37-39. 

Demonstration 

Hold up the computer and ask you’re class what they like to use this object for. 

After they give some answers tell them that you like to use this laptop only as a little lap table. 

Sit down and put it on your lap and then put a plate and napkin on top of it and proceed to eat something off the plate. 

Object Lesson 

“Have you ever seen a laptop computer used only as a table? That would be such a waste, wouldn’t it? 

You can use a computer for many things. You could lay it down, put a little tablecloth on it and make it a small table. You could stand on it as a small stool. You could open it and use its screen as a really poor mirror. 

If you use a computer for anything other than a computer, it is a big waste of all the potential the computer has, like using the Internet, typing stories on it, playing games, etc. 

God created you with specific purposes special for your life. Obviously you can be and do a lot of things, just like a computer, but the challenge is finding the special things God created you for and doing them to the best of your ability.

Our main purpose is to love God more than anything and then to love other people. 

Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-39, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 

God has also created each of you with important purposes unique to just you. You have special gifts and talents from God. You may not even know yet what your special gifts and talents are, but you can find out by praying and asking God and possibly by asking other believers, too.” 

Wrap Up 

“We have been created to love God and others and to use our special talents and gifts from God. We can be like a computer that is used the right way, or we can be like a computer used for a lesser purpose. We have to decide.” 

OBJECT LESSON 4: GLASSES

Lesson: God’s Eyes 

Bible Verse: 1 Samuel 16:7 

We should see others the same way that God sees them. 

Prep 

Get a poster board and use a black permanent maker to make something like an eye chart you’d see at an eye doctor’s office. Make a top row of a few large letters, make the second row of letters a little smaller and then make the third row pretty small, but still readable for someone with good sight from a distance. 

Find a student or teacher who wears glasses or contacts (the poorer their vision the better), and privately ask them if they’d be comfortable doing a sight test in front of the class first without their glasses and then with them on. 

Mark your Bible to 1 Samuel 16:7. 

Demonstration 

Call up the student or teacher who agreed to participate. 

Have them take off their glasses and then give another student the poster and hold it up at a distance. Try to have them hold it facing the class so everyone can see when the volunteer is right and wrong. 

Then have the volunteer without their glasses on try to read from the poster line by line starting from the top. 

After they’ve read all the lines on the poster have them put on their glasses and try again from the top. 

Object Lesson 

“Some of us have to wear glasses so that we can see things how they really are. When someone without perfect vision puts on glasses they can see clearly. 

In the same way that our vision works, we as people aren’t perfect; so, we often don’t see many things correctly. 

Instead of seeing people how we naturally see them we need to see people through God’s eyes, the way he sees them. 

If someone is attractive or cute we like them more, are nicer to them, or try extra hard to be their friends. 

We often judge people by how they look. But the Bible clearly says that this is not how God views people. 

In the book of 1 Samuel, God tells Samuel, a very important prophet—which means a man who told people God’s will—to visit a certain family because a son in that family would one day be the king of their nation Israel. Samuel sees the oldest brother and instantly thinks he must be the future king, but God corrects him in I Samuel 16:7, saying, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 

Samuel then met 6 more brothers until God told him none of them would be king. Finally, God showed Samuel that the youngest brother, who was actually outside watching sheep, would be the king of Israel. The boy’s name was David and he was a man very special to God. 

You see, God didn’t care about how David looked. He didn’t care who was the most handsome, the biggest, oldest or the most experienced. God knew David’s heart.” 

Wrap Up 

When we see other people, let us see them with our God glasses on so that we look at their hearts instead of judging them by what we see on the outside. 

Looking for preteen curriculum?

BACK TO SCHOOL PRETEEN BUNDLE – Save 61% on $254 worth of preteen curriculum for back back to school & beyond. 

OBJECT LESSON 5: HIGHLIGHTER

Lesson: Living for God 

Bible Verse: Mark 5:15 

Our lives should constantly highlight God’s work. 

Prep 

Print out a paper with a short sentence on it in large bold letters so that it can be seen from a distance. Then completely highlight just one of the words with a bright highlighter. 

Demonstration 

Hold your paper up in front of your class. Ask for them to tell you which word stands out. 

Then ask them why that word specifically stood out? 

Object Lesson 

“A highlighter is an interesting tool. It’s designed to make certain words stand out by putting a bright color over them to draw attention to them specifically. If you’ve ever read something that you or someone else had highlighted, the highlighted words jump out at you and you know they are the most important. Jesus told us to be highlighters. He said in Mark 5:15 that you wouldn’t light a lamp and then hide it under a bowl. Instead, you’d put it in a place where it would give light to your home. In the same way, we should live our lives so that people can see Jesus through us. We shouldn’t hide our faith, but should be highlighters, making God stand out through our words and actions.” 

Wrap up “When others see us, they should see God’s work highlighted so it stands out, and they can see it more clearly. We should be so much like Jesus that our lives constantly ‘highlight’ who he is.” 

OBJECT LESSON 6: LUNCH MONEY

Lesson: Accepting Salvation 

Bible Verse: John 3:16 

Jesus paid the price for us to have a relationship with God, but it’s our choice to accept that relationship or not. 

Prep 

Get 2 $5 bills and get 2 cool prizes. 

Mark your Bible to John 3:16. 

Demonstration 

Call up 2 volunteers and give each a $5 bill. Tell them that they can use their $5 to get a prize you have for them or they can keep the money. After they think about it a moment, tell them there’s a catch. Say, “If you keep the money, you can have it the entire class time, but you must give it back before you leave the room when class is over.” 

Then let them either purchase the prizes or keep the money (until class is over). 

Object Lesson 

Ask students: 

1. “What was a better decision in this situation?” (Take responses) “Yeah, the prize they could keep!” 

2. “When did the prize become the volunteers’ to keep?” (Take responses) “Right, when they gave me the money for it.” 

3. “Many of you go to school with lunch money in your pocket, but it’s your choice to spend the money or not. If you’re in the cafeteria, when does a lunch tray become yours?” (Take responses) “Right! After you pay for it! So it’s not enough to have lunch money, you have to pay for lunch if you want food.” 

Having a relationship with God works the same way. Jesus died on a cross to pay for our sins so that we can freely know God, but that’s not enough. We have to decide whether we will accept that gift and use Jesus’ sacrifice to pay for our sins or not, just like we have to decide whether to spend our lunch money or not. 

However, the great news is that all we have to do is to believe Jesus is Gods’ son, ask him to forgive us for everything we’ve done wrong, and commit to loving and obeying him. 

John 3:16 sums this all up saying, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”” 

Wrap Up 

“God is offering us a relationship with Him, but we have to do our part and accept His offer and then we will have a relationship with Jesus forever.” 

Looking for preteen curriculum?

BACK TO SCHOOL PRETEEN BUNDLE – Save 61% on $254 worth of preteen curriculum for back back to school & beyond. 

OBJECT LESSON 7: MARKERS

Lesson: Unique & Valued 

Bible Verse: 1 Corinthians 12:21 

Everyone in the Body of Christ is unique and valuable. 

Prep 

Get a whiteboard/white poster and as many different colored markers as you can find. 

Draw a line in each color on your whiteboard or poster. 

Mark your Bible to 1 Corinthians 12:21. 

Demonstration 

Call up a volunteer to the whiteboard or poster. 

Go through the colored lines one at a time and have all your student’s raise their hands for which color they think is best. 

Have your volunteer write the number of hands raised for each color beside each colored line. 

Object Lesson 

“Honestly, is one color better or more important than another? 

Well, you may think so, but that’s just your opinion. 

No colors are good, bad, or better or worse than others. 

You may like one color more than another, but that’s just your taste versus someone else’s. 

Just like all colors are different and beautiful in their own way, all followers of Jesus are different but special and have their own unique purpose. 

The Bible tells us that all people who follow Jesus make up the Body of Christ, and we each have a special but different role in the Body. 

1 Corinthians 12:21 explains, “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” Every Believer is different but important.”” 

Wrap Up 

“Just like we use different colors for different purposes, we are each different and made for different purposes. None of us are better or worse than others, we all are created differently so that we can work together to make one beautiful picture.” 

OBJECT LESSON 8: P.E. / SPORTS

Lesson: Prayer 

Prayer practice makes perfect! 

Prep 

None! 

Demonstration 

Ask two volunteers to come to the front of your class and have them try to pat the top of their heads while rubbing their stomachs in a circle motion at the same time. 

After they try for a minute, have everyone else stand up and try. Then give everyone a minute or two to practice. Then see if anyone is able to do both at the same time successfully. 

Object Lesson 

“Just like with patting our heads while rubbing our bellies, if we don’t practice certain athletic activities or sports, we aren’t as good as we could be. Even if you’re naturally good at a certain sport, failure to practice will keep you from being the best you can be. 

Practicing is often hard and takes a lot of patience because it’s not easy to challenge yourself to improve. But luckily, when we see positive results, we forget all the hassle of practicing. 

Can anyone tell us about something you weren’t good at, but eventually got better at with practice? 

That’s a lot like how prayer works. Sometimes praying can be hard. It can be really difficult to make time to pray, and then when we do pray, we get distracted or can’t think of anything to say to God. 

The good news is that the more we practice praying, the easier and more natural it is. 

If you will take the time and effort to practice praying, it will get easier and you’ll get much better at it!” 

Wrap Up 

“I challenge you to start praying 5 full minutes every morning before school this week. Wake up 5 minutes early, kneel beside your bed, and talk and listen to God the whole time. This may be hard at first, but with practice you will be shocked at how easy and enjoyable it will become.” 

Looking for preteen curriculum?

BACK TO SCHOOL PRETEEN BUNDLE – Save 61% on $254 worth of preteen curriculum for back back to school & beyond. 

OBJECT LESSON 9: PENCIL SHARPENER

Lesson: Stronger Together 

Bible Verse: Proverbs 27:17 

We are called to help make our fellow Christians stronger. 

Prep 

Get 4 unsharpened pencils, a pencil sharpener, a rock, a piece of paper, and a lemon. 

Mark your Bible to Proverbs 27:17. 

Demonstration 

Call up 4 volunteers and give each an unsharpened pencil and 1 of the 4 other items. 

Then tell them they each have 20 seconds to sharpen their pencil using only what they each have. Obviously only one will be successful. 

Object Lesson 

“No matter how much you need or want a pencil sharpened, a lemon cannot sharpen it. 

And without being sharpened, a pencil isn’t useful at all. 

Being sharp reminds me of the verse Proverbs 27:17 which says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” 

We are called as followers of Jesus to “sharpen” each other; to help each other become stronger and more purposeful Christians. 

Some ways we can sharpen each other are: to pray for each other, to be encouraging, to be good examples, and to lovingly teach each other. 

But we have to remember, for us to make others sharp we have to be sharp ourselves.” 

Wrap Up 

“We are called to be sharp and to help sharpen our fellow Jesus followers. The sharper we are, the sharper those around us will be by spending time together.” 

OBJECT LESSON 10: WHITEBOARD

Lesson: Forgiveness 

Bible Verses: Isaiah 43:25; 1 John 1:9 

Jesus wants to erase all our sins forever. 

Prep 

Get a clean whiteboard, 2 dry erase markers and 2 erasers and/or cleaning spray and paper towels. 

Mark your Bible to Isaiah 43:25 and 1 John 1:9. 

Demonstration 

Invite 2 volunteers to the white board and give both of them a dry erase marker. 

Direct them to use the markers to make the board as “messy” as they can within 15 seconds. 

When the time is up, invite 2 new volunteers and give them each erasers or cleaning spray and paper towels and have them clean the board completely as quickly as they can. 

Object Lesson 

“Now that it’s erased, can you still see the marks on the white board? 

What if these marks had been made and erased 2 weeks ago? Could they just reappear on their own? 

Right. Once something has been erased from a whiteboard (as long as it was erased well) you can’t see it again. It doesn’t matter if it was just erased an hour ago or years ago. 

In the same way, when we ask Jesus to forgive our sins he forgives them completely. It doesn’t matter if you start to have a relationship with Jesus today, or made that commitment years ago. Once you ask God to forgive you, he erases all your sins and they are forgotten completely. 

In Isaiah 43:25 God says, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.” 

Looking for preteen curriculum?

BACK TO SCHOOL PRETEEN BUNDLE – Save 61% on $254 worth of preteen curriculum for back back to school & beyond.