Upon arriving at the Valley of Elah, David collects five stones and uses his sling to shoot a stone and take Goliath down. In this activity showing how one stone took down Goliath, kids try to pin a putty-like adhesive "stone" on Goliath. Similar to pin the tail on the donkey, the instructor puts the target -- in this instance, a large picture of Goliath -- on a wall and blindfolds the kids. Kids take turns walking toward the target and try sticking the "stone" as close to the middle of Goliath's forehead as possible. As an alternative, the instructor tapes a large picture of Goliath's head to a wall and gives each kid paper stones. Kids take turns slinging their "stones" at Goliath's head.
Rather than aim stones at Goliath's head, kids use marbles to take down Goliath in this activity. Using masking tape, the instructor creates a large square on a smooth floor and marks a small "X" in the center of the square. The instructor uses a permanent marker to write "G" on the large marble and places the marble on the "X" in the center of the square. Kids sit at the edge of the square and take turns sliding marbles toward the "G" marble; kids who knock "Goliath" off the "X" defeat the giant. As a variation, kids compete to see who takes the fewest number of tries to knock "Goliath" down.
Instructors may use finger plays and puppet shows to teach kids the story of David and Goliath. For a David and Goliath finger play, the instructor provides prompts to kids, who use their fingers to help tell the story. Using their right pinky finger and left index finger to represent David and Goliath, respectively, kids move the proper fingers when they speak and to show the character's actions.
When staging a David and Goliath puppet show, kids work in pairs. As one child tries to tell the story with puppets representing both characters, the other child constantly interrupts her. Rather than use a stone, kids use a piece of crumpled paper to throw at the Goliath puppet. To conclude the puppet show, kids use a catapult or slingshot to shoot candy at the audience.
Goliath constantly challenged Israelites to battle, but his towering size intimidated all except David. In this activity, kids learn that size does not necessarily indicate power and specialness. To help kids visualize Goliath's 9-foot size, the instructor puts a piece of masking tape on the wall from the floor upward. Kids choose a stone from among a pile of small stones and use a permanent marker to write a word that signifies their specialness. The stone helps kids remember that they are special and that one small stone helped David defeat Goliath.