Making Exodus Stick: A Ten Plagues Candy Activity for Kids

I felt sorry for Moses when God told him to go tell Pharoah to let the Israelites go. How scary would that have been? Besides being old, Moses did not have the gift of speech. I could relate. I get tongue-tied very easily and I have a stutter when I’m stressed. But isn’t it just like God to choose people who aren’t “qualified”?

God knew that it would take a lot of tries and failed attempts before the Israelites were allowed to leave. Studying Exodus shows us just how hard it was. If you want to delve into Exodus with your kids in a fun way, read on.

We’re making a ten plagues candy mix!

Things started off when God allowed Moses to bring Aaron with him for support. The first miracle performed was when Moses told his brother to throw his staff down and it turned into a snake (Exodus 7:8-13). But Pharoah’s sorcerers did the same thing (I always wondered how). So of course Pharoah was unimpressed. This was not one of the plagues, but it is still worthy of mention.

Use gummy snakes (or worms) if you’d like to add snakes to your mix.

Ann Kirsten

# 1 – Nile river turns to blood

God instructed Moses to strike the Nile with his staff. The water turned to blood and all the fish died. The Egyptians could not drink the water and it smelled awful. Even water that was in containers turned to blood. But Pharoah’s heart was still hardened and his sorcerers managed to mimic the same thing (again, how?). This was the first plague (Exodus 7:14-24).

Red Swedish fish represent blood and dead fish nicely.

Ann Kirsten

# 2 – Frogs

Seven days after the Nile incident, God sent Moses again to the Pharoah with the message that if he refused to let the Israelites go, He would send a plague of frogs. He warned that the Nile would teem with frogs and that they would get into the palace, the kneading troughs, and on the people themselves! (This would have been enough to convince my granddaughter. She is pretty sure frogs’ very reason for living is to jump on her face). (Exodus 8:1-7).

Gummy frogs suit the purpose for this plague.

Ann Kirsten

AGAIN the magicians replicated the same thing. The frogs were so annoying though that Pharoah promised Moses and Aaron that he would let the people go to worship if they would make the frogs leave. Of course he was lying. (Exodus 8:8-15)

# 3 – Gnats

Next, God told Moses to strike the dust in Egypt and all the dust would become gnats. If you’ve ever been attacked by a swarm of gnats, you know how miserable it is. Imagine all the dust turning into gnats! For once, the sorcerers and magicians could not conjure up any gnats and they recognized the hand of God. (Exodus 8:16-19)

Sno-Cap candy’s little white sprinkles mimic gnats nicely.

Ann Kirsten

# 4 – Flies

Pharoah’s heart was still hardened and he refused to let the people go to offer sacrifices to God. So God told Moses to confront Pharoah again and tell him flies would be sent next. Egypt would teem with them except none would be in the land of Goshen, showing that God’s people were separate and belonged to Him. The next day, flies were on the Egyptians and in their houses, in the palace, and on the land. Pharoah tried to negotiate by offering that the Israelites could worship their God right in Egypt. Moses refused and said they had to go into the wilderness. Pharoah agreed that if Moses would remove the flies the Israelites could go. But his heart was hardened again and he went back on his word. (Exodus 8:20-32)

Chocolate covered raisins are an easy representation of the flies.

Ann Kirsten

# 5 – Plague on Egyptian livestock

So God told Moses to tell Pharoah that a terrible plague would break out on the Egyptian livestock. The animals would die, but none of the Israelite livestock would be affected. Once again, God was showing who His people were. This was a catastrophic plague as the animals were needed for food. But Pharoah once again refused. (Exodus 9:1-7)

Animal Crackers represent the livestock.

Ann Kirsten

# 6 – Boils

Next, God told Moses and Aaron to take handfuls of soot from a furnace and throw it into the air in front of Pharoah. The dust would settle over the land and festering boils would break out on animals and humans alike. The magicians hid from Moses because not only could they not do the same thing, but they were covered with boils themselves. (Exodus 9:8-12)

Gummy berries are covered in tiny “boils” and are perfect for this. You could also use Red Hots if you prefer.

Ann Kirsten

# 7 – Hail

It was time for God to really show His power. He had Moses remind Pharoah that at any time He could have wiped the Egyptians off the earth. He warned the Egyptians to protect the animals and people inside as hail unlike any ever seen before would arrive the next day. Those who feared God protected themselves. Those who did not lost their slaves and their animals. No hail fell in the land of Goshen where the Israelites lived. (Exodus 9:13-26)

White gumballs represent the hail stones.

Ann Kirsten

Pharoah admitted that he had sinned and that he would finally let the Israelites go. Moses knew that Pharoah and his officials still did not fear God. But he stopped the hailstorm and once again Pharoah’s heart was hardened. (Exodus 9:27-35)

God told Moses that he had hardened Pharoah’s heart so that His power could be shown. He said that children and grandchildren should be told of the plagues so that they might know that “I am the Lord” (and that’s what we’re doing today!).

# 8 – Locusts

The next plague was locusts. The locusts would eat anything still growing after the hailstorm. They would cover the ground and enter all the houses. Pharoah’s officials had had enough and wondered how long Pharoah would refuse to humble himself. Once again, Pharoah tried to negotiate that he would allow only the men to leave. So Moses stretched out his staff and a wind came up that blew locusts into Egypt. The locusts ate every living thing that was left. Pharoah agreed to let the Israelites go. The wind changed and the locusts were blown into the Red Sea. Yet again, Pharoah hardened his heart and wouldn’t let God’s people go. (Exodus 10:1-20)

Locusts were hard to replicate in candy. I used Mary Janes and made a few cuts into them with scissors. Tootsie rolls would work too or you could simply use green Mike & Ike’s.

Ann Kirsten

# 9 – Darkness

God had Moses stretch out his hand towards the sky. And darkness fell “that could be felt”. Can you imagine such a darkness? The darkness covered Egypt for three days. The people couldn’t see anything or move about. The Israelites had all the light they needed, however. Pharoah tried to negotiate yet again and said the people could go to worship but they had to leave their livestock behind. When Moses refused, Pharoah was furious and told Moses that the next time he showed his face he would die. (Exodus 10:21-29)

Black licorice represents the darkness.

Ann Kirsten

# 10 – Egyptian firstborn sons

God told Moses that one last plague would be done and then Pharoah would allow God’s people to leave. The people prepared and gathered silver and gold from the Egyptians. At midnight, the firstborn of all the Egyptians and all their animals would die. (Exodus 11:1-10).

Sour Patch Kids represent the firstborns.

Ann Kirsten

Have you ever tried to eat a Sour Patch Kid? I did and I spit it out before even a second had passed! It represents a bitter plague indeed.

So there you have it; the ten plagues represented in candy form. I found all the candy at the dollar store except the frogs. After looking in four stores, I ordered the frogs online for a few dollars.

You could make a poster with the ten plagues candy, like this:

Ann Kirsten

Or, for a Sunday school class, treat bags with a sample of each candy would be fun. Have the kids make labels listing the ten plagues (my grandson wrote this one).