Jesus often used stories to illustrate his point.  The parable of the sower is an excellent story for children to explore the symbolism involved in parables.

Teacher Prep:  Read the parable in the different gospels.

Lesson Process:
Gain interest
Use a code to write the title of the message on the board, and ask the children to figure out what it says.  A simple code substitues the following letter for each letter, so A=B, B=C so The Parable of the Sower=Uif Qbsbcmf pg uif tpxfs

Tell the parable
Tell the story Jesus told using the Bible text.  Do not give them the explanation until later.

Explore and recall the story
Ask the children for their ideas as to what Jesus might have meant by the story.
Use the 5 Ws and H (who, what when, where, why, how) to list the characters and the action in the story.  Write them on the board in a list, so you can add the symbolic meanings beside them later.
 
 

Who:	farmer
What:	seed, birds, rocks, soil, birds, weeds
When:	planting time, scattering seeds
Where:	path, rocks, weedy soil, good soil
Why:	so plants could grow
How:	Scattered on the path ate by birds Grew in rock little growth and died Grew in Weeds growth choked by weeds Grew in good soil produced 30, 60, 100 times

Exlpain the Story
Ask again if the children have ideas about what the story means.  Tell them the disciples didn't understand either, and tell the interpretation of the story.  Fill in the chart on the board with the children.
 
 

Element	Meaning
Farmer/sower	God
Seed	Word of God
Birds	Devil
Path	Hard hearted people
Rocks	Little readiness in hearts
Thorns/Weeds	Other people
Good soil	Ready hearts
Planting time	Time for sharing
Sowing seeds	Sharing the gospel, preaching
Growing plants	People who hear word of God and grow
Scattered on path  -don't grow	The devil takes away the idea before people can believe
Scattered in rocks --grow and die	People hear, but there is no change
Scattered in weeds --grow and are choked out	People hear, but influence of friends makes them ignore the message
Scattered in good soil --produce 30, 60, 100 x	People who hear and are changed and tell others.

Application
Ask the children, "What kind of soil are you going to be?"
Give them the worksheet to complete.

Extended time:
Have the children create secret codes and dicipher them with one another.