First Look TM Curriculum for Preschoolers

Transcription

1 First Look TM Curriculum for Preschoolers We want preschoolers to take a first look at who God is and understand... God made me. God loves me. Jesus wants to be my friend forever. Editor in Chief: Kathy Hill Editor: Kristen Brady Copy Editor: Dana Wilkerson Curriculum Writer: Autumn Ward, Donna High Illustrators: Jodi Blackwell Graphic Designer: David Hill FL Creative Team: Sue Miller, Lois Pallansch, Kathy Hill, Kendra Fleming, Autumn Ward, Ashley Hiers, Donna High, Abbey Carr, Danielle Schneller Chief Executive Officer: Reggie Joiner Chief Operating Officer: Reggie Goodin Executive Director: Sue Miller Technical and Web Support: Hadley Brandt Partner Support: Deb Springer Scripture quotations marked NCV are quoted from the Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, Dallas, Texas Used by permission. All rights reserved. These resources are intended to be downloaded and printed for use by the subscribing entity only and may not be electronically transferred to or duplicated by other nonsubscribing entities. Any unauthorized reproduction of this material or incorporation into a new work is a direct violation of US copyright laws First Look. All rights reserved. STATEMENT OF FAITH USER AGREEMENT The rethink Group, Inc. gladly grants permission to churches, schools, and other licensees to tailor First Look TM materials to fit their unique leadership requirements, locale and format preferences, and physical environment needs. However, if you wish to edit the content substantively, including Bible stories, learning activities, scripts, and any other content in which biblical principles and concepts are presented, you are obligated to do so within the doctrinal guidelines we ve expressed in our Statement of Faith. Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 1

2 June 1, 2014 Theme: Clubhouse Pirate Adventure Basic Truth: God Made Me God Loves Me Jesus Wants to Be My Friend Forever Key Question: What is better than gold? Bottom Line: The Bible is better than gold! Memory Verse: Your teachings are worth more to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. Psalm 119:72, NCV Bible Story: The Bible is better than gold. The Bible is better than gold. Psalm 119:72 Here s an overview of what you ll be teaching in 3s 5s this week. Make It Fun (Choose one or all of these activities.) Treasure Hunt Dress Like a Pirate Pirate Senses Make It True Worship Introductory Sketch Bible Story If you are choosing to lead Treasure Hunt during Make It Fun, post the Allergy Alert Poster from the Start Here tab on the Website. Be sure to list the foods you will be serving today. As parents bring their children to your room, call their attention to the sign. Make It Stick (Choose as many of these activities as you like.) Memory Verse with Motions Always True, Right, and There Going Shopping Land Ho! The Bible Is a Treasure Make It Real Small Group Time Prayer Dismiss Parent CUE Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 2

3 June 1, 2014 Theme: Clubhouse Pirate Adventure Basic Truth: God Made Me God Loves Me Jesus Wants to Be My Friend Forever Key Question: What is better than gold? Bottom Line: The Bible is better than gold! Memory Verse: Your teachings are worth more to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. Psalm 119:72, NCV Bible Story: The Bible is better than gold. The Bible is better than gold. Psalm 119:72 Make It Fun (Introductory Activities, 10 minutes) Prepare to offer one or more of the following activities as Your 3-, 4-, or 5-year-olds arrive. Let one or two teachers lead activities in different areas of the room while another teacher greets parents and kids at the door. 1. Treasure Hunt Treasure Hunt is an activity that incorporates large motor movement, social skills, and investigation to introduce the Bible story ideas of treasure and one thing being better than another. Be sure to list the foods you will be using today on the Allergy Alert Poster from the Start Here tab on the Website and post it at the door to your room. What You Need: A basket or large dark bag and the following sets of items: 1. A balloon that has been blown up and a balloon that has a large hole in it. 2. A nice, clean shirt and a shirt that has dirt stains all over it. 3. A toy car in great condition and a toy car that is missing some wheels. 4. An unopened pack of candy and an empty wrapper of the same candy. 5. An unopened juice box and an empty juice box. What You Do: Before the activity: Hide all of your items in a basket where the children cannot see them. During the activity: Ask the children to stand in the middle of the room and close their eyes while you hide one pair of items in the room. Once you ve hidden the items tell the children to open their eyes. Now the fun begins! Send the children on a treasure hunt to find the two items you hid. When they find the items, ask them to tell you which of the treasures is better than the other. Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 3

4 What You Say: Before the activity: Come stand with me in the middle of the room. We re going on a treasure hunt! First, I need you to close your eyes so I can hide our treasure. No peeking! (Hide one pair of items.) Okay, open your eyes. Are you ready to find some treasure? (Pause.) Let me hear you say, Arrrrg, like a pirate! (Pause.) Sounds like you re ready! Go! During the activity: Ooo, let s see what treasure you found! It looks like two balloons. One is blown up and one is not. Hmm, which of these treasures do you think is better than the other? (Pause.) That s what I think! I would rather have a blown-up balloon I can play with than one that has no air. Yessir, mateys, this balloon is better! Come on, ye little pirates, let s go stand in the middle of the room and play again! (Say something like this each time you find a treasure.) At the end of the activity: Arrrg, treasure hunts are fun! Thanks for playing along with me, mateys. Our Bible story today is about a REAL treasure. And guess what! This treasure is better than gold! Ah, now that s some treasure! 2. Dress Like a Pirate Dress like a Pirate is an activity that allows the children to use their imagination while introducing the theme for the week. What You Need: 2 sets of pirate clothing (pirate hat, white poufy shirt, and eye patch), 2 stuffed animal parrots, and a stopwatch or timer. What You Do: Before the activity: Divide the children into two equal teams and give them a set of clothing and a parrot. Then set the stopwatch or timer for one minute. During the activity: Ask each team to pick one member to be their pirate. When you say, GO! begin the stopwatch and encourage each team to dress their pirate in the clothing provided. When the stopwatch is finished, announce that time is up. At the end of the activity: Admire each team s pirate. What You Say: Before the activity: Arrrg! Okay, mateys, it is time to play a pirate game. First we have to divide you into two pirate teams. (Divide the children into teams.) Great! Now we have to two pirate-tastic teams. During the activity: I have some pirate clothes here (hold up set of clothing) and a parrot (hold up parrot). Choose one person from your team to be the pirate. (Help each team decide on their pirate.) When I say, GO, I am going to start my watch (hold up stopwatch) and give you one minute to put all of the clothes onto your pirate. Let s see Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 4

5 which team can work together and dress their pirate the fastest! Don t forget to give your pirate his parrot after he is dressed. Are you ready? (Pause.) GO! At the end of the activity: Great job, mateys! You all worked very well together and your pirates look pirate-awesome! It is fun to pretend to be pirates. Pirates used treasure maps to search for something. Hmmm, do you know what they like to look for? (Pause.) Yes! Gold! Pirates are ALWAYS looking for gold. Today, in our Bible story, we are going to find out that there is something MUCH better than gold. I cannot wait to find out what that is! 3. Pirate Senses Pirate Senses is an activity that uses investigation, fine motor, and observation skills to introduce the Bible story idea of something being more valuable than gold. The children will also have the opportunity to identify shapes and colors. What You Need: Clear plastic bottles, rice, and craft jewels in a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. (Note: You can increase the safety of your sensory bottle by hot gluing the top in place once you have filled a bottle. This allows the children to shake, twist, and turn the bottle without the risk of the top coming off.) What You Do: Before the activity: Fill your clear plastic bottle with rice and craft jewels. Make sure there is enough room for the rice and jewels to move around. You also want more rice than jewels so the jewels can hide in the rice and reveal themselves as the bottle is turned. (Note: The number of sensory bottles you make will depend on the number of children you have. One bottle for every two children will give them the opportunity to share without having to wait too long for a turn.) During the activity: Give the children the sensory bottles to investigate and observe. Show them how to twist and turn the bottles. Ask them to identify the shapes and colors they see. Ooo and ahh over the beautiful jewels together. Talk about how valuable real jewels are. What You Say: Before the activity: Okay, little pirates! I have some bottles filled with beautiful treasures. Let s see if you can find all the hidden treasures. During the activity: Ooo! What do you see? (Pause.) That looks like a diamond. What color is a diamond? (Pause.) Diamonds are so beautiful and very valuable. Valuable means they are worth a lot of money! (Continue with this kind of dialogue while the children play with the sensory bottles.) Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 5

6 At the end of the activity: In our Bible story today we ll hear about something even more valuable than jewels or gold. What do you think could be more valuable than jewels or gold? Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 6

7 June 1, 2014 Theme: Clubhouse Pirate Adventure Basic Truth: God Made Me God Loves Me Jesus Wants to Be My Friend Forever Key Question: What is better than gold? Bottom Line: The Bible is better than gold! Memory Verse: Your teachings are worth more to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. Psalm 119:72, NCV Bible Story: The Bible is better than gold. The Bible is better than gold. Psalm 119:72 Make It True (Large Group, 15 minutes) After children have participated in Make It Fun, gather them for a large group time that includes interactive worship, introductory sketch and Bible story. A Worship Leader and live instruments are recommended to sing along with the music tracks. Encourage children to be active during worship by incorporating the appropriate hand motions. Choose an adult or teenager who relates well to preschoolers to tell the Introductory Sketch. If possible, use the same person for an entire month as the Host role stays the same each month. Choose an engaging adult to tell the Bible story. This person should be able to command the attention of preschoolers and control the group through animated storytelling. These scripts are written to be told and not read. Advanced preparation is necessary. Worship For additional worship resources to equip your worship leaders and worship team, visit What You Need: Paperclip Memory Verse Card from the Week One Activity Pages on the Website in your Bible at Psalm 119:72. You will also need a CD player and this month s worship song, The Bible is the Treasure which you will need to download from the Website. You will also need God Made Me SHINE! available at or on the CD Wherever I Go. WORSHIP LEADER: Hello, friends! It s so nice to see you all today! Have you had a fun-filled pirate kind of day so far? (Pause.) Me, too! What s been your favorite part? (Allow a few children to answer.) Those sound really fun! My favorite was the Treasure Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 7

8 Hunt. It reminded me that we will all be learning a lot about a very special treasure this month. Do you know what that treasure might be? (Pause.) It s the Bible! The Bible is a treasure that s filled with so many wonderful things that God wants us to know. In fact, it s such a great treasure that [Bottom Line] the Bible is BETTER than gold! Can you believe it? It s true! I have a brand new song that we re going to learn that will help us to remember just that. If you re ready to sing it with me give me your best pirate ARRRG on three. One, two, three ARRRG! Wow! You sound ready to me! Let s sing together. Lead children in singing The Bible is the Treasure. WORSHIP LEADER: I didn t know pirates could sing so well! You sounded AWESOME! So tell me, what is better than gold? CHILDREN and WORSHIP LEADER: [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! WORSHIP LEADER: That s right: [Bottom Line] the Bible is better than gold! Do you know why it s better than gold? (Pause.) Because it s filled with all kind of things for us to learn about that are worth more than the money in any of our piggy banks! Our Memory Verse says it like this, Your teachings (hold hands like a book) are worth more to me (bring fisted hands to chest like holding something precious) than thousands (hands explode up and out) of pieces of gold and silver (hands in front rubbing fingers together like greedy for money), Psalm 119:72 (open hands like a book). Do you think you could practice that with me? (Pause.) Repeat just the words after me. CHILDREN and WORSHIP LEADER: Your teachings (pause) are worth (pause) more to me (pause) than thousands (pause) of pieces (pause) of gold and silver (pause), Psalm 119:72. (Repeat as many times as desired.) WORSHIP LEADER: Great job! One of the teachings that I think is so important is how God made all of us. He did! [Basic Truth] God made me, and He made each of you, too. He made us all to do some pretty AMAZING things. I have a song for us to sing that talks about that. It says, God made me, and He loves me so, and He is my friend forever (clap on beat and rock back and forth). God made me, and He loves me so, and He is my friend forever (clap on beat and rock back and forth). And He makes me jump up high (jump), fall down low (drop to crouch with hands on the ground), spin around in a circle (stand up and spin), run, run fast (run in place), walk, walk slow (stomp in place), stop (plant your feet), lift my hands (both hands in air in a V shape) and SHINE! (Do jazz hands with wiggling fingers.) Do you think you can do that with me? (Pause.) Great! We ll go over the motions before we start. (Repeat motions a few times to get the children familiar with them.) Lead children in singing God Made Me SHINE! Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 8

9 WORSHIP LEADER: Great singing! I m so glad that [Basic Truth] God made me and you. I can t wait to hear today s Bible story so I can learn more about that and the other treasures that we ll discover. I ll see you next time! Worship Leader exits. Bible Story First Look offers weekly Bible story on our DVD titled Wonder, Look at God s Story, which you may choose to use rather than a live Storyteller this week. This DVD is available for purchase at the rethink store on our Website. Each week during the Bible story the storytellers will be going on a Treasure Hunt. We have provided you with ideas to get you started that are housed in the Clubhouse Pirate Adventure tab on the Website. You can also see the Theme Notes for June for additional notes and suggestions on how to create your own Treasure Hunt. What You Need: Treasure Map and Story Pictures to go on the map from the Clubhouse Pirate Adventure tab on the Website, a trunk of pirate costumes and props, eye patch, fake beard, bandana, hook, small bottle with paper clue inside ( Clue #1 This treasure tells us about the best friend who always loves you. ), Bible Treasure Box, and a jeweled chalkboard with Psalm 119:72 written on it. There is a huge trunk overflowing with pirate costume pieces and props sitting in the center of your storytelling area. Martin, wearing an eye patch, leads Maggie in. MARTIN: See? Just look at all this pirate stuff! MAGGIE: Wow! You re right, Martin! This pirate stuff is cool! MARTIN: (Put on an eye patch.) Arrrr, matey. How do you like me eye patch? MAGGIE: (Pull out pirate hat and put it on.) Love it! How about this hat, my piratey friend? (Giggle.) MARTIN: (Glance up.) Very piratey! (Look at kids and wave.) Hey there, friends! I m Martin. MAGGIE: And I m Maggie! MARTIN: We re playing pirates! (Martin ties a bandana on his head. Maggie pulls out a beard.) MAGGIE: (To the kids) How do I look with a beard? (Put it on.) Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 9

10 MARTIN: (Laugh.) You look funny, Maggie. MAGGIE: This is so fun! Hey, I just got a great idea! I think we can use all of this stuff to go on a pirate adventure! (Maggie starts pacing and mumbling to herself like she s planning something grand. She says words like treasure, hunt, adventure, and clues. Martin just stares at her. She suddenly stops and looks at Martin with excitement.) MAGGIE: I got it! (Say the rhyme slowly) The best treasure of all is waiting for you. Search high and low for just the right clue. Then you ll spy something hidden that s better than gold woo-hoo! MARTIN: A treasure hunt? MAGGIE: Yes! A treasure hunt! MARTIN and MAGGIE: A TREASURE HUNT! MARTIN: We re going to find a treasure! (Pause.) That means gold! MAGGIE: (To the kids) Oh, I think it s going to be better than gold! But what could be better than gold? MARTIN: I don t know, but I can t wait to find out! MAGGIE: (Start the chant while looking at Martin) We re going on a treasure hunt, a treasure hunt, a treasure hunt. MARTIN and MAGGIE: We re going on a treasure hunt. I wonder what it is?! (Martin turns around to check out the storytelling area. A small bottle is now visible in his back pocket.) MARTIN: Where should we start, mateys? MAGGIE: Hey, what s that? MARTIN: What s what? MAGGIE: Behind you! (Martin turns around.) MAGGIE: No, silly. Here! Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 10

11 (Maggie pulls the bottle out of Martin s pocket.) MARTIN: I think it s our first clue to the hidden treasure. And it s in a bottle! This is so exciting! MAGGIE: Pull the clue out with us, friends! Everybody hold your bottles like this and pull. (Maggie is pretending to hold a bottle and pull out the clue to show the kids what to do. Martin is doing it for real.) MARTIN: Clue #1 This treasure tells us about the best friend who always loves you. MAGGIE: (To kids) Ooo. I love friends. Raise your hand if you have some friends! MARTIN: Friends always want to hang out with you. MAGGIE: They care about you. MARTIN: (To Maggie) And they like to come over and play pirates with you. MAGGIE: Friends are the awesome-est! MARTIN: Hmm, our clue says the treasure is going to tell us about the BEST friend who ALWAYS loves you. Sounds good to me! MAGGIE: We ve got to keep looking. MARTIN: Arrr, matey. Sometimes pirates keep their treasure in a BIG chest. MAGGIE: (To kids) Yeah, wouldn t it be great if we had a big pirate chest to look inside? Does anyone see a big chest? (Maggie and Martin both look at each other and then look at the chest.) MARTIN & MAGGIE: Yes! The chest with all the pirate stuff in it! (They dig wildly through the costumes, throwing things out everywhere, until Martin finds the Bible Treasure Box. ) MARTIN: Found something! Check this out! (Martin lifts out the Bible Treasure Box.) MARTIN: Maggie! It s a Bible! Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 11

12 MAGGIE: It s a Bible shaped like a treasure chest. (Maggie lifts the lid. She pulls out a jeweled chalkboard with the verse on it and reads it out loud.) MAGGIE: Your teachings are worth more to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver, Psalm 119:72. MARTIN: (To kids) Well, shiver me timbers. Let s break that down. MAGGIE: Your teachings that means God s Word, the Bible. So this verse is saying that the Bible is better than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. MARTIN: (Excited) And the Bible tells us about our very best friend JESUS! Jesus is our very best friend! MAGGIE: (To kids) We ve got it, mateys! [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! MARTIN: (To kids) We ve found the treasure! MARTIN & MAGGIE: The Bible is the treasure, the treasure, the treasure. The Bible is the treasure. It s better than gold! Yeah! (Martin and Maggie high five each other.) MARTIN: (To kids) What is better than gold? MARTIN, MAGGIE, and CHILDREN: [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! MAGGIE: What is better than gold? MARTIN, MAGGIE and CHILDREN: [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! MAGGIE: (To kids) Arrrg, mateys! I think we got the story. Did you get it? If you did, say, Got it! MARTIN, MAGGIE, and CHILDREN: (Hold two thumbs up.) Got it! MAGGIE: Awesome! Make sure and come back next time so we can go on another pirate adventure together. There are more Bible treasures waiting to be found! MARTIN and MAGGIE: Bye! Martin and Maggie exit. Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 12

13 June 1, 2014 Theme: Clubhouse Pirate Adventure Basic Truth: God Made Me God Loves Me Jesus Wants to Be My Friend Forever Key Question: What is better than gold? Bottom Line: The Bible is better than gold! Memory Verse: Your teachings are worth more to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. Psalm 119:72, NCV Bible Story: The Bible is better than gold. The Bible is better than gold. Psalm 119:72 Make It Stick (Application Activities, 35 minutes) These activities are designed to help preschoolers understand and remember today s Bible story and Bottom Line. Offer as many of the following activities as your time, facilities, resources, and leadership allow. You may want to lead one activity at a time. Or offer two activities at once and allow half the kids to participate in each, then switch groups and repeat the activities. 1. Memory Verse with Motions Memory Verse with Motions is an activity that uses repetition and movement to teach this month s Memory Verse. What You Need: No supplies needed What You Do: Before the activity: Have the children stand in front of you in a circle. During the activity: Teach the following verse and motions to the children. Your teachings (hold hands like a book) are worth more to me (bring fisted hands to chest like holding something precious) than thousands (hands explode up and out) of pieces of gold and silver (hands in front rubbing fingers together like greedy for money), Psalm 119:72. (Open hands like a book.) At the end of the activity: Say the Memory Verse with the children and do the motions several times. What You Say: Before the activity: We have a new Memory Verse today! Let s all stand in a circle and learn it together. Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 13

14 During the activity: Everyone watch and listen to what I say and do. I am going to say our new Memory Verse. Your teachings are worth more to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver, Psalm 119:72. Now let s say it together. Your teachings (pause) are worth more to me (pause) than thousands of pieces of gold and silver (pause), Psalm 119:72. (Pause.) Great job! Now let s say it again and this time watch me and do what I do. Your teachings (hold hands like a book) are worth more to me (bring fisted hands to chest like holding something precious) than thousands (hands explode up and out) of pieces of gold and silver (hands in front rubbing fingers together like greedy for money), Psalm 119:72. (Open hands like a book.) At the end of the activity: Fantastic! Our Memory Verse tells us that God s Word is worth SO much more than all of the money in the world! God s Word is the Bible and the Bible tells us how He wants us to do things. Doing what God wants us to do is better than anything we could ever own. What is better than gold? (Pause.) You got it! [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! 2. Always True, Right, and There Always True, Right, and There is an activity that challenges the children to use their communication, critical thinking, and social skills to review the Bible story idea that God s Word is always true, always right, and always there. What You Need: True, Right, and There Pictures from the Activity Pages on the Website, white paper, light-colored butcher paper, tape, scissors, and markers. What You Do: Before the activity: Tape a piece of butcher paper along the lower part of a wall. The children should be able to sit in front of it and see without any problem. Use a marker to divide the paper into three equal columns. Write the words Always True, Always Right, and Always There at the top of the three columns. During the activity: Hold the pictures up one at time in the following order: 1. Preschool child 2. Heart 3. World 4. Two friends with a heart above them 5. A friend helping another friend 6. A friend sharing with another friend 7. Sad face 8. Daytime 9. Nighttime Briefly discuss what each picture is and tape it in the correct column on your butcher paper. 1. Preschool child; God made me. Always True Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 14

15 2. Heart; God loves me. Always True 3. World; God made the world and everything in it. Always True 4. Two friends, heart above them; God wants me to love others. Always Right 5. A friend helping; God wants me to help others. Always Right 6. A friend sharing; God wants me to share with others. Always Right 7. Sad face; God is with me when I m sad. Always There 8. Daytime; God is with me during the day while I play. Always There 9. Nighttime; God is with me at night when I sleep. Always There What You Say: Before the activity: Today we learned that [Bottom Line] the Bible is better than gold! What is better than gold? (Pause.) [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! You got it! That means the Bible is very valuable! There are three things that make the Bible SO valuable. Number 1: The Bible is ALWAYS TRUE. Number 2: The Bible is ALWAYS RIGHT. It tells me the right thing to do. And number 3: The Bible is ALWAYS THERE. Let s see if we can put these pictures in the right place. I need you to help me decide if it goes under Always TRUE or Always RIGHT or Always THERE. During the activity: Our first picture is of a child. This reminds us that God made you and me. Hmmm [Basic Truth] God made me. Is that something that is always TRUE? (Pause.) It sure is! [Basic Truth] God made me is always TRUE so we ll put it right here under ALWAYS TRUE. What about this heart? It reminds us that [Basic Truth] God loves me and you. Hmm [Basic Truth] God loves me. Is that something that is always TRUE? (Pause.) YES! [Basic Truth] God loves me is always TRUE, so we ll put it right here under ALWAYS TRUE. (Continue in this way with all of the pictures.) At the end of the activity: Yay! We did it! We put all of the pictures in the right place. See? The Bible is always true, always right, and always there. That is what makes it better than gold! What is better than gold? (Pause.) [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! And don t you forget it, mateys! 3. Going Shopping Going Shopping is an activity that incorporates everyday life into the lesson. The children are able to make their own decisions and relate those decisions back to the lesson. You can find a link to small individual trinkets by going to the First Look Pinterest page: What You Need: Play gold coins, stickers, small individual trinkets, and lunch-size paper bags. What You Do: Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 15

16 Before the activity: Set up a store-like atmosphere by displaying all of the items and stickers out on a table or the floor. Have a teacher stand with items and collect the money from the children. During the activity: Give each child five coins. Explain that each item in your store is worth one coin, and they may buy any five items that they would like. Allow the children to walk around your store freely and shop. At the end of the activity: Allow the children to sit and look at their purchases. Ask the class how many coins they have left. Explain that money and possessions run out but God s love never does. What You Say: Before the activity: WOW! Look at all of this cool stuff! We have a store in our classroom! How awesome! Do you know what we use to buy things at a store? (Pause). Yes, we need money to buy things. I will give each of you some money (hold up gold coins) to use in our store. During the activity: Everything in our store cost one coin. (Hold up one coin.) I am going to give you FIVE coins, which means you get to buy FIVE things! You may buy whatever you would like, but you may only buy FIVE things. Let s go shopping! (Hand out coins.) There are so many choices! What will you choose? Remember to pay for your items. Give your money to me. At the end of the activity: WOW! You bought some really cool stuff! How much money do you have left? (Pause.) You do not have any money left? Money does run out. If you spend all of your money, then you have no money left. I know something that NEVER runs out NEVER EVER! God s love NEVER EVER runs out! God s love and the Bible are SO much better than gold or money! What is better than gold? (Pause.) Yes! [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! 4. Land Ho! Land Ho is an obstacle course activity that uses large and fine motor movement as well as balance and coordination to review the Bottom Line. (Note: You will create an obstacle that will line the perimeter of your classroom. The island scene will be in one corner of your classroom and serve as the final destination of your obstacle course. This can be left up all nine weeks and is a great activity to repeat each week as time permits.) What You Need: Footprints from the Activity Pages on the Website, orange cardstock, scissors, island décor for one corner of your classroom, painter s tape, a large spoon, plastic gold coin, pirate hat, three soft blocks, adult-size pirate boots (or black rain boots), two colorful stuffed animal parrots, and a pillowcase. Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 16

17 What You Do: Before the activity: Make enough copies of Footprints on orange cardstock so that when cut out, you can tape footprints to the floor between the activities on the obstacle course for the children to follow. Then create your obstacles along the perimeter of your classroom as follows. 1. Wall #1 Tape a long piece of painter s tape on the floor along one side of the classroom. The children must balance a gold coin on a spoon while walking across the tape. Tape footprints to the next obstacle. 2. Wall #2 Place three lines of tape a few feet apart. The children must jump from one line to the other, forward, backward, and forward again, while wearing a pirate hat. Tape footprints to the next obstacle. 3. Wall #2 Place four lines of masking tape with a soft block between each of the lines. The children must jump over the blocks from line to line without touching the blocks. If they touch a block they have to go back and start again. The pirate boots will be waiting at the end of this obstacle. The children will put them on and follow the footprints to the next obstacle. 4. Wall #3 Make a long zigzag balancing line on the floor with tape. Place a parrot in two different spots for the children to jump over. The children must walk the line, twist and turn with the zigzags, and jump the parrots without falling. Tape footprints along the floor to the pillowcase. 5. Wall #4 The children will get in the pillowcase and hop to the island in the corner. Success! During the activity: Encourage the children to go through the obstacle course, helping when needed. What You Say: Before the activity: Who s ready to have a pirate adventure filled with jumps, twists, and turns? Line up right here if you dare. And be careful you don t fall or you ll have to go all the way back to the beginning and start again! Can you survive the obstacles and make your way to the island where X marks the spot? There s only one way to find out! During the activity: (Coach and encourage the children through the obstacle course, giving them instructions as they go.) At the end of the activity: Arrrg, me mateys! You did a fine job making your way through the obstacle course. You made it to the island where the golden treasure was waiting! Ahhh, but there is one treasure that is better than gold. Do you remember what it is? (Pause.) Yes! The Bible! [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! What is better than gold? (Pause.) [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! And don t you forget it, arrrg! 5. The Bible Is a Treasure Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 17

18 The Bible is a Treasure is a craft-based activity that illustrates the focus of today s Bible story. You can see the inspiration for this activity by going to the First Look Pinterest page: What You Need: Bible from the Activity pages on the Website, white or colored cardstock, brown construction paper, scissors, crayons, stickers, and glue sticks. What You Do: Before the activity: Copy Bible from the Activity Pages onto the white or colored cardstock and cut out one per child. Fold and cut the brown construction paper to make a pop-up treasure chest. (See tutorial on MyFirstLookBlog.com for details) During the activity: The children will decorate their treasure chests and the Bible cutout while you talk about how the Bible is better than gold. At the end of the activity: Encourage the children to open and close the treasure chest and watch the Bible pop up when the chest is opened. What You Say: Before the activity: We are going make a treasure chest. We are going to put the greatest treasure of all in our chest. Do you know what the greatest treasure of all is? (Pause.) YES! The greatest treasure of all is the Bible! [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! During the activity: Here is our treasure chest. (Hold up treasure chest.) When you open it (demonstrate), it is empty. What is the greatest treasure of all? (Pause.) You got it! (Hold up Bible cutout.) [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! Let s decorate our treasure chest and the Bible. (Allow children to color.) Great job! Now, glue your Bible to the place the chest pops out. (Help children glue Bible to the tab.) Nice job! At the end of the activity: Now open your treasure chests. What happens? (Pause.) The Bible pops up! It is the most important thing and is so much more important than gold! The Bible is our true treasure! What is better than gold? (Pause.) Absolutely! [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 18

19 June 1, 2014 Theme: Clubhouse Pirate Adventure Basic Truth: God Made Me God Loves Me Jesus Wants to Be My Friend Forever Key Question: What is better than gold? Bottom Line: The Bible is better than gold! Memory Verse: Your teachings are worth more to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver. Psalm 119:72, NCV Bible Story: The Bible is better than gold. The Bible is better than gold. Psalm 119:72 Make It Real (Small Groups, 5 minutes) Make It Real is designed to help preschoolers understand how the Bottom Line applies to them. They ll discuss real-life experiences and share prayer requests. Divide kids into small groups of about five to eight children with each leader. Ideally, assign the same small group leader to the same group of preschoolers for the entire year. Small Group Time What you Need: Paperclip Memory Verse Card from the Week One Activity Pages on the Website in your Bible at Psalm 119:72. Provide a journal and a fun-shaped pen for each small group. SMALL GROUP LEADER (SGL): (Hold the Bible where the children can see it.) Our Bible story today was about how [Bottom Line] the Bible is better than gold! What is better than gold? CHILDREN and SGL: [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! SGL: Gold is worth a lot of money like a LOT of money. Why do you think [Bottom Line] the Bible is better than gold? (Pause.) Those are some great reasons! [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold because it has God s words in it. God gave us the Bible so we will know that He made us and loves us and Jesus wants to be our friend forever. That is better than gold! SGL: (Open Bible to Psalm 119:72.) Our new Memory Verse tells us another reason [Bottom Line] the Bible is better than gold. It says, Your teachings are worth more to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver, Psalm 119:72. Say that with me. Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 19

20 CHILDREN and SGL: Your teachings are worth more to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver, Psalm 119:72. SGL: Good job! [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold because it teaches us the right things to do. We are going to have a wonderful summer learning about how the Bible is so special. It s the best treasure of all! It s time to write in our prayer journal. Let s make a list of things that we think are the best things in the world. I ll tell you why after we make our list. So tell me, what do you think are the very best things in the whole wide world? Write down the children s names and what they say in your journal. Remember to print the words so they can recognize their names and letters. SGL: This is a great list! Now let me read it back to you. (Read the list.) If the Bible is better than gold, that means the Bible is better than all of these wonderful things, too. It s true! The Bible is THAT awesome! Let s pray and thank God for giving us the Bible. Prayer SGL: Dear God, thank You for giving us Your words in the Bible. Help us to see that [Bottom Line] the Bible is better than gold! Not only is the Bible better than gold, but it s also better than (read the list). That s amazing! Teach us to love the Bible and do what it says. You are so good, God, and we love You very much. In Jesus name, amen. Get Ready to Dismiss Set any take-home creations where you or parents can get them easily. Greet parents at the door and tell them that this month preschoolers are learning that [Bottom Line] the Bible is better than gold! Encourage parents to repeat the Bottom Line at home and help their child understand that [Bottom Line] the Bible is better than gold! Have this month s Parent CUE available for parents to pick up or send it in a monthly . Encourage parents to use the activities found in Parent CUE to reinforce this month s Bottom Line: [Bottom Line] The Bible is better than gold! Curriculum Materials for 5&6-year-olds 2014 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 20