What You Do: Before the Activity: Have the children stand in front of you.

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1 December 25, 2016 Basic Truth: Jesus wants to be my friend forever. Key Question: Why is Jesus special? Bottom Line: Jesus is God s Son. Memory Verse: I bring you good news of great joy. Luke 2:10, NLV Bible Story Focus: It s Christmas! PJs for Preschoolers Happy Birthday Jesus! Retell Entire Christmas Story Make It Fun Prepare to offer one or more of the following activities as Your 5&6 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. PJs What You Need: No supplies needed Before the Activity: Have the children stand in front of you. During the Activity: Call out the children in categories according to their pajamas and have that group of children do a movement. For example: Everyone in red pajamas jump two times. Everyone in footed pajamas walk and touch the back wall. After the Activity: Make sure you call out a category that each child fits into. If you have children who did not wear PJs, you may consider making that a category. Before the Activity: I love seeing all of the pajamas here today! It s fun to wake up on Christmas morning and come to church in our PJs! During the Activity: I see so many different kinds of pajamas. If you have on red pajamas, jump up high TWO times! (Pause.) Great job! Now if you are wearing footed pajamas that cover your feet, walk fast and touch that wall. (Point.) Awesome! If you have a pretty dress or nice pants on, then touch your toes. (Pause.) Nice job! After the Activity: Great job! It s so much fun to come to church on Christmas to celebrate Jesus birthday especially in our pajamas! Let s get ready to hear the entire Christmas story in Large Group today!

2 2. Story Sequence What You Need: December Bible Story Pictures Activity Page,, and scissors Before the Activity: Copy the December Bible Story Pictures Activity Page (one set of pictures per group) and cut along the dotted lines. During the Activity: Show the children the picture cards from this month. Shuffle the cards and work together to put them in order as you review this month s Bible stories. During the Activity: All month long, we ve been learning about how God sent the most special gift Jesus to us! I have these pictures to review this month s Bible stories. (Hold up cards.) Do you think we could work together to put them in order? Let s give it a try! After the Activity: Great job, everyone! (Point to each picture as you talk about them.) The angel appeared to Mary to tell her she would have a baby. Was she scared at first? (Pause.) Yes! But then she knew that Jesus was the best gift ever! Then Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem, right before Jesus was to be born. But they couldn t find a place to stay. Finally an innkeeper let them stay in his stable and right there, with the animals and all, Jesus was born! That same night, some shepherds were out in the field watching their sheep just like they always did. Then suddenly an angel appeared with a special message! Jesus was here! The shepherds left their sheep behind and ran to find this special baby the best gift ever! I m so thankful for Jesus. Thank You, God, for sending Jesus to us! Make It Stick 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.

3 1. Pass the Present What You Need: A small wrapped Christmas box with a lid and stickers During the Activity: Gather the children in a circle and sit down in an open area of the room. Pass the wrapped present around the circle as you say the memory verse. Once you ve repeated the verse several times, open the box and pass out a sticker to each child. During the Activity: Let s review this month s memory verse as we pass around this Christmas box. Are you ready? (Pause.) Let s start passing! I bring you good news of great joy, Luke 2:10. Great! Let s say it again. Keep passing! After the Activity: Great job, everyone! The angel did bring good news of great joy! I m so glad we get to celebrate Jesus birth the best gift ever today on Christmas. Happy birthday, Jesus! Why is Jesus special? [Bottom Line] Jesus is God s Son. 2. Happy Birthday Jesus Happy Birthday Jesus is an activity that retells the three Bible stories as one and reinforces the Christmas story as a whole. What You Need: All optional: Allergy Alert Poster, birthday cake, paper plates, and plastic forks Before the Activity: If you re eating cake, make sure to write it on the Allergy Poster. Have the children sit around you. During the Activity: Retell all three stories from this month as a whole. After the stories have been told, sing Happy Birthday to Jesus together. After the Activity: Serve the birthday cake if you choose to have it.

4 Before the Activity: Copy Allergy Alert Poster and hang it on the door. Have the children sit at a table and give them the dough. Before the Activity: We have had three awesome Bible stories this month. When we put them ALL together they tell us the true meaning of Christmas! During the Activity: A young girl named Mary had something AMAZING happen to her! An angel came to her and told her that she was going to have a baby a very special baby! Her baby would be God s Son and she would name him Jesus! Mary and her husband, Joseph, had to go on a long trip. Joseph tried to find a room for Mary, because she was going to have a baby, but there were no rooms for them. They were all full! Poor Mary! Finally, Joseph found a stable for them to stay in. A stable is where animals live! Mary and Joseph didn t care, though, and Jesus was born in the stable! Mary wrapped him up and laid him in a manger. Then the shepherds were watching their sheep in the fields when the sky lit up with angels! The angels came to tell them news of great joy! Jesus was born! So the shepherds went to go see Jesus. After the Activity: What a wonderful story! I love the Christmas story. Since today is Jesus birthday, let s all sing Happy Birthday to Him. Are you ready? (Sing.) Great job! Why is Jesus special? [Bottom Line] Jesus is God s Son! (Optional) Now let s eat cake! 3. Party Hats Party Hats is an activity that uses creativity and fine motor skills to review this month s Bible stories. What You Need: Party Hat Template Activity Page, scissors, clear tape, and Christmas stickers. Before the Activity: Copy the Party Hat Template Activity Page and cut out. You will need one party hat per child.

5 During the Activity: Let the children decorate their party hats with the stickers. Be sure to write each child s name on the inside of his/her hat. When finished, help each child roll the page into a hat and secure with tape. Before the Activity: Today we re celebrating the best gift EVER as we celebrate Jesus birthday! Happy birthday, Jesus! And you can t have a celebration without party hats, right? So, let s make some special party hats to celebrate Jesus birthday! After the Activity: Your party hats are awesome! Way to go, everyone. Jesus birth is a BIG deal and that s why we celebrate it in such a big way. God sent us the most special thing He could His Son Jesus! Why is Jesus special? Because [Bottom Line] Jesus is God s Son. 4. Christmas Coloring Book What You Need: Coloring Book Pages and Coloring Book Cover Activity Pages on green paper, crayons, scissors, stickers, stapler, and staples Before the Activity: Copy the Coloring Book Pages onto the white copy paper, one page per child, and cut at the dotted line. Fold the page to put the pictures in the correct order. Copy the Coloring Book Cover Activity Page and cut apart. You will need one cover per child. Place the crayons and sticker in the center of the tables. During the Activity: Pass out a set of coloring book pages and book cover to each child. Talk about the pictures to review this month s Bible stories as they color. Then, show them how to fold their cover in half and write their name on the blank line on the front cover. After making sure each child s pictures are in order, go around the table and help them fold their covers over and place the coloring book pages inside. Staple the books along the left edge to secure. During the Activity: Today we re going to create a coloring book to help us remember everything we ve learned this month! It s been SO fun to talk about how God sent us the BEST GIFT EVER His Son, Jesus! I want you to color these four pages. Let s talk about each page as you color. (Hold up the picture of the angel and Mary.) Who are the people in this picture and what is happening? (Pause.) Yes! It s the angel and Mary. The angel had a special message for Mary. She was going to have a baby!

6 And not just any baby, it was the best gift ever, Jesus! Jesus was special because He was God s Son! (Hold up the picture of Jesus in a stable.) Oh, I bet you know who this is! Yes! It s baby Jesus! Where was he born? (Pause.) That s right! In a stable. The most special gift ever was born in a stable. God sent Jesus to us that first Christmas! (Hold up the picture of the shepherds.) What do shepherds have to do with the story of Jesus? (Pause.) That s right! An angel first told the shepherds the news of Jesus birth and they ran to see him right away. They knew this baby was a special gift, God s only Son. (Hold up the picture of the Happy Birthday Jesus! cake.) And today we celebrate the birth of Jesus! Happy birthday, Jesus! I m SO glad God sent this special gift to us His only Son. I love Christmas and everything that it means. Happy birthday, Jesus! After the Activity: What an awesome month we ve had learning about Jesus the best gift ever! I want you to take your coloring books home to tell your friends and family about how Jesus was born. This will help you remember all the events that led up to His birth. Jesus is the most special gift we will ever receive. I m so glad God chose to send His only Son to us on Christmas. Now, one more time: Why is Jesus special? [Bottom Line] Jesus is God s Son! Yes! Jesus IS special because [Bottom Line] Jesus is God s Son. Great job, everyone. I hope you have a great holiday with your family. Merry Christmas! Prayer SGL: Merry Christmas, God! Wow! What a special time of year! Thank You for a church that helps us celebrate Your Son, Jesus. Thank You for all of my friends who came today to celebrate Jesus birthday. (Name all the children) and I all want to wish Jesus the happiest birthday and tell Him thank You for wanting to be our friend forever. Thank You for sending Your Son so long ago, God. He is the best gift ever! We love You. In Jesus name, amen.