First Look Starfish and Dolphins, September, Week 2 Small Group

Transcription

1 September 9, 2018 Bible Story Focus: God s promises are awesome! Moses in the Red Sea Exodus 13:17-18; 14 Memory Verse: Trust the LORD with all your heart. Proverbs 3:5, NCV Key Question: Who keeps His promises? Bottom Line: God keeps His promises. Basic Truth: God loves me. Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction 1. Blue Search Made to Move: An activity that uses a preschooler s natural desire to move to help them learn What You Need: Blue items of any kind. Before the Activity: Gather several blue items from around the room (blue dishes and foods from the play kitchen, blue paper, blue toys, etc.) and hide them in easily found places around the room. Count how many items you ve hidden so you can make sure the children find them all. During the Activity: Gather the children in an open area of the room. Explain that you ve hidden a certain number of blue items around the room for them to find. Once they find something blue, they should return to the center of the room with their item(s). Before the Activity: Today, we re going on a blue hunt! I ve hidden [number] blue things around the room. Do you think you can find them all? Let s work together and go on a blue search! After the Activity: Great job, friends! You found all the blue things on our blue search. I love the color blue, don t you? Today, we ll hear about something blue in our Bible story. I can t wait! Transition: Move to Worship and Story by naming different items and asking if they are blue. You can name things that are and aren t blue. Children will say yes or no to each item. Suggested items: bluebonnets, bluebirds, apples, fireflies, bananas, the rain, worms, the ocean, the sky, the clouds, the sidewalk, your little finger, blueberries, blue jeans, etc. Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 1

2 2. Moving Water Talk About God Bible Story Review Made to Move: An activity that uses a preschooler s natural desire to move to help them learn What You Need: Blue butcher paper, floor tape, and ball pit balls (ideally blue) Before the Activity: Tape the butcher paper to the floor in the activity area. Be sure to tape the paper on all sides to prevent slipping. Cover the butcher paper with the ball pit balls. During the Activity: Retell today s Bible story. After the Activity: Ask the children to walk along the butcher paper and move the balls as they walk. Before the Activity: We heard an amazing Bible story today! During the Activity: God kept His promise and kept Moses and His people safe. He parted the sea so that they could get across and be safe. God s promises are AWESOME! We have a sea right here in our room. (Point to the butcher paper.) Now everyone can walk on our sea. We can pretend that the balls are the water. Move the water as you walk! (Do activity.) After the Activity: Nice job moving the water! I m so glad God always keeps His promises. Who keeps His promises? [Bottom Line] God keeps His promises! Journal and Prayer Pray to God Prayer Activity Made to Reflect: An activity that encourages personal application and prayer What You Need: Paperclip Memory Verse Card in your Bible at Proverbs 3:5. Provide a journal and a fun-shaped pen for each small group. You will also need heart stickers. SMALL GROUP LEADER (SGL): It s time. I want us to pretend we re following Moses on dry ground after God parted the waters. Imagine what you might see in the water on each side. I think we would see a lot of fish! Come on and follow me! (Pretend you are seeing fish in the water on each side of you as you lead the children to your spot.) Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 2

3 SGL: That was fun! Let s sit down and talk about today s Bible story. One, two, three, sit down with me! (Open the Bible and lay it open in front of the children.) Our Bible story today was about an awesome promise God kept. God had promised Moses He would always be with him. And boy did God keep His promise! God was with Moses at the water and He parted it so Moses could walk on dry land. Raise your hand if you think THAT is awesome. (Raise your hand and look around.) Me too! God promised Moses He would always be with Him, and [Bottom Line] God keeps His promises. Who keeps His promises? CHILDREN and SGL: [Bottom Line] God keeps His promises. SGL: Louder! Who keeps His promises? CHILDREN and SGL: [Bottom Line] God keeps His promises! SGL: We can trust God with all our heart, because He loves us and always keeps His promises. That s why our memory verse says this. (Turn the pages of your Bible to the Memory Verse Card.) Trust the LORD (point both index fingers straight up in the air) with all (stretch your arms out wide) your heart (bring both hands together over your heart), Proverbs 3:5. (Open your hands like a book.) (Close Bible and lay it down.) Let s stand up and say that together with the motions. Just say what I say and do what I do. CHILDREN and SGL: Trust the LORD (point both index fingers straight up in the air) with all (stretch your arms out wide) your heart (bring both hands together over your heart), Proverbs 3:5. (Open your hands like a book.) (Repeat the verse with motions a few times.) Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 3

4 SGL: You sound SO good! (Give each child a high five.) Let s sit back down so we can write in our prayer journal. (Hold journal and fun-shaped pen.) God s promises are awesome, and [Bottom Line] God keeps His promises. That makes them even more awesome! That s a huge reason why we can trust God with all our heart, like our memory verse says. Today, when I say your name, I m going to write it in our journal, and you get to put a heart sticker beside it. I want us to pray that we will trust God with all our heart, because He loves us and always keeps His promises. Listen for your name, and I ll give you a heart sticker when it s your turn. (Say each child s name and write it down in your journal. Remember to print the names so the children can recognize their names and the letters. Give them each one sticker for their shirt and one to go by their name in the journal.) Look at our journal. I love all of the hearts! Would anyone like to pray before I pray? (Give each child who wants to pray the opportunity to do so.) Prayer SGL: Dear God, thank You for loving [child s name]. Help him trust You with all his heart. (Repeat for each child.) You are awesome, and we love You very much, God. In Jesus name, amen. Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect 1. Memory Verse Walk Hear from God Memory Verse Review Made to Move: An activity that uses a preschooler s natural desire to move to help them learn What You Need: 4 pieces of blue cardstock, 1 piece of red cardstock or construction paper, and scissors Before the Activity: Cut the four pieces of blue cardstock in half and lay seven of them out on the floor to form a path in an open area of the room. Cut a large heart out of the red paper and place it at the end of the path of blue pages. Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 4

5 During the Activity: Review this month s memory verse together (Proverbs 3:5). Then encourage the children to take turns walking along the blue path as you say the words of the verse and end on the heart. During the Activity: This month we re learning all about how [Bottom Line] God keeps His promises. And because God always keeps His promises, we can always trust Him. That s what our verse tells us this month. Trust the LORD with all your heart, Proverbs 3:5. Do you see this pathway here? (Point.) Let s take turns walking along the path as we say the words of the verse like this. (Demonstrate walking on the path.) Trust the LORD with all your heart. Proverbs 3:5. After the Activity: I m so glad to know that I can trust God with all my heart because [Bottom Line] God keeps His promises. Who keeps His promises? [Bottom Line] God keeps His promises! 2. Water Parting Live for God Application Activity Made to Create: An activity that allows preschoolers to review the Bible story, Bottom Line, or memory verse by creating a craft What You Need: Water Parting Activity Page, white cardstock, blue painter s tape, blue dot markers, and fish stickers Before the Activity: Copy the Water Parting Activity Page onto cardstock. Provide one per child. Take the tape and place a piece vertically down the center of each page. You can do this right on the table at each child s spot so that the top and bottom of the tape hold the page in place. Set the dot markers and stickers around the tables within the children s reach. During the Activity: Encourage the children to sit or stand in front of a page on the table. Explain that this be will their painting of the sea. Encourage the children to use the blue dot markers to paint all over the page (including the tape). Then carefully remove the tape to reveal the path down the center of the page. As the paint dries, encourage the children to place a few fish stickers in the water. During the Activity: When Moses and the Israelites were facing the water in front of them and Pharaoh s army behind them, what did God do? (Pause.) Yes! God parted the water in the sea and made a way for them to cross on dry ground. I want you to use Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 5

6 these dot markers to paint the sea all over your page. Remember, we need to share these, so as you finish be sure to pass the dot markers to another friend. I m going to come around and show you an amazing trick to reveal the DRY path they walked on. You can also add fish stickers to your pages. After the Activity: Wow! These look amazing! I ll admit the tape was a tricky way to make a path. But God made a path by His own power. God made a promise to rescue the Israelites and He did, because [Bottom Line] God keeps His promises. Who keeps His promises? [Bottom Line] God keeps His promises. I hope these pictures will remind you of that this week. Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 6