3 5 year olds Curriculum for Preschoolers APRIL 27, 2014 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: Kristin Brady Copy Editor: Dana Wilkerson Curriculum Writer: Danielle Schneller, Donna High, Autumn Ward 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 marked NIrV is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Reader s Version, Copyright 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. 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 non-subscribing entities. Any unauthorized reproduction of this material or incorporation into a new work is a direct violation of US copyright laws. 2014 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 LookTM 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.
3 5 year olds APRIL 27, 2014 BASIC TRUTH Jesus Wants to Be My Friend Forever KEY QUESTION: Who is your good friend? BOTTOM LINE: Jesus is my good friend. MEMORY VERSE: A friend loves at all times. Proverbs 17:17, NIrV BIBLE STORY FOCUS: Jesus wants to be with me forever. A Place for Us John 14:1-4 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.) Stick Houses Building a House Our Place Make It True Worship Introductory Sketch Bible Story Make It Stick (Choose as many of these activities as you like.) At All Times The Perfect Place Special Place Celebration My Friend Jesus Make It Real Small Group Time Prayer Dismiss Parent CUE 2
Key Question: Who is your good friend? Bottom Line: Jesus is my good friend. Memory Verse: A friend loves at all times. Proverbs 17:17, NIrV Bible Story Focus: Jesus wants to be with me forever. A Place for Us John 14:1-4 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. Make it Fun 1. Stick Houses Stick Houses is an activity that uses fine motor and matching skills to introduce the Bible story idea of Jesus preparing a place for us. What You Need: House Plans from the Activity Pages on the Website, white cardstock, and craft sticks. Before the activity: Make enough copies of House Plans from the Activity Pages on white cardstock so that each child can use one during the activity. During the activity: Instruct the children to choose one page of house plans. Show them how to build a house by laying the craft sticks on the lines of the house on the page. Encourage the children to switch house plans and try a new one when they are done. During the activity: Have you ever wondered what it would be like to build a house? (Pause.) Today we re going to build a house with these sticks using these house plans. All you have to do is match the sticks to the lines on the paper. (Demonstrate.) When you re done you can try a new one! At the end of the activity: It takes time to get a place ready for a person to live! Our Bible story today is about a place Jesus is getting ready for us! 2. Building Houses Building Houses is a fine motor skill and teamwork activity that will introduce the concept of the Bible story. What You Need: Different types of building blocks such as LEGOs, wooden blocks, and box blocks. Before the activity: Distribute the different kinds of blocks in stations around the play area. During the activity: Allow the children to play freely with the blocks. Encourage the children to play and build houses together. At the end of the activity: Ask the children to work together and put the blocks away. Before the activity: There are so many different kinds of blocks in our room today. I bet we can build a lot of different kinds of houses with this many blocks! During the activity: Can you work together with your friends and see how many 3
Make it Fun different kinds of houses you can build? (Pause.) Working with a friend always makes things easier and more fun. At the end of the activity: Wow! These houses are AH-MAZING! In our Bible story we are going to hear about another AH-MAZING house! And even better it is an AH-MAZING house that you and I can live in! Let s get ready to hear our TRUE story from the Bible and find out more! 3. Our Place Our Place is an activity that allows the child to be involved with the concept of the story. What You Need: Large pillows and cushions, blankets and stuffed animals. Before the activity: Place all of the supplies in the middle of the room. During the activity: Direct the children to help you make the perfect place to tell the Bible story. Use the pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals to make your place comfortable. Make sure every child gets to help. Before the activity: It is time for our Bible story. I really wish we had a super comfy place to have Bible time all together. During the activity: Hmmm I have an idea! (Point to the supplies on the floor.) We can use these super comfy pillows and blankets to make a super comfy Bible story place! Will you help me? (Pause.) Great! Don t forget to bring the stuffed animals. They will make our place even better! At the end of the activity: Thank you so much for your help! Now we have a perfect place to hear our TRUE story from the Bible. Our story today is also about a very special place. Let s snuggle up with our stuffed animals and hear all about it! 4
Key Question: Who is your good friend? Bottom Line: Jesus is my good friend. Memory Verse: A friend loves at all times. Proverbs 17:17, NIrV Bible Story Focus: Jesus wants to be with me forever. A Place for Us John 14:1-4 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. Make it True Worship What You Need: Paperclip Memory Verse Card from the Week One Activity Pages on the Website in your Bible at Proverbs 17:17. You will also need a CD player and this month s worship song, Tell Everybody, which you will need to download from the Website. You will also need Hosanna Rock, available at www. AmberSkyRecords.com or on the CD, I Count On You. WORSHIP LEADER: Hello there! I am SUPER excited that you are here with me today! I have a question for you. Do you think you could answer it for me? (Pause.) You do! Great! When I ask you I want you to say the answer as LOUD as you can. Here goes: Who is your good friend? (Pause.) You got it! Jesus is my good friend. Let s say it together! Who is your good friend? CHILDREN and WORSHIP LEADER: Jesus is my good friend! WORSHIP LEADER: That makes me so happy to know that Jesus came to be our friend! Let s sing about that right now! Lead children in singing Tell Everybody, this month s worship song. WORSHIP LEADER: Great singing, everybody! Jesus came to be our good friend and that means He loves us A LOT. Our Memory Verse says, A friend loves at all times, Proverbs 17:17. That means to be a good friend, like Jesus, we need to love our friends, too. Can you say our Memory Verse with me? (Pause.) Awesome! Let s say it together on the count of three! One, two, three! 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. For additional worship resources to equip your worship leaders and worship team, visit www.amberskyrecords.com. CHILDREN and WORSHIP LEADER: A friend loves at all times, Proverbs 17:17. (Repeat as many times as desired.) WORSHIP LEADER: That s right! We re going to sing one last song together before I have to go, and since we ve been celebrating what a GREAT friend Jesus is I thought we d go out with a fun song! We sang it a few weeks ago and the words say, Hosanna (put hands to mouth like yelling), ho-ho-hosanna! (Continue put hands to mouth like yelling) Hosanna (do the twist), ho-ho-hosanna! (Continue do the twist) Everybody praise the Lord! (Wave arms above head.) Everybody praise the Lord! (Wave arms shoulder height.) Everybody praise the Lord! (Wave arms with arms hanging down.) Everybody praise the Lord! (Wave arms above head) Are you ready to sing with me? (Pause.) Here we go! Lead children in singing Hosanna Rock. WORSHIP LEADER: What a GREAT way to end our time together! Thank you for singing with me all month long about how Jesus is my good friend and yours, too! Let s get ready for our Bible story. Believe me, you don t want to miss a second of this one! See you next time! 5
Make it True First Look offers weekly introductory sketches on the DVD titled Wonder, Look at God s Story. This DVD is available for purchase at the rethink store on our Web site. Worship Leader exits. Introductory Sketch What You Need: Table set with dishes and food from Weeks One through Three, which include a plate of chocolate chip cookies and balloons. Add sleeping bags/ blankets and pillows for this week. HOST: Hi, friends! So great to see you again! I ve been working so hard to get my house ready and super special for my friends who are coming over for a super duper fun sleepover! I just love my friends! Let s see, first, we cleaned everything up squeaky clean. I picked up everything and swept and dusted and vacuumed and phew! (Wipe forehead.) It was hard work! And then I got the table all set with the pretty dishes and put a beautiful tablecloth on it. My mama would be so proud of me! Next, I decorated everything so this room would be extra, extra special for my friends. (Walk over and point to balloons.) Don t these balloons look great?! I thought they made this room extra special. After decorating I got all the food cooked and baked just right. It smells so good in here! (Hold up plate of cookies.) I think these chocolate chip cookies are going to be one of my friends favorites! This place looks AH-Mazing, if I do say so myself! Hey, this place does look great, but today we re going to hear an even more amazing story about a special place for us. Get ready to listen, friends, because it is good! Bye! Host exits. Bible Story What You Need: Bible. STORYTELLER: Hi, guys! I am so happy to see you again. Our Bible story today is about a super cool place to live! Everybody say, Ooo-la-la! Remember how Jesus went away and then came back in (hold three fingers up) three days, just like He promised? He did! Let s count to three real quick. (Hold fingers up.) One, two, three. Great job! Hands in your laps. Jesus friends got to see Jesus when He came back! Now, Jesus knew He couldn t stay with His friends because He had to go be with God. BUT He had made another promise to His friends. Jesus promised that He would go get a very special place ready for them a place where His friends could live with Him forever. Wow! (Get really excited) Doesn t that sound awesome?! I just love special places! But this place wasn t just any place. Here s the cool thing. That special place is for US, too, when we ask Jesus to be our good friend! We won t ever have to be apart from Him. We don t know exactly what the special place will look like, but we do know some things about it! 6
Make it True 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 Web site. Right now where we live, some people can get really sick. And people can get hurt really bad. Those aren t good things. Everybody give a thumbs down. (Thumbs down.) But in heaven, this special place, no one will ever get sick or hurt! Everybody give a thumbs up! (Thumbs up.) And right now, people can feel really sad and lonely. Wait, is that a good thing or bad thing? (Pause.) Yep. Let s give that a thumbs down. (Thumbs down.) But in the special place Jesus is getting ready, no one will ever be sad or lonely! Give that one a huge thumbs up, because that s awesome! (Thumbs up over head.) Jesus is such a good friend that He is getting this amazing place ready for us right now. I am SO excited to live in that special place sometime. And I am SO glad that Jesus is my good friend. Who is your good friend? Jesus is my good friend! Ready to say it with me?! Who is your good friend? CHILDREN and STORYTELLER: Jesus is my good friend! STORYTELLER: Great job! One more time! Who is your good friend? CHILDREN and STORYTELLER: Jesus is my good friend! STORYTELLER: It s true, friends! Jesus IS our good friend! Great job! Let s pray. Dear God, thank You for coming back after three days and then promising us this special place where we can be with You forever. Thanks for always being a good friend, Jesus. We love You! Amen. You guys are SO awesome! See you next time! Bye. Storyteller exits. 7
Key Question: Who is your good friend? Bottom Line: Jesus is my good friend. Memory Verse: A friend loves at all times. Proverbs 17:17, NIrV Bible Story Focus: Jesus wants to be with me forever. A Place for Us John 14:1-4 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. Make it Stick 1. At All Times At All Times is an activity that uses large motor skills, number recognition, and recitation to review this month s Bible verse. What You Need: Clock Numbers from the Activity Pages on the Website, white cardstock, tape, and reward stickers or hand stamp. (Option: Laminate) Before the activity: Make a copy of Clock Numbers from the Activity Pages on white cardstock. Tape the numbers securely on the floor to look like a large round clock. (Option: Laminate the numbers for added durability.) During the activity: Walk around the clock circle as you say the rhyme. Each time you finish the rhyme call out a number and the child standing on that number gets a chance to say the Memory Verse for a sticker or hand stamp. Before the activity: Come stand on my big clock. I have a fun game for us to play! During the activity: Look at our big clock. It has numbers going all the way around it. Count with me! (Point to the numbers as you count.) One, two, three twelve! We re going to walk in a circle. I ll call out a number when we stop. Whoever is standing on that number gets to say our Memory Verse for a prize! Here we go! (Say each time you walk around the circle) Walk, walk around the clock. Say the verse when we stop. At the end of the activity: A good friend loves at all times and Jesus is a good friend. Who is your good friend? (Pause.) Jesus is my good friend. And that means Jesus loves you all the time! 2. The Perfect Place The Perfect Place is a discussion activity that allows the children to express their ideas and thoughts about the Bible story. What You Need: The comfy space you made during Our Place from Make It Fun. Before the activity: Have all of the children sit down and get comfortable in Our Place. During the activity: Ask the children what they think would make the perfect house. At the end of the activity: Discuss that Jesus wants to be our friend so that we can live in the special place. 8
Make it Stick Before the activity: Our place that we made earlier looks super comfy! Let s go and all sit together. (Sit in Our Place. ) This is so comfy! You did a great job making this special place for us. During the activity: In our story today we learned that Jesus has made a special place for us with anything and everything wonderful that we can imagine! It is AMAZING! What do you think an AMAZING place should have? Would it have golden streets and beautiful rainbows all of the time? What do you think? (Call on children who have ideas to share.) OH, yes! These are wonderful ideas about the special place! What else do you think would be there? (Allow the children to keep giving ideas and discuss.) At the end of the activity: You all have such wonderful ideas! We do not know exactly what the special place looks like or what it is like, but the Bible tells us that it is AMAZING and that Jesus made it just for us. He wants us to be His friend so that we can go and live in the special place. Who is your good friend? (Pause.) You got it! Jesus is my good friend! 3. Special Place Special Place is an activity that uses fine motor skills and creativity to create a take-home reminder that Jesus is getting a special place ready for us. What You Need: Place to Draw from the Activity Pages on the Website, white cardstock, colored pencils, markers, and crayons. Before the activity: Make one copy of Place to Draw from the Activity Pages on white cardstock for each child. During the activity: Give each child an Activity Page. Talk with them about what different places look like the zoo, the grocery store, the park, or their bedroom. Ask them to choose one special place and draw it on their page. As the children finish, ask them to share about their picture. On the kids papers, write key words they use to describe their picture. During the activity: I want us to think for a minute about some of the special places we go to sometimes. Let s start with the zoo. Describe what you might see at the zoo. (Pause.) Now let s think about your grandparents house. What is it like there? (Pause.) How about your house? That s a very special place. Describe your house for me. (Pause.) Yes, we visit lots of special places. I want you to pick one special place and draw it on your paper. When you re done you can show it to everyone. At the end of the activity: Wow! Your pictures look great! You drew lots of special places! I think it s awesome to think about how Jesus is getting the MOST special place we will ever see ready for us right now. One day we will get to live with 9
Make it Stick Jesus forever in that special place. Jesus is such a good friend! Who is your good friend? (Pause.) Jesus is my good friend! 4. Celebration Celebration is a silly activity that allows the children to be silly while celebrating that Jesus made Heaven for us! What You Need: Music player and the song, Oh So Happy Day, from www. AmberSkyRecords.com. Before the activity: Play the song Oh So Happy Day. During the activity: Encourage the children to dance and be silly. Continue as long as there s interest. Before the activity: I am so excited that Jesus has made such a special place for us! I just want to CELEBRATE! When I celebrate I like to dance and be silly! Let s dance! During the activity: (Play music.) Will you dance with me? (Dance with the children.) Show me your cool dance moves! We have a lot to celebrate because Jesus has a special place for us! (Continue as long as there s interest.) At the end of the activity: I am so glad that Jesus is my friend and that He has a special place for me. Jesus loves us so much and wants to be everyone s friend! Who is your good friend? (Pause.) Yes, yes, yes! Jesus is my good friend! 5. My Friend Jesus My Friend Jesus is an activity that uses fine motor skills and creativity to create a take-home reminder that Jesus wants to be our friend forever. What You Need: Jesus and Me from the Activity Pages on the Website, white cardstock, markers, and crayons. Before the activity: Make a copy of Jesus and Me from the Activity Pages on white cardstock for each child. During the activity: Give each child a copy of Jesus and Me. Instruct them to draw a picture of themselves standing with their good friend Jesus. During the activity: Jesus is your good friend. Who is your good friend? (Pause.) Jesus is my good friend. That s why I want you to draw a picture of YOU standing beside Jesus. Look at the colors you re wearing, your hair color, your eye color make the picture look as much like you as you can. 10
Make it Stick At the end of the activity: I love the pictures you drew! Way to go! You can take them home and put them on your fridge to remind you that Jesus is your good friend! Who is your good friend? (Pause.) Jesus is my good friend! 11
Key Question: Who is your good friend? Bottom Line: Jesus is my good friend. Memory Verse: A friend loves at all times. Proverbs 17:17, NIrV Bible Story Focus: Jesus wants to be with me forever. A Place for Us John 14:1-4 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. Make it Real Small Group Time What You Need: Paperclip Memory Verse Card from the Week One Activity Pages on the Website in your Bible at Proverbs 17:17. Provide a journal and a fun-shaped pen for each small group. You will also need reward stickers or a hand stamp. SMALL GROUP LEADER (SGL): We ve talked a lot about how Jesus wants to be our friend forever. Who wants to be your friend forever? CHILDREN and SGL: Jesus wants to be my friend forever! SGL: That s right! Jesus wants to be your friend forever! That s why Jesus left us. He went to prepare a place for us so we can live with Him forever. Just like we have to build our houses and move the furniture in before we can live in them, Jesus had to go get our new home with Him all ready. Now THAT is a good friend! Who is your good friend? CHILDREN and SGL: Jesus is my good friend! SGL: I don t know exactly what our home with Jesus will look like, but I know it will be wonderful because Jesus loves us. Remember our Memory Verse? A friend loves at all times, Proverbs 17:17. Let s say it together and then anyone who wants to say it for a sticker/hand stamp can give it a try! CHILDREN and SGL: A friend (hook your pointer fingers together) loves (hug yourself) at all times (stretch your arms out to each side with your palms facing up as you turn in a circle), Proverbs 17:17. (Open your hands like a book.) (Repeat as many times as desired.) SGL: Yay! I am so proud of you! I hope you always remember how much Jesus loves you and that He wants to be your good friend forever! It s time to pray now. I think this time we should tell Jesus thank You for all He s done for us. We can tell Him thank You for being a good friend, for making a way for us to be with God forever, for coming back, for going to prepare a place for us, or for just always loving us. We can tell Him thank You for all kinds of things, because Jesus is my good friend. Who is your good friend? CHILDREN and SGL: Jesus is my good friend! SGL: Who wants to go first? Write down the children s names in your journal. Remember to print the words so they can recognize their names and letters. Prayer SGL: God, we have so much we want to say thank You for. Thank You for (read what the children listed). You sent us the perfect friend when You sent Jesus. We love Him and we love You, God. In Jesus name, amen. 12
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 Jesus is my good friend. Encourage parents to repeat the Bottom Line at home and help their child understand that Jesus is my good friend. Have this month s Parent CUE available for parents to pick up or send it in a monthly email. Encourage parents to use the activities found in Parent CUE to reinforce this month s Bottom Line: Jesus is my good friend. 13