BIBLE STORY Jesus Is Born THE CHRISTMAS STORY LUKE 1:26-33 MEMORY VERSE God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. John 3:16, GNT 20 10 10 SOCIAL: Providing time for fun interaction. Birthday Banner Party Hats Christmas Gift Pass WORSHIP: Inviting people to respond to God. Opening Activity Jesus, Savior (Song) STORY: Communicating God s truth in engaging ways. Bottom Line Bible Story BOTTOM LINE Happy Birthday, Jesus! 20 10 GROUPS: Creating a safe place to connect. Cupcake Celebration Bible Story Banner Pray HOME: Taking Coloring Page WHAT YOU DO 1. Go to myfreedom.org/kidsleaders to do the following: 1. Read through preschool leader guide several times throughout the week to familiarize yourself with what to say, how long it should take, and the order of activities. 2. Watch the Bible story video. 3. Preview the worship songs and get familiar with the motions to help lead your preschoolers in worship. 4. Preview the schedule to make sure you stay on time. 2. Arrive on time to tag in briefly with the team, set up activity materials, and connect with early arrivers. 3. Teach kids about God s Word with energy! WHAT YOU NEED (provided for you) -6 piece of butcher paper -cupcakes -candy canes (check out) -Party hats -plates -drive time cards (for parents) -stickers -wet wipes -masking tape -gift tin -sprinkles -heart stickers -party blower (1 per gathering) -mini waters -pretzel snack packs -Week 4 DVD -coloring pages -birthday candle (1) - Story Banner pages -balloons (check out) -Christmas story cards
SOCIAL Birthday Banner Welcome kids as they enter your room with energy. Use the first social activities during the social play time as an option for kids to do as they check in. CUE: Play Veggietales Christmas CD. -Place the Happy Birthday banner in the center of the activity area. -Place crayons around the activity area. -Allow kids to draw and decorate the birthday banner for Jesus. -Comment on kids drawings. -When it s almost time to clean up, use the masking tape to hang the banner on the wall. WHAT YOU SAY: Friends, look over here! We have to get our room ready for Jesus birthday party! We are going to hang this banner up on the wall. It says, Happy Birthday, Jesus! in the middle. But first - we have to decorate it! Will you help me get ready? Let s use our crayons and make it special for Jesus! (Do activity.) Wow! This is awesome! Let s hang it up so we are ready for our birthday party for Jesus! 1 SOCIAL Party Hats -Set the stickers and party hats in the center of the table. -Give each kid a party hat. -Allow kids to use the stickers to decorate their party hats. -Encourage kids as they create their hats. WHAT YOU SAY: Today we are celebrating Jesus birthday! I can t wait! Let s get ready for our party and decorate our own party hats! Would you like to decorate with me? Great! You can use the stickers on the table to decorate your hat however you want to. (Do activity.) Wow! Your hats look amazing! You are ready to celebrate Jesus birthday today. Happy Birthday Jesus! 2
OPENING ACTIVITY Christmas Gift Pass WHAT YOU SAY: Friends! It s time to clean up so I can show you something really cool! Let s work together to clean up and when you are finished come sit with me! CUE: Clean Up Song (on DVD) at 4:50 / 6:20. Give kids time to clean; challenge them to finish before the song is over! -Have kids sit in a circle. Pass the gift tin around the circle. -Ask kids what their most excited about for Christmas when the tin gets to them. -When all kids have gotten to hold the gift tin, choose a kid to open it. -Allow them to blow the party horn. (make sure this gets thrown away after each gathering) -Explain the meaning of Christmas - Jesus birthday! WHAT YOU SAY: Hello, everyone! I m so glad you re here today! Who knows what big day is coming up? That s right, CHRISTMAS! I m so excited. Today we are going to pass this gift around the circle. When it gets to you I want you to tell us: What is your favorite thing about Christmas? (Do activity.) Those were some really exciting things! And you know what else is really exciting? It's time to open this present! Who would like to open it? Choose a kid. Wow! It s a party horn! Allow them to blow it. At Christmas we celebrate a VERY special birthday. Jesus birthday! Jesus is God s Son. And today we are throwing him a birthday party! Can everyone help me 3 wish him a happy happy birthday? Here we go. 1, 2, 3! Happy Birthday, Jesus! WORSHIP LEADER: Let s all stand up and shake ours arms shake our legs give someone a high-five! It s time to start our birthday celebration! The first thing we are going to do is sing and dance. This is a time where we get to thank God for sending Jesus! Let s go! CUE: Jesus, Savior music video. Stand next to the screen and lead kids in motions on the screen. 4
STORY Bible Story WHAT YOU SAY: Great singing, everyone. Let s all tell Jesus Happy Birthday before we sit down. Ready? 1, 2, 3! Happy Birthday, Jesus! Now it s time for my favorite party of the day. Story time! Get those listening ears ready and quiet lips because our story today is VERY special. It s about baby Jesus being born! Let s watch! CUE: Bible Story video. I m so glad that God sent Jesus to be born. Jesus is God s Son and he is God s gift to us. Christmas isn t about Christmas trees, presents, and Santa. Those are really fun things! But we celebrate Christmas because Jesus came! That, my friends, is the true story of Christmas. Let s pray. Dear God, thank You for teaching us the true story of Christmas. I pray we never stop celebrating how special Jesus is. Thank You for all of my friends here today who came to celebrate Jesus birthday. I pray that we will all understand how special Jesus is and that He truly is Your Son. Thank You for sending Jesus to be a friend forever. We love You, God. In Jesus name, amen. 5 GROUPS Cupcake Celebration -Transition kids to tables for cupcake celebration. -Pass out hand sanitizer and cupcakes. -Sing the birthday song to Jesus. -Allow kids to decorate cupcakes with sprinkles and eat them. -Pass out pretzel snack bags and mini waters to kids who want them. WHAT YOU SAY: It s time for birthday cupcakes and singing to Jesus! Are you ready, friends? Let s go! Transition to table(s) if possible. Today we get to decorate some really yummy cupcakes for Jesus and sing Happy Birthday! to Him. We are going to give you a cupcake but don t eat it yet! We will sing first and then decorate and eat! Pass plates, cupcakes and waters to each kid. Hold up a cupcake with a birthday candle in it. Light the candle and sing the birthday song to Jesus. When finished, have all of the kids help you blow out the candle! Allow kids to eat. Pass out pretzel bags to those who want them. Wow, I can't think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than by being here with you and celebrating Jesus birthday. 6
GROUPS Bible Story Banner -Transition kids to a different area of the room from snack. -Have kids stand. -Read the Christmas story cards. -Encourage kids to act out their parts. -Lay out the story banner pieces (3 pieces). Have kids sit down. -Ask prompting questions to help kids put the banner pictures in order. -When kids guess the correct order, thread the banner pieces on a piece of string and hang up on the wall. WHAT YOU SAY: Friends, come with me! Transition to a different area of the room. Will help you me tell the story for today? Great! Listen for you parts! Read the story cards. That was so wonderful! You did a great job and we had some amazing sheep! Let s all sit down and put together a party banner for our birthday celebration today! Hmm, it looks like I m going to need some help. Will you help me put these 3 pictures in the correct order? Awesome! Which one do you think comes first?.yes! An Angel came Mary and told her she was going to have a baby. She would name him Jesus and he was God s Son. Ok, so that s number one. What s next?.yes! Jesus being born in the stable is next. Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem and Mary had Jesus in a stable where the animals lived. What comes next? Yes! The angels told the shepherds the wonderful news that Jesus was born. Wow, this looks amazing! Happy Birthday, Jesus! 7 GROUPS Pray -Gather kids together. -Give each kid a heart sticker. -Pray for the group. WHAT YOU SAY: -It s almost time to go home! Let s gather together and talk to God before we go. Gather kids together. I have had SO much fun with you today. Tell me, who s birthday are we celebrating? Jesus! That s right. Today I am going to give you a heart sticker. You see - God sent Jesus to earth for you and me. He sent Jesus because he loves us so much. God s love for you is so big! Pass out heart stickers. Great job today, friends. Let s pray. Dear God, there are so many wonderful things happening this month. There are Christmas lights and yummy food and lots of presents. Please help my friends (name each child) and me remember that Christmas is all about Jesus birthday. Thank you for loving us so much that you sent Jesus to earth. We love You, God! In Jesus name, amen. 8
HOME Coloring Page -Lay the parachute out on the floor in an open area of the room. Encourage kids to pick up the parachute with both hands and stand up tall. -Place the plush animal in the center of the parachute. Explain that this is like the hurt man in our Bible story today. Encourage the children to hold onto the parachute, follow you to the other side of the room, and carefully set the parachute back down on the floor. Repeat several times. -Be prepared for parents to arrive at 5:35 / 7:05 and greet parents at the door. -Give each parents a drive time card. -Make sure each parent tag matches the child tag. -Give each kid a birthday balloon and candy cane on their way out while wishing them a Merry Christmas. WHAT YOU SAY: What a great birthday party today! Let s tell Jesus Happy birthday one more time! Ready? 1, 2, 3! Happy Birthday, Jesus! Let s color a picture of Jesus on His birthday! When it s time for you to be checked out, I have some special gifts I want to give to you! Greet parents at the door. Make sure each kid gets to pick a candy cane and hand them a birthday balloon as they leave. 9