FOUR S SMALL GROUP, December 2, 2018; Week 1

1 December 2, 2018 Bible Focus: The angel told Mary she would have a special baby. The Angel and Mary Luke 1:26-33, 38, 46 Memory Verse: God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. John 3:16, GNT Key Question: Why is Jesus special? Bottom Line: Jesus is God s Son. Basic Truth: Jesus wants to be my friend forever. Social (9:00, 10:15, 11:30) 9:00 & 11:30 Caring for Baby 10:15 Beanbag Toss Bible (9:10, 10:25, 11:40) All Service Times Bible Presentation in the Sandbox Journaling (9:30, 10:45, 12:00) All Service Times Small Group Time Prayer Groups (9:45, 11:00, 12:15) 9:00 & 11:30 The Angel to Mary 10:15 Invitation All Service Times Dismiss Parent CUE

2 December 2, 2018 Bible Focus: The angel told Mary she would have a special baby. The Angel and Mary Luke 1:26-33, 38, 46 Memory Verse: God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. John 3:16, GNT Key Question: Why is Jesus special? Bottom Line: Jesus is God s Son. Basic Truth: Jesus wants to be my friend forever. Social (Introductory Activities, 10 minutes) Let one teacher lead activities in different areas of the room while another teacher greets parents and kids at the door. 9:00 & 11:30 Caring for Baby Made to Move: An activity that uses a preschooler s natural desire to move to help them learn What You Need: Baby dolls, a plastic bin, hooded baby towels, washcloths, diapers, bottle, burp clothes, board books, and a doll bed (NOTE: Feel free to add any other baby care items that you have on hand to any of these stations.) What You Do: Before the Activity: Set up three stations for the children to care for a baby in three areas of the room. Feeding: bottle, burp cloths, baby doll Washing: hooded towels, washcloths, diapers, baby doll Reading/bedtime: board books, doll bed, baby doll During the Activity: Point out each baby care station and explain how to care for the baby doll at each one. Send the children in groups to each station. After a few minutes have passed, encourage the children to move to a new station so they have an opportunity to role play at each one. What You Say: Before the Activity: Raise your hand if you have a baby brother or sister. Do you help your mom or dad take care of the baby? Babies need a lot of love and care. Today I thought it would be fun to care for the baby dolls in our room. Do you see the stations we have set up around the room? (Point.) Come with me! During the Activity: This station has a bottle and a burp cloth. What do you think these items are for? (Pause.) Yes, for feeding the baby. Let s head to the next one. What do

3 you see? (Pause for responses.) That s right, this station is for washing the baby. This bin can be your sink or bathtub. Don t forget to put a diaper on the baby. (Move to the last station.) And finally, what do you think is happening here? (Pause.) Yes, it s time to put the baby to bed. You can read the baby a story first. Let s all find a station and care for the baby you find there. After the Activity: You did a wonderful job caring for our babies today. In our true Bible Truth, someone will find out that she will have a very special baby. Do you know who that might be? We will find out! Transition: Move to Bible Time by calling out different ways to care for a baby as the children pantomime them: feeding baby a bottle, burping baby, changing baby s diaper, rocking baby, singing a lullaby to baby, putting baby down for a rest, pushing baby in a stroller, shushing and gently bouncing baby, etc.

4 10:15 Beanbag Toss Made to Play: An activity that encourages preschoolers to follow guidelines while having fun and learning new concepts What You Need: Toss Activity Pages, white cardstock, floor tape, and several beanbags What You Do: Before the Activity: Copy the Toss Activity Pages onto the cardstock. Tape the six pictures in a horizontal line about a foot apart on the floor. During the Activity: Have the children stand about ten feet in front of the pictures. Challenge the children to toss the beanbags onto the pictures. After the Activity: Be sure each child has a turn to throw a beanbag on each picture. What You Say: Before the Activity: We are going to play a game. During the Activity: There are six pictures on the floor. (Point.) They are pictures of a birthday cake, a birthday hat, balloons, confetti, party horns, and a picture of a woman named Mary. We are going to try to toss our beanbags onto the pictures. Are you ready? (Pause and play game.) After the Activity: Great job! These pictures (point) are all about what we will be talking about this month. Today we will talk about the woman named Mary. In our Bible Truth today, we are going to hear about something AMAZING that happened to her. Transition: Move to Bible Time by clapping your hands and chanting this month s Bottom Line, Jesus is God s Son! Bible (Large Group, 20 minutes) After children have participated in Social, gather them for a large group time that includes interactive worship, introductory sketch and Bible Truth. Place your We are in The Sandbox sign on the door as you leave. Travel to the Sandbox.

5 December 2, 2018 Bible Focus: The angel told Mary she would have a special baby. The Angel and Mary Luke 1:26-33, 38, 46 Memory Verse: God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. John 3:16, GNT Key Question: Why is Jesus special? Bottom Line: Jesus is God s Son. Basic Truth: Jesus wants to be my friend forever. Journaling (Small Groups, 15 minutes) Journaling is designed to help preschoolers understand how the Bottom Line applies to them. They ll discuss real-life experiences and share prayer requests. Give each child a cup of Chex cereal to snack on while you take them through the following exercise. What you Need: Paperclip Memory Verse Card in your Bible at John 3:16. Journal and a fun-shaped pen. Reward stamps. SMALL GROUP LEADER (SGL): It s Small Group time. Let s pretend we are angels on our way to see Mary. Our arms can be our angel wings. Come fly with me to our Small Group spot! (Pretend your arms are angel wings and fly to your spot.) That was fun! Thanks for pretending with me. Let s sit down and talk about today s Bible Truth now. One, two, three, sit down with me! (Open the Bible and lay it open in front of the children.) Our Bible Truth today was about a girl named Mary. Can you say, Mary? (Pause for response.) Mary had a special visitor in our Bible Truth today. Do you remember who came to visit Mary? (Pause.) Yes, an angel visited Mary. The angel told Mary she was going to have a baby but not just ANY baby. This baby would be VERY special. His name would be Jesus, and He would be God s Son. Wow! God s Son! That does make Jesus VERY special. That s why when I ask you, Why is Jesus special? I want you to say, [Bottom Line] Jesus is God s Son. Let s try that. Why is Jesus special?

6 CHILDREN and SGL: [Bottom Line] Jesus is God s Son! SGL: You got it! Let s do that again. Why is Jesus special? CHILDREN and SGL: [Bottom Line] Jesus is God s Son! SGL: Good job! I am so proud of you! Okay, so we know God sent an angel to tell Mary she was going to have a baby. We know His name is Jesus and He is God s Son. But why did God give us His Son, Jesus? (Turn the pages of your Bible to the Memory Verse Card.) Hmm. I think our memory verse this month can tell us why God gave us Jesus. Listen to this. God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, John 3:16. (Close Bible and lay it down.) Did you hear that? God LOVED you and me and everyone in the whole world SO much that He gave us His Son, Jesus. God gave us Jesus because He loves us. Who loves you? CHILDREN and SGL: [Basic Truth] God loves me! SGL: Who loves you? CHILDREN and SGL: [Basic Truth] God loves me! SGL: Yes! Okay, I want us to learn that verse so we can always remember how much God loves us. Let s stand up and say it together with the motions. CHILDREN and SGL: God (point up) loved (hug yourself) the world (raise arms overhead to form a circle) so much (stretch arms out as far as possible) that he gave (place hands together with palms up in front as if offering something) his only (point up) Son (hold arms as if cradling and rocking a baby), John 3:16. (Hold hands open like a book.) (Repeat the verse with motions a few times.) SGL: Awesome! Let s sit back down and write in our prayer journal. (Hold journal and fun-shaped pen.) We have learned a lot of special things today. We learned that Jesus is special because [Bottom Line] Jesus is God s Son, and God gave us Jesus because He loves us.

7 That gives me an idea. I am going to write all of your names in our prayer journal. When I say your name, I will give you two heart stickers one to put by your name in our journal and one to put on your shirt to wear home. The hearts will remind us how much God loves us. Get ready and listen for your name. (Say, God loves [child s name], as you print the names in the prayer journal. Each time you write a child s name, give that child two heart stickers one to put by their name in the journal and one to put on their shirt.) All of these hearts remind me that God loves us so much He gave us His Son, Jesus. Why is Jesus special? CHILDREN and SGL: [Bottom Line] Jesus is God s Son! SGL: Let s talk to God now and tell Him thank you for loving us so much. Would anyone like to pray before I pray? (Give each child who wants to pray the opportunity to do so.) Prayer SGL: Dear God, this is such a wonderful time of year. I pray every time we see a heart we will remember that You love us so much, You gave us Your only Son, Jesus. Thank You for sending Jesus to show us how to live and to make a way for us to be with You forever. You are SO good to us, God, and we love You. In Jesus name, amen.

8 December 2, 2018 Bible Focus: The angel told Mary she would have a special baby. The Angel and Mary Luke 1:26-33, 38, 46 Memory Verse: God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son. John 3:16, GNT Key Question: Why is Jesus special? Bottom Line: Jesus is God s Son. Basic Truth: Jesus wants to be my friend forever. Groups (Application Activities, 15 minutes) These activities are designed to help preschoolers understand and remember today s Bible Truth and Bottom Line. 9:00 & 11:30 The Angel to Mary What You Need: A parachute and a ball pit ball or small soft ball What You Do: Before the Activity: Lay out the parachute in an open area of the room. During the Activity: Encourage the children to find a spot around the edge of the parachute. Instruct the children to hold out their arms to their sides to make sure they are not standing too close to another friend. Then have them drop their arms and grab the edge of the parachute. If your parachute has handles, have each child stand at one handle and grab it with both hands. Once the children are holding the parachute at hip level, select one child to be the angel with the special message about Jesus and a child on the opposite side to be Mary. Explain that the goal of the game is to get the ball the message from the angel to Mary by moving the parachute. Place the ball on the parachute near the angel, and say, Go! Once the ball reaches Mary, instruct the children to set the parachute on the floor. Collect the ball, select a new angel and Mary, and repeat as desired. What You Say: During the Activity: The angel gave Mary a very important message. Let s roll this ball from the angel to Mary. Everyone, gather around the parachute. Now grab the edge in front of you and lift it up until you re standing tall. I ll pick one of you to be the angel and one to be Mary. Let s work together to roll our ball on the parachute from the angel to Mary. After the Activity: Wonderful job! Can someone raise your hand and tell me what the message was that the angel gave to Mary? (Pause for answer.) Yes! The angel told Mary she would have a special baby. And that special baby was Jesus! Why is Jesus special? [Bottom Line] Jesus is God s Son.

9 10:15 Invitation Live for God Application Activity Made to Create: An activity that allows preschoolers to review the Bible Truth, Bottom Line, or memory verse by creating a craft What You Need: Invitation Activity Page, glitter crayons, 4x6-inch envelopes in any color (one per child), and Christmas stickers What You Do: Before the Activity: Fold each half into a card shape on the solid black line. During the Activity: Give each child one half of the Activity Page and encourage them to color the birthday cake inside the card with the glitter crayons. After the Activity: Place the card inside an envelope and ask the child to decorate the envelope with the stickers. Challenge the children to give the invitation to a friend and invite them to the Birthday Bash later in the month. What You Say: Before the Activity: We are going to have a BIRTHDAY BASH for Christmas! We would love for you to invite your friends to come and celebrate with us! During the Activity: We are going to make an invitation that you can give to your friends to invite them to come to church with you. (Do activity.) After the Activity: Great job! Your invitations look awesome! I am so excited to tell everyone that Jesus is God s Son. Why is Jesus special? [Bottom Line] Jesus is God s Son! All Service Times Get Ready to Dismiss

You are invited to a for Jesus at on. We can t wait to celebrate Jesus Birthday with you! You are invited to a for Jesus at on. We can t wait to celebrate Jesus Birthday with you! Invitation Invitation and Large Group December Week 1 Copy on white cardstock and cut along the dotted lines only. One card/half page per child. CURRICULUM FOR 3- to 5- YEAR OLDS 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com

Memory Verse December 2018 God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son. John 3:16, GNT God (point up) loved (hug yourself) the world (raise arms overhead to form a circle) so much (stretch arms out as far as possible) that He gave (place hands together with palms up in front as if offering something) His only (point up) Son. (hold arms as if cradling and rocking a baby ) John 3:16 (hold hands open like a book) Memory Verse Card Worship and Prayer/Journal December Week 1 Copy on light cardstock, cut along dotted lines, and paperclip in Bibles at appropriate verse. CURRICULUM FOR 3- to 5- YEAR OLDS 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com