First Look 3- through 5-year-olds, October, Week 1 Small Group

October 7, 2018 Bible Story Focus: God is always with me. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego Daniel 3:10-28 Memory Verse: God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9, NLT Key Question: Who s got it? Bottom Line: God s got it. Basic Truth: God loves me. WELCOME: Arrival Activities Parent/Student Sign In Offering Collected Children s Activities: Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego Coloring page Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (s, 10-15 minutes) Activities that encourage preschoolers to begin engaging with peers and Leaders. 1. Marshmallow Relay Made to Move: An activity that uses a preschooler s natural desire to move to help them learn What You Need: Jumbo marshmallows, plastic spoons, and a bucket or cooler like you would use when camping Before the Activity: Set the bucket/cooler at one end of the playing area. During the Activity: Gather the children on the opposite side of the room from the bucket or cooler. Place one marshmallow on a spoon and demonstrate how to carefully walk to the bucket or cooler while balancing it on the spoon. If they drop the marshmallow, they may place it back on the spoon and keep going. Repeat so that each child has a turn. What You Say: Before the Activity: Today we re going to play a super fun relay game! The goal is to move this marshmallow all the way across the room to place it in the bucket/cooler on the other side! Sounds easy, right? Well, instead of just carrying this to the other side of the room with your hands, I want you to balance it on a spoon like this. (Demonstrate.) It s important to keep the marshmallow with you ALL the way to the bucket/cooler. If you drop it, you can pick it up and place it back on the spoon so you can keep going. Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com 2

(Demonstrate for the children.) Everybody ready? Let s line up right here and take turns. After the Activity: That was super fun! You had to make sure the marshmallow stayed with you the whole time, all the way to the bucket/cooler. In our Bible story today, we re going to hear about someone who is always with you. Worship: Inviting People to Respond to God (15 minutes) Gather for large group time. Large group time includes worship songs and a Bible Story. Model and encourage the children to sing, dance, and even use instruments (located in your Sunday School cabinet) during the music videos. What You Need: Music Video Files Music Video File: My Best Friend Music Video File: WHOAH **Feel free to sing either 1 or 2 songs each week! Introductory Sketch/Bible Story Video File: God is always with me. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego Daniel 3:10-28 What you do and say: Greeting: I m so happy to have all my friends here with me this morning! We are going to sing this morning to let God know we are happy to be here and that we love Him! (Sing one or both worship songs using the media loaded on your flash drive) Introductory Sketch/Bible Story: Today we get to hear a story about three men named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were very brave, they believed in God, and they stood up for what they believed in. Let s listen to this True Bible Story and see what happens! Watch the video: God is always with me. Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego Daniel 3:10-28w Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com 3

Recap Questions What did King Nebuchadnezzar build? (A statue of himself) What were King Nebuchadnezzar s people supposed to do every time they heard music? (Bow down and worship the statue of the king) What happened to the people who refused to bow down to the statue? (They were thrown into a fiery furnace) Why did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow down to the statue? (Because they believed in God and you are not supposed to bow down or worship anything/anyone other than God) What did the King do with the three men? (He put them in the fiery furnace) What did the King and the people see in the furnace? (4 men walking in the flames) Who do you think was in the flames with Sadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? (An angel sent by God) After King Nebuchadnezzar saw that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were protected from the fire by God, who did he decide to worship? (The one true God!) Prayer: Dear God, thank You for always being with us. There is no one else like You. You deserve all of our praise. Please help us remember that no matter where we go or what happens,you ve got it! We love You, God. In Jesus name, amen. Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com 4

Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (s, 20 minutes) Offer as many of the following activities as your time, facilities, resources, and leadership allow. 1. Memory Verse with Motions 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: No supplies needed Before the Activity: Say the memory verse and do the following motions in front of the children. God (point both hands straight up) is with you (point out to a friend) wherever (wave hands in a circle) you go (march in place). Joshua 1:9 (Open hands like a book.) During the Activity: Say the verse again with the motions and invite the children to do it with you. Repeat several times. What You Say: Before the Activity: I am going to say our new memory verse today. Everyone watch me! God (point both hands straight up) is with you (point out to a friend) wherever (wave hands in a circle) you go (march in place), Joshua 1:9. (Open hands like a book.) During the Activity: Now let s do it all together! Are you ready? God (point both hands straight up) is with you (point out to a friend) wherever (wave hands in a circle) you go (march in place), Joshua 1:9. (Open hands like a book.) (Repeat several times.) After the Activity: Our memory verse tells us that God is always with us wherever we go. God is always with us, and [Bottom Line] God s got it! Who s got it? [Bottom Line] God s got it! Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com 5

2. Furnace 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: Furnace and Furnace Label Activity Pages; white cardstock; Avery #5160 labels or equivalent; brown lunch sacks (one for each child); red, yellow, and orange tissue paper squares; scissors; and glue sticks Before the Activity: Copy the Furnace Activity Page onto the white cardstock and cut on the dotted lines. You will need one cutout per child. Copy the Furnace Label Activity Page onto the labels. You will need one label per child. During the Activity: Give each child a lunch sack and some tissue squares. Help the children glue the tissue squares all over the front of the bag. Give each child a cutout from the Furnace Activity Page. Invite the children to move the cutout in and out of the bag to reenact the Bible story. After the Activity: Place the label on the back of the bag. What You Say: Question? Before the Activity: We heard an amazing Bible story today! We learned that God s got it! During the Activity: Let s pretend this bag (hold up) is the furnace from our story. Use the glue stick to glue the fire (hold up tissue squares) all over the front of the bag. (Do activity.) Great job! (Give each child a cutout.) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went into the furnace (place cutout inside the bag), but God was with them and they came back out (remove cutout from the bag). God s got it! (Place label on bag.) After the Activity: Your furnaces look great! God protected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fire and was always with them. He is always with us too! [Bottom Line] God s got it! Who s got it? [Bottom Line] God s got it! Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com 6

3. Fire Stick Limbo Live for God Application Activity Made to Move: An activity that uses a preschooler s natural desire to move to help them learn What You Need: A yardstick; yellow, orange, and red streamers; scissors; and clear tape (Optional: The monthly song and a CD player) Before the Activity: Cut the streamers into four-inch strips and tape them along the length of the yardstick to create a limbo pole. During the Activity: Have two leaders stand on either end of the yardstick and hold it up about four feet off the ground. Line up the children on the opposite side of your open space. Let each child take a turn doing the limbo underneath the yardstick. To limbo, you lean your head back and bend backward to slowly walk under the yardstick without touching it. You will need to demonstrate this for the children. If they cannot bend backward, simply let them duck as they go under the pole. If you have a class of older preschoolers, consider lowering the pole just a little to repeat for a second round. (Optional: Play the monthly song as the children limbo.) What You Say: During the Activity: Today we re going to limbo under the fire stick! (Hold up.) Let me show you how. (Demonstrate the limbo.) Let s take turns so that everyone has a chance. (As each child approaches the fire stick) Come through the fire. [Bottom Line] God s got it! After the Activity: That was super fun! Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew that God was the only one they would ever bow down to. And they weren t afraid of the fire because God was with them. We can always trust God and know for sure that He is with us! Who s got it? [Bottom Line] God s got it. Prayer Dear God, there is no one else like You. You made everything. You know everything. And You can do anything like being able to always be with us. Only You can do that! I pray (name each child) will remember that no matter where they go, You are always with them. We love You, God. In Jesus name, amen. Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com 7