2 nd /3 rd Grade Feb 3 Jesus Feeds the 5,000 Bible Verse Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to distribute to the people. They all ate and were satisfied. (Mark 6:41-42) Teacher Enrichment This is the fourth lesson in the New School: Moments from Jesus Life series which explores scripture lessons from Jesus life on earth. As both human and divine, Jesus is our best example of what God wants us to be like as humans. This series examines how Jesus lived and the choices He made for His life. As Jesus went from city to city preaching about God, healing people and serving those in need He became very popular. (Think the Beatles circa 1965. Everyone knew they were great, but if you could see them in person, well, that was the ticket.) When we meet Jesus on a mountain side, He has gathered a crowd of over 5,000 people which is great and wonderful and amazing until it s time to eat. The disciples react as we probably would and suggest they let everyone fend for themselves. After all, there s no way they can possible feed this many people on such short notice and with little funds. But Jesus has other plans. He takes a small boy s lunch and turns it into a feast for all and everyone s needs are met. Serving a crowd in need is a formidable task. If we are asked to do it, we often stand there with our two fish and our five little loaves of bread and wonder how they can possibly help the situation. Or we wonder what will be left for us if we give away the little we have. Do we really have enough money or food or time? That is the moment when we must trust God to provide what is needed. When we give, our blessings are multiplied, often in ways we never anticipated. In this lesson children will learn that Jesus provides for our needs. They will explore ways God provides for them and ways they can provide for others.
Before Class Begins Place the Sign In sheet and a pen where parents can see it upon arrival. Place the Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards and pens where students can see them upon arrival. Check that you have supplies for this lesson: Arrival Activity, Loaves and Fish activity page 1 per child Square sheets of paper 1 per child Loaves and Fishes cutout 1 per child Basket cutout 1 per child Place an arrival activity at each place on the table. Welcome SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards, Attendance chart, stickers, pens, Loaves and Fish activity sheet, pencils, markers Greet each child individually as they arrive. Introduce yourself by name. Help children find or add their name on the attendance chart. Provide each child with a sticker to place in today s column on the attendance chart. Encourage children to complete a Joy or Concern card if they have a particular joy or concern they would like to express. Collect completed Joy & Concern cards. Encourage children to complete a Time or Talent offering card if they gave their time to God or used their talents to serve God or others during the previous week. Children should keep their own completed Time and Talent cards. If children bring monetary offering, they should keep it with them. Direct children to complete Loaves and Fish activity sheet. Encourage conversation among the children and with you! Get to know the children in your classroom by asking about their week including school, activities and families. Introduce new children to each other and encourage friendships. Children s Worship SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards
The Children s Worship Leader will direct your class to come to Ruth Hall at 9:20 or 11:05. Bring the Sign In sheet and completed Joy & Concern cards to Ruth Hall. Hand the Joy & Concern cards to the Children s Worship leader as you arrive. Have children bring their completed Time & Talent cards and any monetary offering. If additional children arrive while in Ruth Hall, have parents complete the Sign In sheet and remind parents that pickup is in Room 105. Encourage children to participate in Children s Worship and provide re-direction if necessary. Assist the Children s Worship leader as needed. At the conclusion of Children s Worship, have children line up and return to Room 105. The Lesson SUPPLIES: Square sheets of paper, scissors, basket, Loaves and Fishes cutouts, Basket cutouts, stapler, pencils, crayons/markers/colored pencils Gather all the children in a circle on the carpet. As you are able, sit on the floor with them or use a chair as part of the circle. Give each child a square sheet of paper and a pair of scissors. Keep a sheet and a pair of scissors for yourself. Place a basket in the middle of the circle. SAY: Jesus did some amazing things when He was here on earth. Last week we heard how He brought Lazarus back to life. Today we heard how He took a small boy s lunch, just some bread and fish, and used it to feed over 5,000 people! ASK: How many corners does your piece of paper have? (Allow children to count and answer four) SAY: Your paper has four corners. But what if I want to give someone a corner? What if there are other people who need a corner? I want to help them. I m going to cut off a corner of my paper and give it up. Can you do the same? Cut off a corner of your paper and place it in the basket. Encourage children to each cut off one corner of their paper and place it in the basket.
ASK: Now that you ve given away a corner, how many corners does your paper have? (Allow children to count and answer five) SAY: That s weird! I cut off a corner and gave it away, but now I have more corners than when I started. I m going to try again. Cut off all three other corners and encourage children to do the same. ASK: Now how many corners do you have? (Allow children to count and answer 8) SAY: The more corners I give away, the more corners I end up with! The same was true with Jesus. The more times Jesus divided the bread and fish, the more He had to give away. Not only that, the people had more than enough. SAY: Turn to your neighbor and share what surprised you about our corner activity and what surprised you about what Jesus did with the loaves and fishes. Allow a minute or so for children to share with their neighbor. Allow 1 or 2 children to share with the large group. SAY: Jesus took what one small boy had for lunch and used it to bless 5,000 people with it. He can do the same thing with us. Sometimes we might feel like we don t have enough, but Jesus provides what we need. SAY: Jesus can also take what we have and bless others with it. Sometimes we might be worried about giving something away. We might feel if we share a friend it might leave us with less of that friend s time. Or if we share some of our money it will leave us with less to buy things for ourselves. But when we gave away our corners, it didn t leave us with less, it left us with more! When we choose to help others, WE end up blessed by Jesus! When that little boy gave up his lunch, thousands of people had enough food including that little boy. SAY: We are going to create a craft to help us remember that Jesus provides for us AND that we can help Jesus provide for others. We are creating a basket filled with five loaves and two fish. On the loaves you will write areas or ways you most notice God providing for you. On the fish you will write things you can provide that God could use to help others. Show children sample craft. Have children move from the carpet to seats at the tables.
Provide each child with a Loaves and Fishes cutout. Direct them to cutout the loaves and fish and write their answers on the backs. Provide each child with a Basket cutout. Direct them cutout, assemble and decorate their basket. Loaves and fish can be placed in the basket. Closing Lead the children in a closing prayer. You may say your own prayer, ask one of the children to say a prayer or use the one below. God, We are amazed by Jesus awesome power. Thank you for sending your son to earth to be a perfect example for us. Amen If time remains before parents arrive, encourage children to return to their Lazarus activity sheet if they did not complete it. Also encourage conversation between children and with you. This is another opportunity to build relationships with the children in your classroom.
Loaves and Fishes Basket Craft