Israelites Celebrate Passover Preparation Locate a piece of flatbread and a piece of regular or a fluffy type of bread. (Open your Bible to Exodus 13.) Moses was the leader of a group of people called Israelites. He wanted them to always be ready. They listened and tried to do what was asked of them. Moses said to the people, We are going to have a special meal. During this special celebration meal, eat only thin bread as a way to remember what God has done for us. They could only eat this thin bread without yeast. Show the children some fluffy bread. Bread like this one is fluffy, isn t it? It is fluffy because it has yeast in it. Now show some type of flat bread. Bread made without yeast is thin and flat. God wanted the Israelites to always be ready to follow God. Making this thin bread was one of the ways the people followed God s word. The Israelites made this thin bread as a way to be ready to follow God. Say these words, Be ready for God. Good. Now let s say the words, Shake It Up. Good! Activity Create Heart Place Mat orange construction paper stickers glue sticks crayons Before the children arrive label each place mat with the child s name and Psalm 27:14, Wait for the Lo r d; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lo r d! Cut out the heart shapes. Let the children glue the heart shapes on their place mat. Children also add stickers and draw on their mat. After the session, laminate the mats or cover them with a clear adhesive paper. Remind children of the Bible verse. Hand out the Shake it Up Sing: Time to Get Together (Tune: The More We Get Together ) Abingdon Press 1997 It s time to get together, together, together. It s time to get together and listen right now. Cause we ll hear a story that s found in the Bible, It s time to get together and listen right now. Exodus 13:3-10 Wait for the Lo r d ; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lo r d! Psalm 27:14 Be Ready for God! Collect a number of orange items in a box. Let children select an item and talk about it. Teacher Tip Before VBS, create shakers for the toddlers to use. Collect small film canisters or childproof medicine bottles. Fill them with small pebbles. Seal them by adding a strip of duct tape over each canister. Hand them out to the children each day during Music Time. 1
Festival Celebrations for the Israelites Leviticus 23 Don t forget to do good and to share what you have because God is pleased with these kinds of sacrifices. Hebrews 13:16 CEB Give happily to God! Collect a number of green items in a box. Let children select an item and talk about it. Open your Bible to Leviticus 23. In preparation for your lesson make a copy of the picture of the barely, grapes and the wheat located in the Preschool/Kindergarten Leader book or in the Decorating Transparencies. Moses told the people that God wanted them to plant a special garden. The people had to plant their barley seeds. (Show the picture of the barley.) Let s pretend we are the barely seeds. Sqat down as though we are being planted. (Gradually move up to illustrate how the seed grows.) The barely grew up, up, up! Let s stand up tall and pretend we are the barley. Next God wanted the people to plant wheat. (Show the picture of the wheat.) Let s pretend we are the seeds for the wheat. Sqat down as though we are being planted. The wheat grew up, up, up! Let s stand up tall and pretend we are the wheat. Then God wanted the people to plant grapes. (Show the picture of the grapes.) Let s pretend we are the seeds for the grapes. Sqat down as though we are being planted. The grapes grew up, up, up! Let s stand up tall and pretend we are the grapes. The people took the barely and wheat and made it into bread. They picked the grapes. They knew God had helped their garden to grow. They wanted to have a party to say thank you to God. The people brought their bread and grapes to the party or festival. They gave happily by sharing their bread and grapes with others as a way to say thank you to God. Activity Planting Garden Bags small resealable plastic bags potting soil quick sprouting grass seed old newspaper permanent marker (for leaders only) Before the session, cover your table or work area with old newspapers. Children are to select a bag. Using a measuring cup show the children how to fill the bottom of their bag with potting soil. Then ask them to place their seeds in the bag. Add about a teaspoon of water to their bag. Find an area in the room where the garden bags can receive strong sunlight during VBS and where the children can look for growth each day. Hand out the Shake It Up Sing: Give Happily (Tune: The Farmer in the Dell ) Give happily to others, Give happily to others, Give happily and do good, For this pleases God. 2
Jesus Celebrates the Festival of Booths Open your Bible to John 7. Today we are going to pretend we are at one of the festivals we have been talking about while we have been at VBS. Our Bible story is about a time when Jesus celebrated at the festival of booths. A booth is similar to a tent. Since the festival was so special people took off from work and came to attend. It was a big celebration. Now let s pretend we are at the temple or church. Chatter. Chatter. Chatter. (Open and close your hands in a talking motion. Have children copy you.) Oh my there was a lot of chatter and noise. Look. Look. Look. (Place your hands over your eyes as if you are looking far away. Have children copy you.) Look. Here comes Jesus! Jesus healed a man who could not walk. He fed many hungry people. Jesus even walked on water! Activity Playing in a Tent old sheet large appliance box Create a tent to illustrate the festival of the booths. Either set up a tent or create one using sheets or a large appliance box. Drape the sheet over chairs. Let two children at a time take turns playing in the tent. Place books inside the tent for the children to see. Hand out the Shake It Up Sing: Believe in Me (Tune: Are You Sleeping?) Believe in God. Believe in God. Believe in me, believe in me. Believe in me, for I am Jesus. Believe in God. Believe in me. John 7: 37-44 Believe in God, believe also in me. John 14:1b Believe fully in Jesus! Collect a number of red items in a box. Let children select an item and talk about it. Hush. Hush. Hush. (Put your finger beside your mouth to make a shh sound. Have the children copy you.) Jesus is here at the festival. Let s see if we can hear what Jesus is saying. I hear him, said one woman. Yes, I hear him too, said another person. He is saying that he is the Son of God, said a man in the crowd Jesus wants us to believe in God and in him too. Let s say our Bible verse together. Believe in God, believe also in me. John 14:1b 3
Jesus Celebrates Passover Luke 22:8-20 Do this in remembrance of me. Luke 22:19b Remember Jesus often! Collect a number of purple items in a box. Let children select an item and talk about it. Open your Bible to Luke 22. In preparation for your Bible story, display a plastic plate, cup and a fancy napkin for the children to see. After the story is told, let the children take turns setting the table with these items. Today in our Bible story we hear about a time when Jesus and his friends had a special meal called Passover. Jesus asked his friends Peter and John to help him prepare for this special meal. They found a nice big room to have the meal. They set the table with nice dishes since it was to be a special meal. While at the meal, Jesus shared some bread and juice with his friends. Before they ate, Jesus said, Do this in remembrance of me. After that Jesus picked up juice and bread. He said a prayer and thanked God for this food. Today in our churches we too have a special meal called Holy Communion or the Lord s Supper. While we have our special meals we also think about Jesus and remember him. Let s say our Bible verse together to help us think about Jesus. Do this in remembrance of me. Luke 22: 19b Activity Making Handprints play dough or soft modeling clay sturdy paper plates large resealable bags waxed paper Cover the table with waxed paper. Place a ball of clay onto a plate for each child. Show children how to smooth the clay into a flat circle by using the palms of their hands. Help children press one hand firmly into the clay. Write the children s names and the words Remember Jesus Often on their plates. After the hand print has dried place it in a large resealable bag to make it easier to transport home. Hand out the Shake it Up instruments to use. Sing: Bread and Juice (Tune: Hot Cross Buns) More Bible Songs to Tunes You Know Abingdon Press 2001 Jesus shared a special meal of. We remember Jesus with our. 4
Celebrating the Festival of Weeks and Pentecost Open your Bible to Acts 2. Whoo. Whoo. Whoo. Make a sound like a strong wind. What was that? Yes, it sounded like a strong wind. Let s make that sound like that too. Next we see even more people gather. Now a man named Peter is talking. Hello! My name is Peter. I am a follower of Jesus. I believe that Jesus was the Son of God. I was with him at the special meal, said Peter. Let s keep walking. Step. Step. Step go our feet. Move your feet. Now place your hand around your ear. Listen. Listen. Listen. Let s listen to what else Peter has to say. I have some wonderful news to tell you. Jesus loves you. Jesus loves everyone, said Peter. Many people did listen to Peter. They too wanted to believe in Jesus and become followers of him. Some people say that this is the birthday of the church so we call this day Pentecost. Activity Create a Church Stained Glass Window two 6- by 9-inch pieces of clear self-adhesive paper (per child) colored craft tissue paper tape window. Each child will need to have two 6- by 9-inch pieces of clear self-adhesive paper. Before the children arrive, cut several colors of tissue paper into a variety of shapes. Remove the backing from one piece of self-adhesive paper and lay it adhesive side up on a table. Try taping the ends of the paper to the table. Let the children select the shapes and colors and place them on the adhesive paper. After the children have finished adding all their colored tissue paper to the adhesive paper place the additional piece of adhesive paper over the tissue paper. Smooth out the wrinkles. Compliment the children on creating beautiful window pictures. Hand out the Shake it Up Sing: Celebrate God Forever (Tune: Row, Row, Row Your Boat) Shake, shake shake it up Shake it up right now. Let s turn around and sing out loud. Let s Celebrate God forever. Acts 2 I will cause your name to be celebrated. Psalm 45:17 Celebrate God Forever! Collect a number of blue items in a box. Let children select an item and talk about it. To help the children celebrate the birthday of the church, let them create a picture of a stained glass 5