Here s what you ll be teaching in 3s 5s this week. Social (9:00,, 11:30) Nativity Scene What in the Bag? Bible (9:10, 10:25, 11:40) Bible History Presentation in the Sandbox Journaling (9:30, 10:45, 12:00) Small Group Time Prayer Groups (9:35, 10:50, 12:05) Manger Scene Stable Walk Dismiss Parent CUE 1
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. Nativity Scene Made to Imagine: An activity that lets preschoolers pretend, imagine, and role play to enhance their learning What You Need: Little People nativity set Before the Activity: Place the nativity set in the middle of the activity area. During the Activity: Encourage the children to play together with the nativity. Be sure each child has a turn to play with the nativity. Before the Activity: We are going to hear a Bible Truth today about when Jesus was born! During the Activity: This is a nativity play set that has baby Jesus (hold up) and Mary (hold up) and Joseph (hold up). Let s share with our friends while we play with the nativity set. (Do activity.) After the Activity: Great job! I love nativity sets. Our Bible Truth today is all about when Jesus (hold up Jesus figure from nativity) was born! I am so excited to hear our today s Truth! Transition What s in the Bag? Made to Play: An activity that encourages preschoolers to follow guidelines while having fun and learning new concepts 2
What You Need: Bags to Pack and Items to Pack Activity Pages, Before the Activity: Shuffle and stack the Items to Pack cards in the center of the table. Place the Bags to Pack pages in a row on the edge of the table. During the Activity: Point out the Bags to Pack pages on the table. Talk about each bag and what might go inside it. Challenge the children to pick up one item card at a time from the stack and place it next to the appropriate bag. Before the Activity: Take a look at these bags! (Point.) They are all different! During the Activity: It looks like this bag is one that you d pack to go to Grandma s house! (Point.) And where do you think you would go with this bag? (Point.) (Pause.) Yes! The beach! What about this bag? (Point.) It looks like a school bag, doesn t it? Do you see the pictures of the items you would pack in these bags? Let s put these cards with the bag they belong to. (Finish activity.) After the Activity: You did a great job placing each of these items by the correct bag. Have you ever helped your mom or dad pack your bag for a special trip? (Pause.) Well, today in our Bible Truth, we ll hear about two people who had to take a trip. I m not sure what kind of bag they packed, though. I can t wait for you to hear today s Bible Truth! Transition: Move to Large Group by acting as though you re carrying a bag you ve packed for travel. The children can pretend the handle on the travel rope is the handle of a heavy suitcase. 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. 3
Journaling (Small Groups, 5 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 Isaiah 9:6. Journal, heart stamp, and a fun-shaped pen. Reward stamps. SMALL GROUP LEADER (SGL): Hey, friends! It s Small Group time! Let s pretend we are donkeys from the Bible Truth! That was fun! You did a wonderful job pretending to be donkeys. (High-five the children.) I want us to think about what it might have been like in the stable when Jesus was born. Let s put on our thinking caps. (Pretend to put on a hat.) Mary was there. And Joseph was there. And animals were there because they were in a place where animals stayed. The Bible says Mary wrapped baby Jesus in strips of cloth and laid Him in a manger on the soft hay. It was a very, very special time. It was special because it s when [Bottom Line] God gave us Jesus. That s how we know God loves us, because [Bottom Line] God gave us Jesus. How do we know God loves us? CHILDREN and SGL: [Bottom Line] God gave us Jesus! SGL: Say it in a whisper this time. How do we know God loves us? CHILDREN and SGL: [Bottom Line] God gave us Jesus. SGL: Yes! Jesus is the sweetest, best gift ever, because Jesus is God s Son AND Jesus wants to be our friend forever! 4
The Bible verse we re learning will help us remember that [Bottom Line] God gave us Jesus the best gift ever! It says (open Bible to verse): God has given a son to us, Isaiah 9:6. (Close Bible and lay it down.) Let s say the verse with the motions together. Just say what I say and do what I do. CHILDREN and SGL: God (point arms straight up) has given (cup both hands in front of you like you are giving something) a son (rock your arms like you re holding a baby) to us (point your thumbs to your chest), Isaiah 9:6. (Hold hands open like a book.) (Repeat several times.) SGL: I love hearing you say that! And your family will love hearing you say it when you tell it to them on Christmas day! Now let s sit down close together so we can hear each other. It s time to write in our journal and pray, and I don t want to miss anything you say. (Hold journal and fun-shaped pen.) What is the nice thing we say to someone when they give us a gift? (Pause.) We say thank you! Since [Bottom Line] God gave us Jesus, and Jesus is the BEST gift, we are going to tell God thank You for Jesus. I ll write your names, and then when I say your name, I want you to put a heart stamp by your name and say, Thank You, God, for Jesus! (Write each child s name. Remember to print their names so the children can recognize their names and the letters. When you say their names, guide them to put a heart stamp/sticker by their name and say, Thank you, God, for Jesus! ) This is so sweet! I love telling God thank You for giving us Jesus. How do we know God loves us? CHILDREN and SGL: [Bottom Line] God gave us Jesus! SGL: Let s close our eyes and put our hands together so we can pray. Would anyone like to pray before I pray? (Give each child who wants to pray the opportunity to do so.) Prayer SGL: Dear God, we want to tell You thank You for Jesus. Thank You for loving us so much that You gave us Jesus to be our friend forever. Jesus is the best gift! I pray that (name each child) will always remember that Christmas is about celebrating when You gave us Jesus, because You love us. We love You, God. In Jesus name, amen. 5
Groups (Application Activities, 25 minutes) These activities are designed to help preschoolers understand and remember today s Bible Truth and Bottom Line. Manger Scene Talk About God Bible Review 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: Manger Scene Activity Page, thin craft sticks (4 per child), glue sticks, liquid glue, self-stick foam star stickers, cotton balls, and completed sample craft. During the Activity: Give each child an Activity Page and the four craft sticks. Ask the children to place the sticks on the red lines on the Activity Page. Help the children glue the sticks onto the lines on the page with the liquid glue. Then give the children some cotton balls and encourage them to glue them onto the sheep bodies on the page. After the Activity: Help the children stick the stars at the top of the page above the stable. Retell today s Bible Truth. Before the Activity: We heard an AMAZING Bible Truth today! During the Activity: We are going to make a picture of our Bible Truth. (Give each child an Activity Page and four craft sticks.) First, we need to make the stable. Find the red lines on the paper. There are four of them. (Pause.) Great, you found them! Let s count them. One, two, three, and four. Great job! Now place a stick over each red line. (Pause.) Perfect! We can use this glue (hold up the liquid glue) to glue on the sticks to make the stable. (Do activity.) Awesome! Now let s find the sheep. (Pause and give the children the cotton balls.) Great job! Now we can glue the cotton balls onto the sheep. (Pause.) Good job! Now the sheep are all nice and fluffy. Hmmm. We need one more thing for our picture. (Pause.) I KNOW! We need stars in the sky! (Give the children foam stars.) You can place the stars in the sky over the stable. 6
After the Activity: Nice work! Our Bible Truth today told us that Mary and Joseph had to take a very long trip. While they were on their trip something AMAZING happened! Do you remember what it was? (Pause.) That s right, Jesus was born! Mary and Joseph could not find a room to stay in, so they stayed in a stable with the animals. Jesus was born in the stable. God loves us so very much that He gave us Jesus! How do we know God loves us? [Bottom Line] God gave us Jesus! Stable Walk 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: Stable Activity Page taped on the wall, at eye-level During the Activity: Gather the children in an open area of the room. Point out the stable picture that you taped to the wall. Encourage the children to walk to the stable as you say this month s memory verse together. Once the children have walked to the stable and then back to their starting point, call out other ways to travel as you say the verse. (Options of other ways to travel: hop, tiptoe, skip, baby steps, high knees, and march.) Before the Activity: When Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem, they couldn t find a place to stay. They had to stay in a stable. Can anyone find and point to a stable in this room? (Pause.) That s right! There s a stable right over there. (Point.) Let s walk like Mary and Joseph did to the stable and say this month s verse as we go. During the Activity: (Walk to stable.) God has given a son to us, Isaiah 9:6. Great job! Now let s go back to where we started, but this time, let s hop to the stable as we say our verse! (Finish activity.) After the Activity: God has given us His Son, and His name is JESUS! God gave us such an amazing gift when He sent Jesus! I m so glad to know that Jesus is born! How do we know God loves us? [Bottom Line] God gave us Jesus. Get Ready to Dismiss 7