A Very Nice Thing Scripture: 2 Kings 4:8-11 Lesson Focus: Friends do nice things for each other. Memory Verse: Love is kind. 1 Corinthians 13:4

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1 LESSON 8 A Very Nice Thing Scripture: 2 Kings 4:8-11 Lesson Focus: Friends do nice things for each other. Memory Verse: Love is kind. 1 Corinthians 13:4 Teacher Devotional 1 Getting Ready for the Bible To help children relate their own experiences Friendships are unique with today s Bible story, they will talk about doing nice things. Opening Activity: Teaching Aid 2 (from Preschool Creative Teaching Aids) Sharing Time: No materials needed Bible Story Time: 2 Kings 4:8-11 The children will discover the nice things Elisha s friends did. Bible Story: Teaching Aid 10 (from Preschool Creative Teaching Aids), Bible, tape Bible Story Review: Chair, table, (optional: blanket, bowl, votive candle Bible Memory Verse: No materials needed The Bible and Me The children will explore activity centers to help them understand that friends do nice things for each other. Lesson Coloring Page: Page and stickers for Lesson 8 (from Preschool Make-It/Take-It), washable markers Room Building: Blanket, chair, table, bowl, votive candle Class Snack: Paper plates, napkins, crackers, flavored cream cheese, bananas, craft sticks (optional: tablecloth, centerpiece) Going Home with the Bible Planning to do nice things will help children see how 2 Kings 4:8-11 works in their lives. Teaching Aid 10 (from Preschool Creative Teaching Aids), Bible, beanbag, My Sunday Pictures, This symbol appears whenever preparation takes more than five minutes or supplies are needed that are not included on the list of standard supplies (on page 6). relationships. Both parties have to give, while at the same time they both have to take. At different times in a friendship, another person comes first. In what ways have your friends put your needs above their own? Read 2 Kings 4:8-11. Elisha s friend and her husband provided a room for him whenever he traveled through the region. Her hospitality, in this case, helped Elisha spread God s Word. Her nice thing was giving part of her home to someone else without expecting anything in return. It was a way she could share God s care with someone. Now it is time for you. When you do nice things for others, you are showing God s care to them. Think of your friends. What need does one of your friends have? Write down a nice thing you will do for that friend this week. Understanding the Bible Elisha means God is salvation. As the anointed successor to the ministry of Elijah, Elisha traveled to share the news of God with the people of the northern kingdom, Israel, in the ninth century B.C. His ministry spanned the reigns for six kings a period of over 50 years. Prophets of this time walked from city to city. They were responsible for their own shelter. Often people in the area would house them. Elisha often passed through Shunem, a town near the Valley of Jezreel, in the tribal territory of Issachar. One day a woman from that town asked Elisha to eat dinner with her and her husband. Elisha began to stop at this couple s home when he came to Shunem. This couple must have been fairly wealthy. They were able to build a room for Elisha. This would be a place where Elisha could have some privacy. It took time and money to build an addition to a house, something probably only a landowner could afford. The room was a small room built on the roof of the house. It was evidently accessible by its own stairway. The room was furnished with basic items Elisha would need, including a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp (2 Kings 4:10). Elisha stopped to rest in this home many times. While the couple did not want repayment for sharing their house, God blessed the couple for their hospitality to Elisha by giving them what they wanted most a son to carry on their family name (vs. 17). 57

2 Focus: Friends do nice things for each other. When Teaching the Bible to Preschoolers... The Shunammite woman and her husband, in today s Bible story from 2 Kings 4:8-11, took time out of their lives to share their home with Elisha. Their willingness was blessed by God. As preschoolers get older, they move from being selfcentered to more sociable. While most of your children know it is good to share, they still may not always be ready or willing to do it. Their willingness may depend on what they are expected to share. Here are some tips to help your children to show niceness through sharing: Provide opportunities to share supplies, such as a basket of crayons. Give children choices. Would you like to share the blocks or the ball? Encourage a child who has trouble sharing to share with a good friend. Worship Time Welcome Time Activities These activities are designed to engage your children in a fun and purposeful way while freeing you to interact with parents and children as they arrive. The centers require little or no supervision and can be set up before class. After greeting each child, direct him or her to a center and suggest a way to start or join an activity. Moving and Doing Projects Table Play Have children play Hot Potato with a small ball. Have child leaders take turns stopping and starting the Unit 23 song from the PraisePac CD. When the music stops, the child holding the ball can be the new leader. Giving up being a leader is a simple way to introduce doing nice things. Let children experiment with creating houses with triangles and squares cut from construction paper. Have them glue their houses on drawing paper. While these houses will be different from the one Elisha s friends lived in, this activity will help the children relate to the Bible story from 2 Kings 4:8-11. Set out equal numbers of plates, glasses, forks, spoons, and napkins. Let the children practice setting the table for a dinner guest. This dramatic play activity will help them begin thinking about guests, just like Elisha was a guest in today s Bible story. Before moving into the lesson or Worship Time, have the children stop what they are doing, clean up the centers, and gather in a big group. You may want to use the following rhyme to help attract the children s attention. It s cleanup time for you and me, Let s each pick up something green. Repeat the rhyme, using other colors, as the children clean up. Before you begin your lesson, you may want to have a short worship time. Have the children follow you in a train while singing Jesus Loves Me. Have the children sit down in a circle either on chairs or on a rug. Let the children put offerings in a container. Dear God, thank You for the gifts of money we can use to help others learn about You. In Jesus name. Amen. In our Bible story today we are going to meet some people who were friends of a man named Elisha. Our song is about friends. Sing these words to the tune of Ten Little Indians. Have the children do the motions as they sing. One little, two little, three little friends, (Hold up three fingers.) Four and five and six good friends. (Do the same with other hand.) We can share and care for others. (Wiggle fingers around in the air.) Friends do nice things. (Spread arms wide.) To extend the song, let the children count in groups of threes for the first two lines, then finish by singing the last two lines. Have your children fold their hands and close their eyes as you lead them in prayer. Dear God, thank You for caring for us. Help us show our friends we care by doing nice things for them. In Jesus name. Amen. 58

3 Focus: Friends do nice things for each other. STEP1 Getting Ready for the Bible To help children relate their own experiences with today s Bible story, they will talk about doing nice things. Materials: Creative Teaching Aids Teaching Aid 2 Attention Grabber If you have not already gathered the children into a group or you need to focus their attention back to you, have them copy your actions to these words sung to the tune of Ring-around-a-Rosy. This activity can also be done while children are sitting down. Wiggle fingers in the air, (Wiggle hands above your head.) Swing your arms from here to there. (Sway arms back and forth.) Fold your hands! Fold your hands! (Fold hands.) Put them in your lap. (Put hands in lap.) Opening Activity When the children are seated in a circle and ready to listen, introduce today s activity. Participating in a puppet play and talking Teaching Aid 2 about doing nice things allows the children to relate to today s Bible story where Elisha s friends provide him a room. (Put the Wooly Lamb puppet, from Teaching Aid 2, on your hand. Walk the puppet in front of you so it is facing the children.) Good morning, Wooly. (Have Wooly look down.) Wooly, you don t look very happy. What s the matter? (Have Wooly whisper in your ear.) Wooly says that his mom s friend is coming for lunch. And she s bringing her son, Buster. The last time Buster came over, he and Wooly fought the whole time. Wooly s afraid that he and Buster won t be nice to each other. Maybe we can help Wooly. What are some ways Wooly and Buster could be nice to each other? Let the children tell different ways to be nice. Some ideas may be sharing toys, letting a friend choose a game, etc. If time permits, have the children act out the different ideas. (Let Wooly whisper in your ear.) Wooly is glad you showed him how to play with Buster. He can show he is a friend by doing nice things for Buster. While Wooly goes home, let s talk more about nice things. (Take Wooly off of your hand and put him away.) Sharing Time As you and your class talk, be sure to allow time for each child to say something. This gives every child an opportunity to connect to the Bible story and Lesson Focus, Friends do nice things for each other, through his or her own experience. What nice things do you do for your friends? (Look for a variety of answers from the children. They may talk about playing with a friend (especially playing a game that only the friend wanted to play), sharing a snack, giving a hug, etc. Encourage them to think about times when they have also done nice things for a family member or adult. Some children may not recognize adults as being friends.) What nice things do your friends do for you? (Give the children time to answer. They may have many of the same answers as in the first question. Some may answer I don t know. Both types of responses are okay.) God helps us do nice things for our friends. Today we will learn that friends do nice things for each other. As you hear today s story, listen for a nice thing two people do for their friend Elisha. 59

4 Focus: Friends do nice things for each other. STEP2 Bible Story Time 2 Kings 4:8-11 The children will discover the nice things Elisha s friends did. Materials: Creative Teaching Aids Teaching Aid 10, Bible, tape, chair, table, (optional: blanket, bowl, votive candle) Bible Story Before telling the story, assemble Teaching Aid 10. Remove the figures of Elisha and his friends, fold on the lines, and tape the bottom flaps to create standing figures. Fold the lines on the walls and punch out the furniture, according to the directions on the back of the teaching aid, to make the scene for the story. The children should still be seated in a circle, ready for the story. Open your Bible to 2 Kings 4 to begin. Our story today comes from the Bible. It is in the part, or book, of the Bible called 2 Kings. (Show the children where 2 Kings is in your Bible. Keep your Bible open to 2 Kings 4 as you tell the story.) The Bible tells us about a man named Elisha. This is Elisha. (Stand up the figure of Elisha.) God had given him a special job. Elisha went Teaching Aid 10 from place to place. ( Walk the figure of Elisha while the children pat their knees.) He told people what God wanted them to do. One day Elisha went to a town named Shunem. A rich woman there asked him to stay and eat a meal with her and her husband. (Stand up Elisha s friends facing him. Pretend to eat.) Elisha became friends with the woman and her husband. He ate with them every time he came to Shunem. (Remove the figure of Elisha.) After one of Elisha s visits, the woman said to her husband, Elisha comes to our town often. I know that our friend Elisha is a special man of God. Let s do a nice thing for him. We can make a small room in our house for him. It can be on the roof. Then he can stay there whenever he visits. In Bible times, the roofs of the houses were flat. It was a good place to add a room. The woman and her husband started fixing a room. (Show the room with the furniture flat. Move the friends through the door and into the room.) They worked hard to make it just right. After the room was built, they cleaned and scrubbed. (Make a scrubbing motion.) They swept the floor. (Pretend to sweep.) Then they put in furniture. (Push up each piece of furniture as you mention it.) There was a bed for Elisha to sleep in when he was tired. There was a table with a lamp. Elisha could use the light to see the things around him. And there was a stool for Elisha to sit on. Soon Elisha came to Shunem again. (Walk Elisha toward the house and through the door.) The woman and her husband showed Elisha the room they had fixed just for him. ( Walk the figures around the room.) Now Elisha had a place to stay every time he came to Shunem. Elisha s friends did a nice thing for him by making a room for him. Friends do nice things for each other. 60

5 Focus: Friends do nice things for each other. Bible Story Review To check for the children s understanding of today s Bible story, have them answer these questions or do the activity, or both. Questions Who were Elisha s friends? (The woman and her husband.) What nice thing did they do for Elisha? (Made a room for him.) Why did they do a nice thing? (They wanted to do something nice for their friend Elisha who was a special man of God.) What do friends do for each other? (Friends do nice things for each other.) Activity Today s activity actively reviews today s Bible story from 2 Kings 4:8-11 through dramatic play. You may want to have a table, a chair, a blanket, bowl, and candle as props. Elisha s friends wanted to do nice things for Elisha. Let s pretend to be Elisha s friends. We can work together to prepare a room for Elisha. Have the children reenact the story with everyone playing the parts of the woman and her husband. Let s build a room for Elisha. (Children can pretend to hammer.) We need to scrub and sweep Elisha s room. (Have children pretend to sweep.) Elisha needs a bed, a chair, a table, and a lamp. (Let the children use the props to decorate the room. Putting the candle in the bowl can make a simple lamp.) If you have a large class, do the activity in two groups. Bible Memory Verse As children practice a Bible verse week after week, they will be able to understand and remember it. Have the children do either the practice or the rhyme, or both. Love is kind. 1 Corinthians 13:4 Practice This week have your class sing the Bible verse to the tune Hot Cross Buns, introduced in Lesson 5. The music provides a good review. Children this age remember words when they are connected to music. In our Bible story, the woman and her husband did a nice thing for Elisha. Friends show that love is kind when they do nice things for each other. Let s sing our Bible words together. Love is kind. (Hug self, then open arms wide.) Love is kind. (Hug self, then open arms wide.) 1 Corinthians 13:4 (Hold hands like a book.) Love is kind. (Hug self, then open arms wide.) Bible Rhyme Time The Bible verse for this unit is found in the third line of the rhyme. The second line of the rhyme deals with today s Lesson Focus, Friends do nice things for each other. Review the words and actions for each line. You may want to use a hand drum or tambourine today. Play a steady beat while the class says the rhyme. You may want to change the tempo of the beat as children repeat the verse. As you say the rhyme, listen for our Bible words, Love is kind. When we say sorry and do not fight (Shake head no.) And do nice things for friends, (Hold hands out in front.) People will find that love is kind. (Hug self.) For love always has others in mind. (Open arms wide.) 61

6 Focus: Friends do nice things for each other. 3 The STEP The Bible and Me children will explore activity centers to help them understand that friends do nice things for each other. Today s Bible story taught your class that Elisha s friends provided him a room. To help the children begin to understand that friends do nice things for each other, choose one or more of the following activities. Before you let the children begin these activities, demonstrate each one you have chosen. This week the Class Snack activity requires the most supervision. Lesson Coloring Page: Materials: Make-It/Take-It page and stickers for, washable markers This activity allows the children to practice the Lesson Focus, Friends do nice things for each other. Remove the page and stickers for from the Make-It/Take-It books. Have the children color the page and attach the stickers. As the children work, encourage them to share the crayons with their Sunday school friends. Have them talk about nice things they can do for their friends, such as sharing toys. Room Building: Materials: Blanket, chair, table, bowl, votive candle Let the children continue reviewing the Bible story, where the woman from Shunem and her husband provided a room for Elisha, with this simple activity. This variation of the Bible Story Review lets the children explore the Bible story independently. Elisha needs a place to stay. How will you get a room ready for him? Set aside an area of the room for the children to work in. Have the children create a room for Elisha using a blanket, chair, table, bowl, and a votive candle. Remind them to clean the room. Challenge the children to set up the room more than one way. Class Snack:* Materials: Paper plates, napkins, crackers, flavored cream cheese, bananas, craft sticks, (optional: tablecloth, centerpiece) This group activity helps the children connect the hospitality of the woman and man in 2 Kings 4:8-11 with preparing food to share with their Sunday school friends. Have the children set the table for the class with paper plates and napkins. You could choose to add a tablecloth and a centerpiece. After washing their hands, have children prepare two crackers spread with cream cheese and a half of a banana for each child. This will be eaten later in the lesson. Omit the cream cheese for children sensitive to dairy products. *Check with parents for any food allergies students may have. When you are ready to close your lesson, have the children put away the activities, and gather in a big group. You could use this rhyme to attract the children s attention. It s cleanup time for you and me, Let s each pick up something green. Repeat the rhyme, using other colors, as the children clean up. 62

7 Focus: Friends do nice things for each other. 4 Planning STEP Going Home with the Bible to do nice things will help children see how 2 Kings 4:8-11 works in their lives. Materials: Creative Teaching Aids Teaching Aid 10, Bible, beanbag After cleaning up, have the children sit in a circle on the floor. Use this time to help the children plan to do nice things for each other during the week. Show the children, once again, where 2 Kings 4:8-11 is in your Bible. In our Bible story today we learned that a woman and her husband did a nice thing for their friend Elisha. (Show Teaching Aid 10.) They made a special room for him to stay in whenever he visited their town. Teaching Aid 10 Friends do nice things for each other. It is one way they can show God s care. What are some nice things friends can do? Encourage the children to share ways of being nice such as sharing, taking turns, using a kind word, etc. Think of a nice thing you would like to do for a friend this week. Give the children time to think. Have all the children stand in a circle. Begin with telling what you are going to do. I m going to. Friends do nice things for each other. Toss a beanbag to a child. Have that child tell the nice thing he will do and toss the beanbag to another child. Be sure everyone gets a chance to toss the beanbag. If you have a large class, you may want to have the children sit down after they ve shared. Have the children share the snack prepared earlier in class. Close with a prayer: Dear God, You teach us how to care. Help us to do nice things for our friends. In Jesus name. Amen. If you have extra time This activity helps review the Bible story from 2 Kings 4:8-11 while helping children learn size relationships with blocks. For this activity you will need various sizes of blocks. The rich woman in our Bible story and her husband did a nice thing for their friend Elisha. They built a room on their roof for him. Let s build block houses and add a room on the roof. Have the children work in groups to build a house with a roof on the top. Encourage the children to be creative as they work. Ask questions such as, Do you want smaller blocks on the bottom or on the top? or Which blocks will work best for the roof short ones or long ones? Have the children put the blocks away before they leave. Time to Go Before children leave for the day, be sure to hand out My Sunday Pictures cards for. Until parents come to pick up their children, let them act out nice things with Wooly and Fluffy, Teaching Aid 2 from your Creative Teaching Aids packet. As you say good-bye to each child, remind him or her of the Lesson Focus: Friends do nice things for each other. What to send home... My Sunday Pictures for Make-It/Take-It for Projects made at centers 63