Opening Activities Little Sprouts

Transcription

1 Truths from the TreeTop Written by TreeHouse Kidz Curriculum Team; All rights reserved to RiverTree Christian Church 2010 Lesson Matthew 2:1-12 Jesus Is Born Wise Men Bring Gifts Memory Verse A child is born to us; a son is given to us. Isaiah 9:6 Opening Activities Little Sprouts To give the children a glimpse into what will be taught, spark their interests, and get them started planting God s Word in their hearts. 1. What gift did you find? (Sensory Tub) Need plastic dish pan filled half full with colored pasta; small items/gifts to hide in dish pan Do Hide the gifts in the dishpan of pasta. Challenge the children to find 3 gifts in the dishpan of pasta. Say After baby Jesus was born, three Wise Men followed a star to find him in Bethlehem. They brought special gifts to give him. What gift did you receive on Christmas Day? What gifts did you give? God gave us a special gift. 2. Stamp It! What You Need: An ink pad, rubber stamps of the Christmas story, and sheet of paper per child. What You Do: Give each child a stamp and a piece of paper. Show them how to press the stamp on the ink pad, and then press the stamp on their paper. Let them stamp each part that is part of the Christmas story. Go to each child and help them count the people on their paper. Count the animals. Count the shepherds. Count the wise men. Say -Today we are going to learn about the Wise men who came to see Jesus.

2 3. Let s Color a Picture Need crayons, coloring picture related to Bible story or Memory verse Do Encourage the children to color the picture to take home to their family. Say What do you see in this picture? What Bible story do you think we will hear today? As the children color, discuss the characters, Bible story, and/or Memory verse for this week. **Be sure to send home the Coloring Sheet with every child even if they did not color, this is a tool for the parents to know what we are teaching in the class and they can review at home with their child. 4. Count the Stars Need: Small bowls or buckets and 20 plastic stars. Do: Sit on the floor and count stars with the children. Show the children how to fill the buckets with stars and then dump them out. Say- The sky has more stars than we can count. The Bible tells us about a very special star that people followed to find baby Jesus

3 Bible Time & Worship Rooted in God s Word To plant the seeds of God s Word in the hearts of our children so that they can cultivate a deep-rooted foundation of faith. 1. God s Word The Bible is always true! Need An NLT Bible, Do Get the children ready by singing a transition song followed by Open, Shut Them. Then the children will be ready for you to share the Bible story. Say Open your pretend Bible and let s sing the B-I-B-L-E (sing). Our story today comes from the book of Matthew. The book of Matthew is the first book in the New Testament (display Bible open to the book of Matthew). This month we have learned that the angels brought wonderful news to Mary, Joseph and the shepherds. What was the news the angels shared? (the birth of Jesus, God s Son) Yes, God sent the angels to bring the good news about the birth of Jesus. Sending Jesus to earth was the BEST gift God could ever give us. In our story today, some men came to visit baby Jesus and gave him very special gifts. The Bible tells us that baby Jesus was born in a little town called Bethlehem. Far away in the city of Jerusalem, some wise men arrived looking for baby Jesus. They went to King Herod and asked where they could find the baby. The wise men said, We saw his star in the sky and we have come to worship him. The wise men had followed a special star to find baby Jesus. They wanted to visit him and show their love. The wise men left Jerusalem and continued to follow the star all the way to Bethlehem. Finally the star stopped over the place where Jesus was. The wise men were so excited and filled with joy/happiness! Have you ever looked at the stars in the nighttime sky? Do some stars look brighter or bigger than others? (allow time for responses) The wise men knew which star to follow because it was larger and brighter than the others it was a special star. Stand up and sing this song about a star.

4 Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high. Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle little star. How I wonder what you are. Twinkle, twinkle shining star. Wise men saw you from afar. Big and bright and way up high. Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle shining star. Wise men saw you from afar. When the wise men arrived in Bethlehem, they found Jesus with his mother, Mary. They bowed down before Jesus and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They wanted to show their love for Jesus. The wise men gave him their best gifts of gold, perfume and good-smelling spices. They were filled with joy at seeing Jesus! Stand and say our Memory Verse. It also tells us about good news and joy. Recite the Memory Verse along with the motions. 2. Memory Verse: A child is born (fold arms and rock like rocking a baby) to us (circle arms wide and then point to self with thumbs), a son (fold arms and rock like rocking a baby)) is given (hold both hands out with palms upward) to us (circle arms wide and then point to self with thumbs), Isaiah 9:6 (open your hands like a book). 3. Worship Need CD player, Christmas songs- Away in a Manger, Joy to the World, and Jesus Loves Me Do Sing songs with motions to help the children praise God. Say Let s show God how much we love Him by singing these songs. God loves to hear you sing and praise Him! Dear God, Thank you for the happy news that baby Jesus was born. Help us to share the happy news with others! Amen.

5 Application Activities Seedlings of Truth To reinforce the Bible truths taught through interactive games, fun crafts, and snack. This allows the children opportunities to share/practice what they have learned. 1. Art- Big Star, Small Star Need: A black piece of construction paper, yellow die cut star, glue, and star stickers. Say: Look at all the pretty stars. God had a special star to show the wise men where Jesus was. Why is Jesus special? Bottom Line-God gave us His Son, Jesus. Do: Have the children glue the star in the middle of the black construction paper and then put star stickers all around it. Put on sticker that says, A special star showed the Wise men where to find Jesus. 2. Follow That Star Need: A yellow star shape taped to a yardstick Do: Play Follow the Leader, only this time follow the star. Hold the star up high and ask the children to follow it. They have to do what you do, so make it fun! Occasionally stop and say, Who gave us His Son? God gave us His Son. Say: At the start of the activity: The wise men followed a star all the way to Jesus. Let s pretend we are wise men. We have to follow the star.

6 3. Match Game Need: In a Manger Matching Game Do: During the activity: Mix up the cards and place them face up on a table. Pick up one of the cards and see if a child can find its match. Do this for each set of pictures. Talk with the child about what he sees in each picture. Especially for 2s: Try turning the cards facedown on the floor. Guide 2s to turn two cards over at a time to see if they match. If they do, set them aside and repeat the process. If they don t, turn the cards facedown again and ask the child to turn over two other cards. Repeat until all cards have been matched. Compliment the children on their good memory. Say: (Holding a picture for a child to match) Do you see the picture that looks just like this one? Good job! What do you see in this picture? (Pause for responses.) That s right. It s a star. That reminds me of today s Bible story. Today we re going to hear about a very special star in the sky and what some men did when they saw it. 4. The First Noel (Use if the service goes over and you have done everything else.) Need: DVD- The First Noel Say: The Bible tells us that three wise men wanted to find Jesus. How many wise men were there? Three. Let s count to three. One, two, three. They each had a present to give to Jesus. They knew He was special. Why is Jesus special? Bottom Line- God gave us His Son, Jesus.

7 5. Wise men Pictures Whatcha Need: See It? Pictures and Scene It Story Pictures (both from the Activity Pages on the Web site), black foam core board, tape or another adhesive, and a Bible marked at Matthew 2:1. Provide another complete set of See It? Pictures or use the set from Make It Fun. Print Scene It Story Pictures and mount each picture on black foam core board. Each piece of foam core board should be a little larger than the picture so there will be a border. Hold the storyboards in sequential order in a stack facing away from the children as you begin the story. Place the See It? Pictures in a stack on the floor. Children will match the See It? Pictures to the pictures on the storyboards. What to Say and Do: (Invite a child to open the Bible to the bookmark at Matthew 2:1.) The Bible tells us about Jesus. (Set the opened Bible on the floor next to you. Show the children the storyboards in the following order and using the suggested script below.) Star One night a big, bright star was shining in the sky. Do you see the star? (Pause for responses.) That s right. Can you hold this star next to the star in the big picture? (Offer the star from the See It? Pictures to a child to match to the star in the storyboard.) Good job! Wise men Some men saw the star in the sky. They knew the star meant that Jesus had been born. They were so happy! Do you see the men in the big picture? Can you match this man to the same man in the big picture? Horse and camel So the men packed their bags and put them on their horses and camels and got ready to go to Bethlehem. They followed the star all the way to Bethlehem. Do you see a horse and camel in the big picture? Can you match this horse to the same horse in the big picture? Jesus When the men got there, they went inside the house to see Jesus. Do you see little Jesus in the big picture? Can you match this picture of Jesus to Jesus in the big picture? Gifts Then the men gave Jesus some gifts. They were so thankful for Jesus. Do you see the gifts in the big picture? Can you match this picture of the gifts to the gifts in the big picture? Get Ready to Dismiss Line the take home items out in the hallway along the wall. Greet parents at the door and let parents know that we were learning about the Wisemen today.