Meeting 1

I Thank God For . . . God gives us many good things, like families, food, and friends. Put a mark in the box beside the things you want to thank God for today. Draw a picture of those things. Then say a thank-you prayer to God.

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Puffy Paint Provide

Art Music

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cans textures rs (chip e t is n a f various c o d s r ll a a o b b s, etc.), per, card pong ball ction pa u g r t in s p n , o s c ll white acket ba aint, arbles, r mpera p m s e , t s ll le a b b a h ble cover (golf wls, was lastic ta p ), s e v tongs, bo lo osable g nal: disp io t p (o s k smoc o do hen What tinside the canisters. Wto feel er to fit us able ction pap od made u G r “ t , or s : y n a o s c , or scared , d e table Cut the a h t s r o t o , e y lers com feel happ oo. We’re preschoo times we e m t ways, t o n S e . r s y fe a if akes w d l t e us fe music m e e differen k m a o s m n w usic ca e each show ho excited. M that will ters. Guid g is n in a h c t e e h m t do so int, and aper into going to in the pa m slide p it e h t ip d lp , e ll H e music a ba us feel.” sten to th o pick up t li s o t g n d o il t side se e ch the ball in child to u r. Tell th e ll t o is r n r a o c e to the r a few and shak drop it in feel. Afte cassette) r ! e o h G s e to k ay iner, ma (on the W her conta he music t in r e r v e e p a w ter ho nge the p the canis using. e can cha h s r e lls she is h a ll b e f t o , s e e p t y minu and the t of paint, r lo o c e th

Stuffed Paper Sculptures Provide construction paper, pencils, blunt-nosed scissors, staplers, newspaper, unsharpened pencils (one per child), clay, caps from spray bottles or other small cups, water-based markers

What to do Guide preschoolers to think of something made by God that makes them happy. Direct them to draw the outline of it with a pencil on a piece of construction paper. (Large round shapes will work better than long narrow ones.) Then they can cut out the shape, lay it on a second piece of paper, and trace around it with the pencil again. When they cut out the second copy of the shape, they can staple the two pieces together around the edge, leaving an opening for stuffing. Guide them to stuff the item with crumpled newspapers and staple it closed. To make it stand up, the child can insert an unsharpened pencil in the bottom of the object and push the other end of the pencil into a ball of clay in a small container.

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cardboard (at least 9 by 12 inches, one per child), 3–5 colors of puffy paint (see Leader’s Guide), plastic squeeze bottles or plastic resealable bags (at least one per child, even if you duplicate colors), smocks, plastic table covers

What to do Prepare the puffy paint. When preschoolers arrive, ask, “What makes you happy?”

Pause for responses. Guide preschoolers to choose one thing that makes them happy and draw a picture of it on the cardboard. Show them how to squeeze out and draw with the paint mixture. Allow the picture to dry thoroughly. Take time to say a thank-you prayer to God for all that He provides that makes life happier.

Parents!

Today we have talked about feeling good. We have emphasized the need to thank God for the many wonderful things He has provided for us. The Bible verses which your child heard during the meeting are: Acts 2:28; 1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 139:13.

Meeting 2

What Is Missing? Help! What is missing from this picture? Cut out the squares at the bottom of the page and glue them in the right places. Who are the people in the picture? What is happening? Were these people good to each other?

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Joseph and His Brothers

Drawing with an Eraser

Provide

Provide

old rubber kitchen gloves (one pair per 2–3 preschoolers); scissors; waterbased markers; fabric scraps, yarn, buttons, other decorations; gel glue

graphite sticks (available at arts and crafts stores), 9-by-12-inch white drawing paper, masking tape, erasers

What to do Help the preschoolers tape their drawing paper to the table. Show them how to cover their paper completely with graphite by rubbing the graphite stick across the paper. Hold up an eraser and ask: “When do you use an eraser? (Pause.) That’s right, you use an eraser to erase mistakes. When we do something we shouldn’t like telling a lie or disobeying our parents, we have done something wrong and that is like making a mistake. When we do something wrong, we can’t erase it. But when we do something wrong and ask God to forgive us, He will! It’s like He erases our mistakes!” Give the preschoolers erasers and invite them to “draw” on their graphite-covered papers. As they work, talk about the Bible story, including how God helped Joseph forgive his brothers.

What to do Cut off the fingers of the rubber gloves. Turn the pieces inside out. Give 3–4 fingertips to each child and invite her to create finger puppets of Joseph and his brothers. Children can draw eyes, mouths, and noses, then cut and glue cloth and yarn scraps to create hair, arms, clothing, belts, hats, and other details. As preschoolers work, ask prompting questions to recall the main points and sequence of the Bible story. When they finish, encourage them to role-play different characters from the story.

Forgiveness Flowers Provide tempera paint, 6- and 4-ounce drinking cups, liquid dish detergent, straws, white and green construction paper cut in half, scissors, hand lotion, alcohol towelettes, colored stamp pads, craft sticks, gel glue, clay, smocks, newspaper

What to do Mix ⁄3 cup water, 1 teaspoon detergent, and 2 tablespoons tempera paint in the larger cups, one cup per paint color. Cover the work area with newspapers. Give each preschooler a piece of white construction paper. Insert straws into the cups and blow until bubbles rise above the rims. (CAUTION: Do not allow the preschoolers to blow through the straws. They may accidentally ingest the mixture.) Remove the straws and set them aside. Guide the preschoolers to center and press their papers over the cups so the paint bubbles will leave imprints. Give the children drops of lotion and instruct them to rub the lotion into their thumbs. Guide them to press their thumbs onto the stamp pads and then around their bubble prints, creating petals. They can clean their thumbs with the towelettes. Help the preschoolers cut around their flowers and glue craft sticks to them. Invite them to cut and glue construction paper “leaves” to their craft stick “stems.” Next, guide them to place balls of clay in the 4-ounce cups and insert the craft sticks into the clay. They can decorate their cups with construction-paper pieces and glue. Encourage them to give their flowers away when they tell someone they are sorry for Your child participated in one or more of something. If time permits, allow the preschoolers to make a these activities during this meeting. second flower to keep. You can extend your child’s learning by 2

Parents!

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working with him or her on these activities and by talking about the following Bible verses: 1 Thessalonians 5:15; Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:18.

Meeting 3

Choosing the Right Way This family is on their way to church. Look at the other people in the park. Who is doing what is right and good? Who is not? Draw a line along the path where people are obeying God’s rules and showing love for each other. If a path leads to people disobeying God’s rules, don’t go there! When you get to the church, look at what your crayon made.

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God’s Good Rules

Color by the Rules Provide 6 index cards; markers; stapler; red, yellow, and blue tempera paint; 3 plastic containers; 6 plastic spoons; resealable bags; masking tape; newspapers; smocks

What to do Draw and color orange, green, and purple squares on three index cards, one square per card. Draw two squares on each of the remaining cards as follows: red and yellow, blue and yellow, blue and red. Staple the cards together in pairs: orange on top of red and yellow, green on top of blue and yellow, purple on top of blue and red. Pour the tempera paint into the containers and set them in the center of the table. Place two spoons in each color. When the preschoolers join you, ask: “Is it good to follow rules? (Pause.) Sometimes rules can help us learn to do new things. What colors do you see in the containers? Did you know you can make these colors (show cards) from red, yellow, and blue? You can if you follow some simple rules! If you want to make orange (show card), you mix red and yellow (show card). If you want to make green, . . .” (Continue in the same manner.) Ask each child to select one color she would like to make. Guide her to place three spoonfuls of the two primary colors into her bag. Help her to press as much air as possible out of the bag, seal it, and tape it securely. Invite her to squeeze the bag to mix the contents. If time permits, allow the preschoolers to mix more colors or to use their fingers to draw pictures on the bags.

Good Rules Turn-up Game Provide canning jar flats or 3-inch poster board circles, construction paper, cardboard or poster board, water-based markers, glue, envelopes or resealable bags

What to do Make two cardboard templates each (about 21⁄2 inches big) of the heart, church, and parent patterns on this page. Cut the construction paper into 21⁄2-inch circles. Guide the preschoolers to select six paper circles. Help them trace all three patterns onto the circles, tracing each pattern two times. Instruct them to color the figures and then glue the circles onto the canning jar flats. Show them how to play a turn-up game with the pieces (see Leader’s Guide). Talk about God’s good rules. Allow the preschoolers to take their games home in envelopes or plastic bags.

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Provide construction paper, cardboard or poster board, water-based markers, magazine pictures, blunt-nosed scissors, glue sticks, large plastic resealable bags (4 per preschooler), stapler, transparent tape

What to do Cut the paper to fit inside the plastic bags. Enlarge the heart, church, and parent patterns on this page and make two cardboard templates of each. Direct the preschoolers to select four pieces of construction paper and guide them to trace each template onto a piece of paper. On the fourth piece of paper, help the children write God’s Good Rules for [child’s name]. Instruct the preschoolers to select, cut out, and glue magazine pictures onto the appropriate tracings. The pictures should illustrate people “following the rules” by showing love to others, going to church, obeying their parents, and so forth. Help the preschoolers insert their pages in the plastic bags. Seal the bags, staple them together, and cover the staples with tape. Talk about God’s two most important rules: to love Him and to love each other. Encourage the preschoolers to share their books with younger siblings or another preschool department.

Parents!

Your child participated in one or more of these activities during this meeting. You can extend your child’s learning by working with him or her on these activities and by talking about the following Bible verses: Ephesians 6:1; Leviticus 19:18; Deuteronomy 6:18.

Meeting 4

If I Were There . . . Jesus taught many people out on the hillside. Fathers, mothers, grandparents, and children came to hear Jesus speak. What did Jesus say to the people? Pretend that you were there, listening to Jesus. You can draw a picture of yourself in the picture below. What would Jesus say to you? What would you say to Jesus?

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God and Me

o at t h W o d dboard

Family Prayer Tree Provide

car small twigs (one for each child plus from (one for t u C n” o s r , 2–3 extra), clay, 4-by-4-inch pieces of ) e a “p ry child cardboard, construction paper cut into e eve g th Provide usin rom 2-inch circles, water-based ine f cardboard or outl markers, hole punch, paper d n arou ity. t poster board, n i r clips or tape to activ erson p crayons or this talk in p n h c a f ea ,Ic s jo What to do water-based ide o y Friend schooler or s e n f e o m e r o s p s t Encourage each child to On markers, the od i alk (Pau an t se G . When nd? u c e u o i a e r select a twig, a cardboard square, and y c construction F w g Be t . . . d your thin end, u i o e r b n F o a a ball of clay. Instruct the children to place paper, is o our Is G God hat d is sk: “ o W a h . G , c g the clay on their squares and stand their u a e scissors, n yo As e rayi caus p ” e ? B y t r b ) u twigs in the clay. Next, direct the glue, cloth od ses. abo r he spon alk to G to God his o son. e r e t preschoolers to select one paper circle i t scraps, er e ray , wr rd p a l an p nswers im. W l o c i b H for each member of their families. yarn, a ard ey w child e on a c that th e to Guide them to draw their family s l buttons, n p on ildre ard peo resp h c n i members’ faces on the circles (their “wiggle” the xpla rdbo Tell ir ca traits. E icture e h own faces, too). Instruct them to t eyes and “p or use elf-p rait is a ildren s e draw on the back of their own other ch ort mak elf-p uide the ials to s a portraits one thing they can pray to miscellaneous G er that elf.” mat aits. As s r r e u h God about. Tell them that when they go items rtr of yo e the ot lf-po bout e s s a u r home they should ask each family k i to al he rk, t m and ete t o l w p member to draw a prayer on the back the ren com child ares for hear e o t of his or her picture. Let the h t c s flove God r sel i e w e H o h preschoolers take turns punching holes h h of em t muc ders e ll th e n how i T at the top of each circle. Show them . m pray n be re re th o f m e e a c how to bend the paper clips to make th .B raits or them n, invite port f o hooks. (Guide threes to tape their e e v mov ’s lo r to e y a God hoolers circles to the branches.) Lead not a pr c say pres y, do o h t s , preschoolers to hang their them child is Instead . a y family’s portraits on their trees, ra . If er God him to p hisp w n creating a “Family Prayer e Provide force im he ca er whil y h a Tree.” . tell large sheets of construction paper, a pr loud ink t h u t o or water-based markers or crayons pray you

Listen, Friend!

What to do

Guide each of the children to take a piece of paper and fold it in half. Then direct them to draw a line down the middle of the paper, following the fold. Say: “We learned in our Bible story that God is our Friend. God cares about us and He listens to us. Do you think it’s important for friends to listen to each other? (Pause.) Do you like for your friends to listen to you? (Pause.) Do you think you should listen to your friends? (Pause.) Let’s draw some pictures about when friends listen to each other.” Guide preschoolers to draw on the left side of their page a time when they listen to a friend. On the right side of the page, they can draw a time when they want a friend to listen to them. As preschoolers work, talk about the fact that God is our Friend and that He enjoys hearing us talk to Him.

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Parents!

Your child participated in one or more of these activities during this meeting. You can extend your child’s learning by working with him or her on these activities and by talking about the following Bible verses: Jeremiah 31:3; Psalm 136:1; 1 John 4:8.