Preschool Stewardship lessons for October

STU Bear: A Story About Stewardship for Young Children Beloved teachers and helpers, The month of October will be the time we introduce new faith practices to our young families. During each Sunday in October, we ask that you follow the stewardship lesson as outlined below. Make sure your class plans account for the approximately five minutes this will take in your schedule. Please read this entire document and the STU Bear book before the first Sunday in November. The appropriate place for this lesson is at the 9:40 “Lesson Time,” immediately following the Gathering Time ritual with the candle and opening liturgy. From the book: “The purpose of this storybook about a little stuffed bear named Stu is to help the youngest of God’s children learn about stewardship. “Young children are eager to help. They are learning to take care of themselves, to obey rules, and to share what they have with others. They can say “thank you” to God for family, friends, and the world God created. They are beginning to participate in worship with the rest of the congregation. They know something of the value of money in the offering plate. All of these activities are at the heart of stewardship, expressing ways of “helping, sharing, caring.”’

Thank you so much for taking the time to include this in your classroom routine! With your help, our young families will begin a lifelong practice of showing gratitude to God for his wondrous grace and love.

October 5: Lesson One Gather the children on the rug around you, and have Stu prominently displayed but out of reach. Open the Gathering Time with the candle and opening liturgy. Introduce Stu Bear to the children and tell them they’re going to hear a story about him. You may wish to pass Stu around so each child gets to hold him briefly. Ask the parent helper to guide that exercise as you continue with the story.

Read the entire story to the children, holding the book so that they can see the pictures. Don’t rush! They want to take in all the details.

Ask: Where are some of the places Stu went? Are there places like that in our city? Stu Bear learned about helping, sharing, and caring. If you could take Stu Bear with you, what would you show Stu Bear: • About helping? (Choose two hands.) • About sharing? (Choose two more.) • About caring? (Choose two more.)

Say: When you go home this week, think about something you can do to thank God for loving you. Think: How can I help? What can I share? How can I care? I’d like you to tell me about next Sunday!

Your call: At this juncture, young ones may need to stand and do silent running in place for a minute before continuing with the “sit and listen” part of the hour. (One way to be a good steward is to take good care of our bodies with exercise!) Invite the children to sit and feel their heartbeat to quiet them down again.

October 12: Lesson Two Gather the children on the rug around you, and have Stu prominently displayed but out of reach. Open the Gathering Time with the candle and opening liturgy. Hold up Stu Bear and ask: Does anyone remember Stu Bear? He’s helping us learn about stewardship: about helping, sharing and caring. Recap the beginning of the story for those who weren’t here last week. Show pictures from the book. Read aloud pages 6–11 and show the pictures.

Ask: Where did Stu Bear go first? Home with a little girl. What happened there? They gathered food to bring to church. What did Stu Bear learn? That good stewardship means _________. Loving your neighbor and sharing what we have.

Where did Stu Bear go next? Home with a new friend. What happened there? They took cookies to people at the retirement center. What did Stu Bear learn? Helping others is good stewardship.

Ask: Can you think of a time last week when you shared something or helped someone? Raise your hand and name one thing when I point to you.

Say: Next week we’re going to learn with Stu Bear about caring for ourselves and for God’s creation. Think about that this week and try to do one thing that shows caring. Continue with the day’s Bible story (with optional exercise break).

October 19: Lesson Three Gather the children on the rug around you, and have Stu prominently displayed but out of reach. Open the Gathering Time with the candle and opening liturgy.

Hold up Stu Bear and say: Stu Bear’s back, to help us learn about stewardship: about helping, sharing and caring. Recap the story for those who weren’t here last week. Show pictures from the book.

Read aloud pages 12-17 and show the pictures.

Ask: What sort of things did Stu Bear do with the boy? Picked up trash, recycled, planted flowers, gave a flower to a friend. What did Stu Bear learn about good stewardship? We take care of God’s world and ourselves. What did Stu Bear learn about caring for yourself? To stay clean, eat well, help with dishes, and put away toys.

Ask: Can you think of a time last week when you took good care of yourself or God’s world? Raise your hand and name one thing when I point to you.

Say: Next week we’re going to learn with Stu Bear about why we give offerings at church. Bring your offering next week, and I’ll show you what your money will do! There’s something else I’d like you to bring next week, if you haven’t already brought one to church.

Hold up Promise Card. This is a Promise Card. Has anyone seen this yet? Some of you may have received one in the mail. If you don’t have one at home, you may take one today. Let’s read it.

Read the Promise Card aloud. Talk with your family about promises you can make to say “thank you” to God. If you haven’t already done so, sign it and bring it back next week, and you can put it in our offering basket. Continue with the day’s Bible story (with optional exercise break).

October 26: Lesson Four Gather the children on the rug around you, and have Stu prominently displayed but out of reach. Open the Gathering Time with the candle and opening liturgy. Ask if anyone has a Promise Card to place in the offering basket.

Hold up Stu Bear and say: Stu Bear’s back, to help us learn about stewardship: about helping, sharing and caring. Recap the story for those who weren’t here last week. Show pictures from the book.

Read aloud pages 18-21 and show the pictures.

Ask: What was the last thing Stu Bear did to be a good steward? He gave an offering at church. What does a church offering do? • Teach others about Jesus and the church • Help children and families who are poor • Take care of people who work for the church • Keep the church building safe and beautiful • Buy books for us to learn more about the church Say: Your offering each week goes to just one thing, four times a year. Every season, we collect your offerings and give it to one thing. In the fall—right now—your money will be used to dig a well for a small village in Africa.

Show the picture card and pass it around. Because of you, that village has safe, clean water to drink. They won’t get sick from using dirty water. They will grow strong and healthy because you brought in your offerings.

We need $400 to dig another well! Who can bring me $400? The wonder of offerings is that no one has to bring in all the money. Each of us shares what we can, and by everyone doing their part, we can do amazing things. Do you know that there are THREE wells in Africa because of the children’s offerings from our Sunday School? What a wonderful way to thank God for his love! The other seasons of the year, we use children’s promises to help others. In the winter, your promises will provide food for food pantries to help people who are in need. In the spring, your promises will bring books for our library and for Westminster Presbyterian Church, downtown. In the summer, your promises will help send a Westminster child to camp!

Ask: What did Stu Bear learn about WHY we promise to be good stewards? Why do we promise to help, to share, and to care? This is how we say “thank you” to God, for loving us first. Let’s all say “thank you, God” together! THANK YOU, GOD! Continue with the day’s Bible story (with optional exercise break).