Kindergarten-2nd

December 1-2, 2012

Luke 2:1-12 (Pg.1195)

Jesus is Born

The king came in an unexpected way

Hang out with kids (10 minutes)

Large Group (30 minutes)

Small Group (20 minutes)

Video and Song Review (10 minutes)

When you move from one activity to the next, set kids up for success—tell them what you expect from a good audience in Large Group, and how to participate well in Small Group.

Kids will have a gift with them as they leave Kids’ Club today. Tell parents that the kids have chosen someone special to whom they want to give that gift.

“Good things come in small packages.” We’re not using that phrase with the kids, but it conveys the overarching concept: God sent the promised King and Rescuer in the most unexpected and humble way possible. Yet Jesus is the greatest gift we can imagine.

                                                                                                               

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Goal: to process the story with kids and give them the tools to share it with their families or friends. Why? When kids can retell a story, it means they really understand it. Our hope is that by the end of the day, kids may view Christmas gifts a little differently.

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CONNECT 1. What’s the most special present

you guys have ever received? What made that so special?

REVIEW 2. What was so special about God’s

gift of Jesus? (He was the promised king, the rescuer)

3. MOVE TO ACTIVITY ONE 4. What was strange about the way

the king was born? (slept in a manger instead of a bed; born outside with animals)

5. What’s one way God showed the world that the baby was the king? (angels announced Jesus to shepherds and told them where to find him)

REFLECT 6. What surprises you most about

this story? 7. Do you find anything about

today’s story confusing? 8. If you were a shepherd, what

would you have done? (help kids (Continue to next page!)

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ACTIVITY ONE: As we finish talking about the story, let’s decorate a big crown to wear home. Let each kid choose his or her preferred color of crown. Help them attach the two sides so they can wear it as you finish discussing it. Let them color on it if they’d like to, but don’t spend much time on this. While they color, MOVE ON TO QUESTION #4. ACTIVITY TWO: We’re going to make something to help us act like shepherds. You’re going to wrap your first Christmas gift. Each of you can choose a little crown, decorate it, and wrap it up—be as creative as you want! But here’s the catch: you have to give this present away. And when the person you give it to opens it, explain to them what this gift reminds us of: God gave us the gift of Jesus, the king! Then hand out a wrapping bag and red bow. Each kid can wrap choose a crown

QUESTIONS ACTIVITY

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Tip: Try to build excitement about giving the crown away in order to share the great news about Jesus’ arrival. This may help mitigate some of the disappointment (for some kids) about not getting to keep the crown for themselves.

                                                                                                               

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picture themselves as a shepherd hearing the angels)

MOVE ON TO ACTIVITY TWO

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to decorate (may want them to spend more time on this because they will give the crowns away). As they wrap, ask them to go around and share with the group who they plan to give this gift to—and remind them that to ALSO share that Jesus the King is God’s greatest gift to US. Before parents arrive, pray with your group. *If you have time, practice sharing why this gift is important or asking kids to whom they want to give the gift. Ask kids if they have any questions about today’s story.

QUESTIONS ACTIVITY

 

                                                                                                               

*Make sure to put the crown in the pre-wrapped gift box BEFORE you begin today! You’ll open it during your presentation. The image of the crown in the gift is really important to the small group activity. Please make sure to use those props at both the beginning and the end of large group.  

The BEST gift of all (Jesus) came to the world in the most SHOCKING way possible. Be dramatic to convey this to kids today!  

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*Christmas carols play as kids enter the room. WELCOME (Keep carols going) …Ahhh, don’t you just love Christmas? The beautiful carols, the scent of pine (spray febreze), writing letters to Santa (wear Santa hat—keep hat on as you continue). I want to hear what you guys love about Christmas. So what is it? What do YOU guys love most? (Let 3-5 kids respond.) And you know what else is fun at Christmas? …PRESENTS! Yep, presents (hold up the present). Who in here likes presents? REVIEW Well, I’ll tell you why I like presents. They remind me of the GREATEST present ever given. And guess who gave the best present ever? GOD. Does anybody remember who God promised to send? The one his family waited…and waited…and waited for?? (Let kids respond.) Yep, Jesus, the King! (Open the box and pull out the crown, and switch it with the Santa hat.) And remember, this king would bring them peace (make a peace sign—motion for kids to follow). He would be strong (pump muscles) enough to rescue them and would love (hug yourself) them forever. It was going to be GREAT! Say, “Woohoo!” (Give a fist pump as kids follow your lead) …“Woohoo!”

                                                                                                               

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THE KING WOULD COME AS A BABY Now, Jesus didn’t come in a box with wrapping paper (dramatically throw the present to the side). Does anybody remember how Jesus the King came to earth? (Let kids respond.) That’s right, as a baby (show sonogram picture). Nobody expected the promised king to come as a teeny tiny baby... And just WAIT until you hear today’s story about where he was born…But first, let’s sing a song about his birthday night. Music Video: Silent Night JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM So let’s find out more about how Jesus was born! Right before Mary had Jesus, she and Joseph had to go on a long journey to Bethlehem. So I need everybody to stand up. We’re going to pretend to take a journey…and we’re going to do it like Mary and Joseph. Maybe they had a donkey; maybe they walked. But it was slow going, because cars and airplanes hadn’t even been invented yet! Ready? Everybody walk in place—or pretend to ride a donkey (demonstrate; if you have a small enough group, feel free to lead them around the room). We’re going to look at a picture of the road Mary and Joseph walked. Let’s go! (Show picture and add commentary as you pretend to walk the road and act out the various types of terrain): Okay, we have to wind back and forth. …Back and forth, up and down, up and down. Woo—it’s hot in this desert! Uh, I think I have a rock in my sandal and, oooooh, gross—pretty sure I just stepped in camel poop. Whew. This is rough. Imagine doing this for DAYS…with a big baby in your belly! End with, “Why don’t we just skip ahead to Bethlehem.” (Change slide) That’s better. Alright, you guys can go ahead and sit down. BORN IN BETHLEHEM Let’s pick up with Mary and Joseph once they’re in Bethlehem. They needed a place to stay for the night. But remember how LOTS of people were taking a journey? Well, there was nowhere to stay. All the beds were full! Finally, one guy let them stay outside…with his animals. Imagine how dirty and (plug your nose) stinky it must have been to spend the night with these animals. And at this point, Mary was ready to have baby Jesus, THE KING. Now, where are babies usually born? (Let kids respond.) …Yeah, a hospital, or maybe a bed at home. What do babies usually sleep in? (Let kids respond.) …Yeah a crib, wrapped in blankets. Well, do you think there were any beds? No way! But there was a feeding dish called a manger… that probably had some hay in it. (Motion to the manger) Animals usually ate out of it, but it must have been a little softer than the ground. So, when Jesus was born, (hold the baby) he didn’t even get a bed. Mary wrapped him in some white cloth and laid him in the manger (lay the baby in the manger).

                                                                                                               

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THE HUMBLE KING (Switch to nativity picture slide.) Here, in the place where animals slobbered and spit up and backwashed their food, the king was born. Instead of a crown, (take off your crown and set it next to the manger), he got some pieces of cloth. Instead of a bed, he got to sleep in animal food. (Bring voice to a whisper) Yet there is no denying…the king was here! In fact, when Jesus was born, some ANGELS appeared to shepherds nearby. Remember, angels are God’s messenger warriors—they bring God’s messages! And guess what God’s message was? It was: (Slide showing Luke 2:10b-12): I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. (Motion to the manger) And just like the angels said, Jesus was—that very moment—lying in a manger. The king, the Rescuer, God’s very own son—was sent to be with us! He was going to rescue us from all the wrong things in the world. And like the angels said, this news brought GREAT JOY. (Pick up the gift box and put the crown inside, but leave it open) The birth of the king was the GREATEST gift God could ever give us! PRAY Can someone pray and thank God for sending Jesus to rescue us? Let’s sing some Christmas carols about when the angels announced that Jesus was born. Music Video: Hark the Herald Angels Sing Song: Joy to the World And just in case you still have some questions, let’s check in with Shrimpola. Watch closely…because Shrimpola might just get this right for a change. Video: Ask Shrimpola

                                                                                                               

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Coloring pages 1 crown per kid: OT IN-25/943 1 Christmas bag per kid: OT IN-4/4611 1 red bow per kid (SB3 from this site: http://usbox.com/Ribbons/Self-Sticking-Star-Bows/1LV/)

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1 piece of cardstock with a crown per kid (template in curriculum folder—print on white cardstock and cut cardstock into eighths, so each card has one crown)

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1. Adventure Bible for Early Readers (pg. 1195) 2. Pine-scented Febreeze (or any pine-scented spray) 3. Santa hat 4. Pre-wrapped gift box (can be opened and re-closed at each service)

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5. Crown 6. Box or crate (to serve as manger) 7. Hay/straw inside “manger” 8. Baby doll in diaper only (preferably dark-skinned) 9. White cloth (to wrap baby)

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1. Christmas Intro Slide: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AzA-MwsSmM (play at least first 2:33 seconds—can loop it at that point or let it keep going) 2. Image: sonogram (jpeg in curriculum folder) 3. Music Video: Silent Night (PATH: GenLogin>B-Kinder>xmas_musicvideos(2)) 4. Image: Bethlehem (jpeg in curriculum folder) 5. Image from Jesus Storybook Bible: pg. 183 (Jesus in the manger)

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6. Slide with text: Luke 2:10b-12 (see script for exact wording) 7. Music Video: Hark the Herald Angels Sing (http://www.jellytelly.com/video/hark-the-herald-angels-sing-sing-along/?utm=search) 8. Song: Joy to the World 9. Video: Ask Shrimpola: Jesus is born

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None

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Tell me about where Jesus was born. Why was Jesus’ birth so special?

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Your kids are coming home with a present today, but it’s not for them. We talked about how God sent the promised King, Jesus, to rescue us—and how that’s the greatest gift ever. Inside their present is something special to remind them of today’s story. They’ve chosen somebody to whom they want to give the gift and tell today’s story. Ask them about it. You can also read the story together in Luke 2:1-12.