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EPHESIANS 3:20-21
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Week 3: The Angels and the Stars

12/27/2016

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WEEK 3 of our Christmas lessons for our Sunday School class was centered around the 
                                                                     
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Angels and the Star of David!  

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.'
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.'
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."
Luke 2:8-20


An angel appeared followed by a group of angels to the shepherds, so this proved that they had a very important message to give to them. YES!  Our Savior's Birth is TRULY a VERY Important MESSAGE!  We don't know the names of the angels or how many there were of them, but in the Bible it says that it was a great company (which would mean A LOT) - so it would have been an amazing experience!


OPENING:

As the kids entered into the room, I put out another coloring page to start. 

​This is what they colored:
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SONG AND STORY TIME:
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The kids LOVE singing time...so like last week, we sang the songs that were our favorites.  Check out last week's lesson on the Magi HERE!

We reviewed the past 2 weeks of stories and then moved on to the Angels and the importance of the Star.  It is sometimes referred to as the Star of Bethlehem or the Star of David.  We know that Astronomy and using the stars for mapping was important for navigation and many other things in those times.  God showed us in the Old Testament Prophesies about the importance of the coming birth of the Savior.  Even the STARS were involved!  

The Wise Men had seen an unusual new star in the sky, and knew that it told of the birth of a special King in Israel. But what did they see? The Bible says they 'saw it in the east' and then when they were in Jerusalem that it 'went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was'.  AMAZING!  

We even talked about what we thought the Shepherds were feeling when the sky lit up with all those Angels!  It was in the middle of the night but the LIGHT that filled the sky was probably brighter than the SUN!  

God went all out with making sure everyone knew how truly Magnificent and Magestic this GOOD NEWS was!  HIS SON was born and it was TRULY an important message...lifesaving!

CRAFT TIME:

We moved over to the table to start some messy fun!  You'll need Blue (or any color really) Construction Paper, Glitter, Coffee Filters, and Glue Sticks.  The kids were making Angel Christmas Cards to share the Good News with someone.
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  1. First, Fold the Blue Paper in half and give one to each child.
  2. To make the Body and Wings, you just cut a Coffee Filter in half, then cut the halves in half.  This would give you 6 triangles.  Each child should be given 3 triangles.  One for the body and 2 for the wings.
  3. Cut out Tan circles for each
  4. The last step is to help the kids put a ring of glitter over the circles once they were glued on to the paper.  

                              We then moved on to making STARS!

So after the Cards, I gave each child a pre-made popsicle stick star.  I had made them at home to make sure the glue was dry for the kids to decorate.  I found that the Craft Glue was the best to use for these.

Each kiddo was able to pick out their own glitter and decorate.  It is easiest to do this over paper plates (and having a few helpers).  

The last step is to add a piece of curling ribbon through the top loop so the kids can hang their star on their Christmas tree!  Perfecto...a cute, easy, and colorful Star Ornament!


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SNACK TIME:


We kept snack simple...first, washing hands, then saying a prayer thanking God for our food.  The kids enjoyed Pretzels and Cheeze Crackers.  The kids could make stars out of their pretzels.  :)  They have fun being given a challenge as they snack away.

CLOSING:
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With the little time we had left, the kids played a game of "Duck, Duck, Goose" over in the story time area.  We modified it to be "Sheep, Sheep, Star" just to spice the game up a bit.  :)  

                 I hope your preschoolers have as much fun as mine did!  


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         Merry Christmas 
                    & 
             God Bless!
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Week 2: Preschool Sunday School Christmas Lesson-Wise Men

12/16/2016

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WEEK 2 of our Christmas lessons for our Sunday School class was centered around the Wise Men!  These men were truly wise as they sought to honor God with their lives.  They were obedient to the Lord's message to not report to Herod about the born Messiah.  
It would have been so amazing to be there at the time when the Magi came to visit Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.


OPENING:

As the kids entered into the room, we had these coloring sheets out for them to use.  My preschoolers LOVE to color so it is nice to always have this option...plus, they do like routine.   When I don't have a coloring sheet laying out for them, they look at me cross-eyed and ask, "Where is our picture, Mrs. Cook!?"  Ha...so I better stick with what they like.
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SONG AND STORY TIME:
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Once all the kids have been checked into class and they've had enough time to color, we moved over to the reading area for our singing and story time.  We usually spend a little more time on the singing since this is one of their favorite things to do.  We keep it pretty simple but I do try to sneak in a new song from time to time.

Here are their all-time favorites (classics but still just as popular):
"Jesus Loves Me" - We do the sign language movements with this one
"This Little Light of Mine" - Their favorite verse is about "Hiding It Uunder a Bushel, NO".  Haha!
"The Lord's Army" - We sing this atleast 3-4 times through.  If I forget this song, they always remind me.



365 Bibe Stories for Young Hearts is a GREAT Children's Bible. I love using this Children's Bible for our Story Time. It is our personal Bible from home and I love using it for class too.

We read through last week's story and added the next part on the Wise Men.  This is a great way to review from the previous week and add a little bit of newer information.  


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We talked briefly about why the Wise Men (they were commonly referred to as the Magi) may have given Jesus these 3 gifts and what they actually were.  Gold-because it is valuable and Jesus was a King, Frankincense-because it was a highly valued oil and used in priestly roles of the church, and Myrrh-this was a common and important incense for funerals and burials.  They may have been familiar with the important prophesies of the Old Testament about Jesus' eventual death and resurrection.
(This is the condensed preschool version)


These Wise Men were obviously well versed in both the Scriptures and in Astronomy.  They knew when the Star of David was in position to signal Christ's birth and understood how to follow it through the night sky towards Bethlehem.  Their names were thought to have been Melchior (he brought the Gold), Caspar (he brought the Frankincense), and Balthasar (he brought the myrrh).

CRAFT TIME:

We then moved over to the table to make our Wise Men Picture.  I had pre-cut different colored triangles, Light Tan Circles, and 3 varying shaped crowns.  The kids were given these to glue onto their paper to form the 3 Magi.  I even gave them the verse Luke 2:11 "For Unto You is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord". They could glue this on their page as well.  The kids added faces and stars in the sky with crayons.  

SNACK TIME:

We kept snack simple...first, washing hands, then saying a prayer thanking God for our food.  The kids enjoyed animal crackers this week and had to count how many camels they could find out of all their crackers. They had fun finding and counting them.

CLOSING:
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We ended by giving each kiddo a set of the 3 Magi Gift Ornaments.  We didn't finish these up but they were sent home for the kids to complete at home.  I printed out the black and white version of the FREE Printable from the sundayschoolcrafts website.  There is a color version you can print out for FREE too. Once the kids color them, laminating them would be a super nice touch!  

​Click on the picture of the ornaments to print out your 
FREE copy! 


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Hope you have a VERY Merry Preschool Christmas!

Hallelujah, A Savior is Born!
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Week 1:  Preschool Sunday School Christmas Lesson-Shepherds

12/16/2016

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It is my month for teaching the cute preschoolers at my church for Sunday School.  Since I was given December, I decided to break down the Christmas Story and go over the important people God chose to be a part of it.  We focussed on the Shepherds for the first week.  

First thing, the kids came into the class and as I welcomed them, they can go over and color a picture to keep them busy as we wait for the kids to all get to class.
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We then moved on over to our reading circle where we had our praise and worship singing time and then our story time.  

We focused on the Shepherd's story.  Before beginning the story, I talked with the kids about the importance of a Shepherd's job in the time of Christ's birth.  
  • The shepherd faced the continuous challenge of teaching the sheep to obey his commands. A good shepherd took care of the animals in their charge, even giving them names to which they would respond.
  • For many days, shepherds would work and sleep outdoors so the flock could graze in the fields and spent the nights guarding them. At times, the shepherd might shelter his flock overnight in a cave, where they would be protected from wild animals that could harm the sheep. If the howl of a wild animal panicked the flock of sheep in the dark of night, the shepherd’s calm reassuring voice would still them.
  • Each evening, the shepherd counted the sheep and checked the health of the animals. In the morning, he would call, and the flock would follow him to the pasture ground. (John 10:3, 4) During the day, shepherds led the animals to the water to drink. 
  • Good shepherds were diligent, dependable, and brave. They would even risk their lives to protect the flock.--1 Samuel 17:34-36.


I LOVE using this Bible that our family purchased for our kids.  The stories and pictures are very detailed and engaging!  

After our story, the kids moved over to the table to work on our Sheep ornament.  It was simple for the kids to complete but kept them busy and engaged.  I precut the sheep and the stars before class and hole punched them and strung them.
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Click here for the sheep pattern

Click here for the star pattern

The kids added the cotton balls, googly eyes and glued the verse on the star.  They LOVE having an ornament to take home for their tree.  I used a verse from Veggie Tales that I found online but you could use any verse.  



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​We moved on to our HERDING SHEEP game.  This is so very simple and the kids had a blast!  

I made 2 "corrals" out of popsicle sticks and put a bunch of sheep in random places in front of the corral.  The kids had to "herd" the sheep (by blowing air) into the corral.  We made it a kind of competition.  Even my teen helpers had fun playing.  haha!



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​The last thing we did was our snack time...this was a hands-on snack time today.  We talked about the importance of the Shepherd's staff.  
  • The staff was used to help a sheep find it's mother if he gets lost.  The shepherd will gently use his staff (with the rounded "crook" on the end) to help lift the sheep and get it back over by it's mother.
  •  It is also used for guiding his sheep.  Either down a path or to help guide them away from danger if they were too close.  The hook can be used to catch a straying sheep and bring it back to safety.  The hook could fit nicely around a sheep's neck when the sheep is out of arms reach from the shepherd.

We had a box of fruit loops (I bought the fruit rings from Aldis) and a pipe cleaner for each kid.  The were able to make a shepherd's staff with their pipe cleaner and fruit loops.  

​          Of Course they were given a pretty large pile so they could also enjoy these for their snack.  



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We had a great class!  It was fun and the kids learned a lot about the life of the Shepherds.  

​The Lord used them for an important role in the Christmas story.  We will continue our study of the important people that God used during the birth of Christ with next week's lesson!

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Even my son who was my helper, enjoyed making the shepherd's hook!  :)  
​He was helpful with the other kids too!
 



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Enjoy & Christmas Blessings!
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God LOVES us and gives us good surprises!

11/29/2015

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It was the month to learn about Abraham for our church's preschool class in November!  

Here are the topics we learned for all 4 weeks:

1. God kept Abram safe on his journey.
2. Abram shared with Lot and God blessed him.
3. God made a promise to Abraham & changed his name.
4. God kept His promise and blessed Abraham and Sarah with a GREAT surprise!

WEEK 1 was when Abram built an altar to Thank God on his journal to the new land.  Since it is November, I put up a large tree on our classroom wall and the kids attached leaves with things they were thankful for written on each leaf!  

WEEK 2 was when Lot and Abram had to split up since their shepherds were fighting.  Well, I showed ya how we made our sheep for that lesson.  Check them out HERE!


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WEEK 3 We talked about God's promise to Abram...then God changed his name to Abraham (which means "Father of Many").  The kids made STARS and we also placed STARS on the wall with each kid's name and names of others they LOVE.  This helped show the kids how many people we all know in our own lives...there are A LOT of people in the world! 

More than we can count, just like the STARS!
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WEEK 4 was our final week!  God loves us and gives us good surprises!  He kept HIS promise and blessed Abraham and Sarah with a baby boy!  

The kids made tents out of paper showing Abraham and Sarah holding their surprise baby when you open the flaps!  
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This was the take home page from the curriculum our church uses, which is "Group Publishing, Inc."
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Here is my daughter's tent she made in class.
 We also counted out how old Abraham was when he had his first baby...100 years old!

We used kidney beans...after doing this, I knew that I couldn't just put them away!  haha...they were able to play with them for a bit before moving on to our next fun activity!
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The kids finished by making play doh creations of all they had learned over the 4 weeks of class!  ​
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Here is the recipe we used.  

We LOVE this homemade play doh recipe!  It is super easy and can be made in under
​5 minutes...super simple!
I hope you enjoyed this lesson and craft!  

God has so many great promises to show us through HIS WORD!
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Sheep go Baaaaa!

11/16/2015

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Teaching is what I do!  Homeschooling, Co-Op, or Children's Church too!!  (like my rhyme, hee hee)

This is my month for teaching the sweet preschoolers at our church on Sunday mornings.  We are studying Abram (or Abraham...depending on the week and lesson...really, it is the same person though if you aren't familiar with the story).  The kids LOVE hands-on...who doesn't!?  Crafts are super fun, ummm, and messy...but it's all about the kids learning, right?!



The story was from Genesis 13 when Lot and Abram had to separate since they both had so many people and animals & we talked about how the shepherds of Abram and the shepherds from Lot were fighting since they had to share the land. To remember how to share, we made sheep!  The kids had to share cotton balls in order to make their sheep.  

Here they are:
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It is super simple to make these and the supplies are minimal.  Here is what you'll need:
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Elmer's glue, paper plates, black and white construction paper, cotton balls and a stapler.
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Here are the pattern pieces all cut out that you'll need for each child.
I found that the cheaper paper plates (even better, right?) were the best since there are some that come with a clear coating that make the plates a bit stiffer...they don't work as well.  Cheap and flimsy are the best (in this case anyways)!  We also stapled the feet and tail on so it would stay better and just glued on the eyes.  
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My daughter put her sheep's head in the middle but some kids put theirs off to the side and adjusted the tail.  The talk would look great off to the side like the picture above or even straight off the top.  Our class had all different looking sheep.  Even the cotton balls were either loaded on or some kids just put on a few and stretched them out!

I love seeing how they all turn out!


Here is the pattern I drew up to help make these paper plate sheep.  The kids had a blast using their craft to make sheep sounds every time they heard the word "animals" in the story as I read to them from Genesis 13.
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I hope you enjoy making these in your classroom for whatever you are using SHEEP for...super easy and super cute!  
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Ephesians 3:20-21

20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.


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