Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Sand Writing
Materials: shallow boxes or deep trays with a thin layer of sand (one per team), Christmas words written on cards, craft sticks (optional)
Group kids into teams. Guide teams to stand around the sand trays. Call on a player from each team to come to you. Show the players a word. On your signal, the players move to the sand trays and write the words or draw pictures in the sand. (Players cannot make any sounds or say any words.) The rest of the team should try to guess the word that the player is spelling or showing. When the word is guessed, award that team a point. Choose another player to spell a different word. Tell kids they will hear more events related to Jesus’ birth.
Live It Out
Game – Ornament Relay
Materials: non-breakable ornaments (one per team); paper squares and tape or sticky notes; marker
Write the words of the Life Point on paper squares or sticky notes, one word per square. Make a set of words for each team. Stick the words on a wall or table at one end of the game area.
Group kids into teams. Guide teams to stand in a line, one behind the other, facing toward the word cards. Give the first player of each team an ornament. On your signal, the first players pass the ornament over their heads to the next player; those players pass the ornament under their legs to the third players; and so on. When the last player receives the ornament, he runs to the word cards and finds the first word of the Life Point. He takes the word to a leader. If the word is correct, the player runs to the front of his team’s line and passes the ornament over his head to start the relay again. If the word is incorrect, the player returns the word card to the wall and retrieves the correct word before passing the ornament again. (The leader can tell the player the correct word if needed.) The first team to complete the Life Point is the winning team. Talk about the Bible story. Mention that Elizabeth praised God for Mary’s baby.
Craft – Good News Cards
Materials: note cards or construction paper, markers, other art supplies
Talk about the Bible story. Note that the angel told Mary the good news that she would be the mother of the Savior. Mary traveled to talk to Elizabeth and tell her the news. Say: “People praise God for the good news of Jesus’ birth. We can praise God, too.” Provide materials for kids to create cards to share the news of the Savior. Suggest they include the Unit Verse as part of their messages in the cards.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Going on a Trip
Materials: none
Lead kids to stand in a circle. Say: “I’m going on a trip and I will take a hat (touch head).” The kid next to you says: “I’m going on a trip. I will take a hat (touch head) and a pencil (pretend to write).” Continue around the circle. Each preteen will say what came before and make the appropriate actions. Then he will add another item and action. Decide what to do when a kid makes a mistake. (Option: corrects and goes on; starts over; sits down) Comment that Mary went on a trip in today’s Bible story.
Live It Out
Game – Tic-Tac-Toe Toss
Materials: masking tape, 10 plastic plates (5 of each of two colors)
Create a tic-tac-toe grid on the floor. Group the kids into two teams. Guide players from the teams to take turns tossing plates (like flying disks) onto the grid. When a team’s plate lands in a space on the grid, ask a review question. If the answer is correct, the plate stays in the space. If the answer is incorrect, the team must retrieve the plate. The first team to get three plates in a row on the grid wins. Say the Life Point and talk about the other events children know related to Jesus’ birth.
Craft – Praise Ornaments
Materials: large washers, permanent markers, small stickers, scissors, cord or ribbonInvite kids to use the materials to create ornaments. They can decorate with permanent markers. They can write praise, Savior, or Jesus on a sticker to add to the washers. Help kids tie a length of ribbon to the washer to make a hanger. Talk about the story and the Life Point. Sing a praise song about Jesus’ birth. Suggest kids hang the ornaments at home or give to someone else to tell the good news about the Savior.
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