Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Decorate Race
Materials: Christmas garland or tinsel, plastic Christmas decorations (You will need a set of tinsel/garland and decorations for each team.)
Group kids into two or more teams. Guide each team to choose a “tree” (one of the kids). The “tree” will stand in the middle of his team. On your signal, team members wrap their trees with garland and hang decorations on the garland. The first team to complete decorating the tree wins. Undecorate, choose another tree, and play again as time permits. Tell kids that decorating is a fun part of Christmas, but today they will hear about the reason we celebrate Christmas; they will hear that Jesus was born as God promised.
Live It Out
Game – Body Spelling
Materials: whiteboard, marker
Form groups of about five kids. Call out a word or name from the Bible story: Mary. Guide the groups to lay on the floor and form the letters to spell the word. (You may want to display the word on a whiteboard.) All team members should be a part of the word. Suggest that two groups work together, if they choose. After all groups have formed the word, talk about how that word or name was important in the Bible story. Ask all teams to stand and prepare for the next word. Words to use could include manger, baby, Jesus, angel, shepherd, born. Recall other parts of the Bible story after you have spelled all the words. Tell kids that Jesus as God planned.
Craft – Christmas Night
Materials: dark blue construction paper, construction paper scraps, glue sticks, scissors, star stickers
Give each child a piece of construction paper and ensure everyone can access the other supplies. Tell the kids to use the paper scraps and glue to illustrate a nativity scene on the paper. They can include jus the manger with a baby, or they can add people and animals. They can add star stickers to the night sky. Suggest they write the Weekly Verse on a light colored paper strip and glue it to their pictures.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Gimme a J!
Materials: cotton balls, straws (one per kid)
Scatter the cotton ball on a table. Give each kid a straw. Tell kids to work together to blow the cotton balls into a Jshape; they should not use their hands to move the cotton balls at all. Give the signal for kids to start. Stop after a minute to assess the progress. Let kids look at the table before beginning again. Give the signal to start again. When kids create a J shape, stop the game. Tell kids to name the key person in today’s story; it begins with a J. (Jesus)
Live It Out
Game – Christmas Musical Chairs
Materials: music player, Christmas music, chairs, review questions
Before class, download some Christmas music to your music player. In class, set up a circle of chairs with one less chair than the number of kids you have. Direct your kids to walk around the circle while the music plays. When the music stops, they must attempt to sit in a chair. The child who does not get a chair can answer a review question. If time allows after finishing the questions, tell kids to say the Weekly Verse or the Life Point.
Craft – Verse Reminder
Materials: green construction paper, white paper, scissors, markers, glue
Cut the green paper into 2-by-9-inch strips. Give each kid 4-5 paper strips. Lead them to cut strips into graduated lengths. For example, a child may have strips that measure 3 inches, 5 inches, 7 inches, and 9 inches. (Exact measurements do not matter; the strips only need to be graduated in size.) Kids can print the words of the verse on the strips; each strip can have one or several words on it. Start printing on the shortest strip and move through the strips in order of length. Then the kid can glue the shortest strip at the top of a piece of white paper. She can add the other strips in order, creating a pine tree shape or triangle shape with the strips. The kids may want to add other details to the verse “trees” they created. Talk about the Weekly Verse and how it connects to today’s story.
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