Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Do What I Do
Materials: none
Guide kids to follow you in a line. Say: “Do what I do.” Move both hands up in the air as you march with high steps. Repeat the words as you change to two other motions. Tell a kid to become the leader and kids follow her motions. (If you have a large group of kids, create two or more lines.) Tell kids that in the Bible story, Jesus led His disciples into Jerusalem.
Live It Out
Game – Question, Verse, Praise
Materials: beach ball, marker
Print the words Question, Verse,
and Praise on the ball. Print each word several times in different places
on the ball.
Guide kids to stand in a circle or group. Toss the ball back and forth between
the kids. Say, “Stop!” The kid holding the ball looks at his hand and tells the
letter that is closest to his right thumb. If his thumb is near Q, ask him a review
question. If his thumb is near V, he can say the Life Verse with a friend. If
his thumb is near P, he can praise God for Jesus. (For praise, kids can say
things like Thank You, God, for Jesus or Hosanna or Jesus is
Savior. Encourage kids to say their own praises.) Mention ways the people
praised Jesus in the story and ways people praise Jesus today.
Craft – Praise Shakers
Materials: paper plates, markers, gravel or beans, ribbon or crepe paper, staplers with staples
Guide kids to draw designs on the backs of the plates. Encourage them to print the Life Point on the backs of the plates, too. Show kids how to staple lengths of ribbon along one side of the paper. (Staple ends of the ribbon to the front edge of the plate.) When a kid finishes his work, help him scoop a handful of gravel and put on the front of the plate. He can fold the plate closed, enclosing the gravel inside. Help him staple along the plate edge to seal in the gravel. (Use several staples close together so gravel will not fall out through openings.) Sing praise songs and shake the shakers.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Praise Puzzler
Materials: paper, marker, scissors
Print hosanna in large
letters on piece of paper. Use different colored markers to make several
copies. (You will need one word for every four kids.) Cut the words into 4
pieces; make sure you have part of the word on each piece.
Mix the puzzle pieces and hand a piece to each kid. On your signal, kids move
around the space and find the other kids who have matching colored letters (or
lines). Tell kids that each group will have only four kids. Guide each group to
assemble the puzzle and read the word. Tell them to talk about what the word
means. Tell kids that this word is an important word in the Bible story today.
Live It Out
Game – Knock Down and Unscramble
Materials: cardboard tubes or empty plastic bottles, marker, ball or paper wad
Print these scrambled words on tubes or bottles: nahsnoa; kodnye; mpla eelvas; sapire; seusJ; arsmuelJ; rocdw; siscedipl. (Words: hosanna, donkey, palm leaves, praise, Jesus, Jerusalem, crowd, disciples. Add other word from Bible story as you choose.) Set the scrambled words along a wall. Guide a kid to stand a few feet away and roll a ball (or toss a paper wad) to knock down a word. Kids can work to unscramble the word and talk about how that word relates to the Bible story. Remind kids that Jesus is the Messiah.
Craft – Praise Mobile
Materials: green construction paper, scissors, hole punches, markers, yarn
Guide a kid to cut a large palm leaf from paper. She can write Jesus is the Messiah on the large leaf shape. She can cut smaller leaf shapes and print words that praise Jesus. Guide her to punch holes along the bottom of the larger leaf and in the tops of the smaller leaves. She can cut yarn and attach the leaves together to create a mobile. She can punch a hole in the top of the larger leaf and create a yarn loop for a hanger. Talk about ways people praise Jesus and words they use to praise Jesus. Say the we can praise Jesus because He is the Messiah.
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