Age 2 - 5K Week of May 10th - May 16th
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Monday: King, May I?
What You Need: Floor tape
What You Do:
Before the Activity: Place a strip of tape on one end of the activity area. Place a second strip about 20 feet directly in front of the first strip. The lines will be your start and finish lines.
During the Activity: Have the children line up horizontally on the starting line. Start with one child and give them a number and a movement to do. Example: three jumps. Before the child moves asked them to say, “King May I?” Say, “Yes, you may” and have the child do the movements. Repeat with all of the children with different numbers and movements. Examples of movements: Jumps, baby steps, marching, one leg hops, giant steps, and walking on tippy toes. Try to keep the numbers under five.
After the Activity: Repeat the activity until a child reaches the finish line.
What You Say:
Before the Activity: “We are going to play a game!”
During the Activity: “Everyone stand on this line. (Point.) I will give you a movement and tell you how many times to do it. If I say, ‘Do three jumps,’ you will do this (demonstrate). Before you do your movements, ask, “King, May I?” Are you ready?”
(Do activity.)
After the Activity: “Great job playing ‘King, May I!’ Today, in our Bible story, we will hear an awesome story all about how a woman asked a king a very important question. I cannot wait to find out what she asked!”
Tuesday: Plan
What You Need: Building blocks
What You Do:
Before the Activity: Ask the children to build a castle with the blocks.
During the Activity: Ask the children to tell you a plan for building the castle. Ask them several questions to help them build a plan. Repeat the activity as desired.
What You Say:
Before the Activity: “Let’s build together!”
During the Activity: “First, we need a plan! We are going to build a castle. Do you have any ideas? (Pause.) Those are awesome ideas! We need to decide what colors of blocks to use, how big we want it to be, and who wants to build which part. (Do activity.) We have a plan! Great job! Let’s start building!” (Finish activity.)
After the Activity: “WOW! That looks awesome! We followed the plan, and it turned out great! Sunday, we heard about someone who has a plan for all of us!”
Wednesday: Watercolor Verse
What You Need: “Lemonade Memory Verse” Activity Page (Link Here), white cardstock, washable watercolor paints, cups of water, small paintbrushes, tablecloths, and paint smocks or oversized t-shirts
What You Do:
Before the Activity: Copy the “Lemonade Memory Verse” onto cardstock, one per child. Cover the tables with tablecloths. Set the watercolors, paintbrushes, and cups of water on the tables.
During the Activity: Give each child a paint smock or oversized t-shirt to wear to protect clothing. Pass out a “Lemonade Memory Verse” page to each child. Read the memory verse together to review. Then, encourage the children to use the watercolor paints to color in the pitcher of lemonade.
After the Activity: Set pages aside to dry until pick up. Pour out all cups of water. Gather all paints, paintbrushes, and paint smocks or t-shirts for clean-up.
What You Say:
During the Activity: “All month long, we’re learning a verse to help us remember that [Bottom Line] God loves me. It says, ‘Nothing at all can separate us from God’s love, Romans 8:39.’ Let’s say that together! (Say verse.)
“Great job! This month’s verse is written right here on your pages. Let’s use the paints to add some color to our page. Where does the lemonade go in our picture? (Pause.) Yes! The lemonade goes inside the pitcher! Let’s paint inside the pitcher.”
After the Activity: “Your paintings are beautiful. When you look at them this week, remember that nothing can separate you from God’s love because [Bottom Line] God loves me! Who loves you? [Bottom Line] God loves me!”
Thursday: Act it Out
What You Need: No supplies needed
What You Do:
Before the Activity: Act out the story.
During the Activity: Assign the parts of Queen Esther, the king, and Mordecai to your children. You or another adult should play Haman. Act out the story as you retell it. Repeat the activity with three different children playing the parts if you can.
What You Say:
Before the Activity: “Let’s act out our Bible story.”
During the Activity: “Haman had a very mean plan. He did not love God. He wanted to be mean to Queen Esther’s friends and family who loved God. (Have the person playing Haman look mean.) Queen Esther was very worried. She wanted to talk to the king and ask him for help (point to queen and king), but she was afraid that he would be mad at her. So, she talked to her friend Mordecai. (Have the Esther and Mordecai stand next to each other.) Mordecai told her that God had a plan for her and it was to help her friends and family. Queen Esther knew that God had a plan for her! She went to talk to the king about helping her friends and family! (Have the Esther walk to the king.) The king said, ‘YES’! (Have the king give a thumbs up.) Queen Esther followed God’s plan!”
After the Activity: “God has a plan for all of us! Just like He had a plan for Esther! God loves you and has a plan for you! Who loves you? [Bottom Line] God loves me!”
Friday: King, King, Where Is Your Crown?
What You Need: A preschool-sized chair and a toy crown if you have one (find one on the internet and print)
What You Do:
Before the Activity: Place the chair in the middle of the activity area. Place the crown under the chair. Invite your children to sit around the chair and play along with your children.
During the Activity: Choose one child to be “King” first. Have the child who is “King” sit in the chair and hide their eyes. Choose another child to quietly take the crown from under the chair and hide it behind their back while still sitting in the circle. Have all of the children say the following chant, “King, King, where is your crown? Someone took it from your town. Guess who.” When the children say the chant, ask the child who is the” King” to uncover their eyes and try to guess who has his crown. Allow the child who took the crown to be the next “King.” Repeat the activity until every child (and yourself) have had a turn to be the “King.”
What You Say:
Before the Activity: “Sunday, we talked about a king and a queen in our Bible story.”
During the Activity: “Let’s play a game. First, we need a king. (Choose a child) The King will sit in this chair (point) and hide their eyes. One of you will take the crown (hold up), from under the chair, and hide it behind your back. The King will then try to guess who has his crown. Are you ready to play?” (Do activity.)
After the Activity: “That was so much fun! God had a plan for Esther and He has a plan for you, too! He loves you! Who loves you? [Bottom Line] God loves me!”
Saturday: Journal and Prayer
What You Need: Paperclip “Memory Verse Card” in your Bible at Romans 8:39. Provide a journal and a fun-shaped pen.
PARENT: “I need you to listen closely so you will know the plan for getting to our journaling spot. Ready? Ok, this is the plan. We are going to tip-toe, tip-toe, hop, hop. Tip-toe, tip-toe, hop, hop. Tip-toe, tip-toe, hop, hop. Say that with me.”
CHILDREN and PARENT: “Tip-toe, tip-toe, hop, hop. Tip-toe, tip-toe, hop, hop. Tip-toe, tip-toe, hop, hop.”
PARENT: “You’ve got it! That’s the plan. Follow me as we tip-toe, tip-toe, hop, hop!”
(Tip-toe, tip-toe, hop, hop as you lead the children to your journaling spot.)
PARENT: “We followed the plan, and here we are! Good job! Let’s sit down and talk about Sunday’s Bible story. One, two, three, sit down with me!”
(Open the Bible and lay it open in front of the children.)
PARENT: “Our Bible story from Sunday was about a girl named, Esther. Esther was chosen to be a queen, but it meant she had to leave her family. It was hard. Then one day she had the chance to help her family, but it meant she had to ask the king for help. That was hard, too.
“Esther had to remember that God loved her and had a plan for her. When she did, it helped her follow God’s plan.
“And guess what? God loves you and has a plan for you, too! God loves (name of child) and has a plan for (him or her). God loves (name of child) and has a plan for (him or her).” (Continue with each child.)
PARENT: “Who loves you?”
CHILDREN and PARENT: [Bottom Line] “God loves me!”
PARENT: “Yes! God loves you SO much, nothing at all can ever separate you from His love. God’s love will always be with you. And the Bible verse we are learning will help us remember that!”
(Turn the pages of your Bible to the Memory Verse Card.)
PARENT: “It says, ‘Nothing at all can ever separate us from God’s love,’ Romans 8:39.”
(Close Bible and lay it down.)
PARENT: “Did you hear that? Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love! Let’s stand up and say that together with the motions.”
CHILDREN and PARENT: “Nothing at all (shake head and wave your arms in front of you) can separate (lock your fingers together) us from God’s (point up with both hands) love (hug yourself). Romans 8:39.” (Open your hands like a book.)
(Repeat the verse with the motions a few times.)
PARENT: “You sound great! I am proud of you! Now, let’s sit down so we can write in our prayer journal and talk to God.”
(Hold journal and fun-shaped pen.)
PARENT: “I want you to think about what you want to be when you grow up. Maybe you want to be a zookeeper or a teacher? Maybe a dancer or a builder? Think about it, and when I say your name, tell me what you want to be when you grow up.”
(Say each child’s name and write down what they say. Remember to print the names so the children recognize their names and the letters.)
PARENT: “It’s fun to think about what might happen when we’re all grown up like our mommies and daddies. Whatever happens, we know that God loves us and has a plan for us. Would anyone like to pray before I pray?”
(Give each child who wants to pray the opportunity to do so.)
Prayer
PARENT: “Dear God, thank You for loving us. It feels so good to know that You care about every part of our life and that You planned good things for us. (Name of child) wants to be a (what they listed), and (name of child) wants to be a (what they listed. Continue with each child.) Whatever happens when we grow up, we know You love us and we can trust Your plan for us. We love You, God. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
