12/4/11 Winter Unit 1: Good News of Great Joy Lesson 2

8/4/2019 12/4/11 Winter Unit 1: Good News of Great Joy Lesson 2

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KEY CONCEPT MOTIONS:

Every time you say the key concept during the lesson,use these motions: We can celebrate [point index fingers upward and dance ]

Baby Jesus [cradle arms and rock back and forth].

BibleSummary1 Luke 2:1-20

The Bible tells us themagnificent story of Jesus’ birth. Not only has God given us the

gift of His Son, Jesus,but He has also givenus one another.During the teachingtime, children willcelebrate His birthwith a time of praiseand worship, singingChristmas music. Therest of the lesson hasbeen intentionally set aside for you to

celebrate the birth of Jesus together with

your kids and toaffirm them asindividuals.

Bible Verse

“I bring you good

news of great joy . . .

a Savior has beenborn to you; He is

Christ the Lord.”

Luke 2:10-11

LESSON 2:UNIT 1:

In the Beginning . . . Growing into a Life of Faith

Good Newsof Great Joy Let’s Celebrate

Together

ObjectivesKNOW WHAT:

Children will sing and participate in amusic time to celebrate Jesus’ birth.

SO WHAT:

Children will celebrate the good news of Jesus’ birth.

NOW WHAT:

Children will celebrate Jesus’ birth andcommunity with one another. They willhear specific affirmations from theirteacher.

Spiritual FormationCelebration and Community

People NeededTeacher, Helper

Supplies(Labeled visuals below can be found inthe Lesson 2 Visual folder on the Winter Quarter CDs.)

CD playerMusic for singing Decorated birthday cake for Jesus Bubbles Stuffed/toy duck (optional) Crayons For each child:

• 1 Party hat (optional)• 1 Scarf (optional)• Key Concept sticker (Lesson 2 SG 17)• Two-sided take-home coloring sheet

(Lesson 2 SG 18, Lesson 2 SG 19)• Snack

The following supplies will be needed only if you choose to use the Christmas

Matching Game or the Christmas Story Bean Bag Game during the Activity time.

Christmas matching cards(Lesson 2 KC 1—Lesson 2 KC 10)

Christmas Story poster(Lesson 2 SG 11—Lesson 2 LG 16)

1 Beanbag

We can celebrateBaby Jesus.

KeyConcept

1 Winter Quarter © 2007 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher’s Guidebook / Lesson 2



UNIT 1:

Good Newsof Great Joy

Notes:

2 Winter Quarter

In Advance Recruit a Helper to operate the music CDs.

Determine which songs you will use and be prepared to lead the children in singing.Song suggestions:

• Upbeat song, that kids can clap along to, for transition from Activity Stations to theCreative Bible Teaching (consider using the same song for all 15 lessons or using a dif-ferent song for each unit)

• “He is Born” ( Jump for Joy CD)• “Who Was There” ( Jump for Joy CD)• “Jump for Joy” ( Jump for Joy CD)

Gather the supplies listed above and arrange your classroom as follows:

• Designate one area or corner of the room as your teaching area. Set up props that willbe used during the lesson and consider covering them with a sheet or a large piece of fabric to keep them from curious kids during Activity Stations. Also consider placing a

line of tape on the floor to help keep kids out of the teaching area.

• The Bible story ornaments on the tree will not be used this week, but leave the tree setup for your Christmas celebration.

If you choose to use the Christmas Matching Game, print and copy the Christmas match-ing cards on cardstock and cut them apart. There are four to a page, but you will only need two of each card. Place one set of ten cards in a Christmas gift bag. Paper clip theother set together and also place it in the bag. This set will be ready for you to pull outeasily and place on the floor for the game.

If you choose to use the Christmas Story Beanbag Game, create the Christmas story posters by printing out the pictures in the supply list. Glue the six images onto a piece of

poster board. Review the “Additional Celebration Activities” section in the Application time and decide

what other activities you may wish to use with your class.

Prepare the materials that will be given to each of the children. To prepare the stickers,print or copy the pages onto Avery label sheets #5294. Consider cutting the stickers apartfor easier distribution.

Print out the lesson and practice the teaching time.

© 2007 Willow Creek Community Church / Sunday School Teacher’s Guidebook / Lesson 2

Teacher’s Prep

READ LUKE 2:1-20. Christmas brings people together. Families join to celebrate thiswondrous event. People attend parties, gather to sing, play, and enjoy each other’s company.What a great time of year! This week, you have the opportunity to celebrate the good newsof Jesus’ birth with your children. Make the most of this time. You know your group of kidsand what they like best, so take time this week to reflect and pray for each of the kids in yourclass. Think about each child’s strengths and how you can encourage them specifically.Come prepared to celebrate each of them in a unique way. This may be the most meaningfulChristmas present they receive this year.



UNIT 1:


Creative Bible Teaching

(15 MINUTES)

[Play upbeat music as children transition to the teaching area. Invite kids to sit down.]

TEACHER:

Hello, friends! My name is_____________, and I’m so glad you’re here today! We are going

to have a lot of fun! We will sing songs, play games, and meet some special friends! Do youknow what special holiday is coming? [Christmas!] Christmas is coming. What is yourfavorite thing about Christmas? Maybe you like the presents, or the Christmas trees, or thedecorations. Raise your hand and wiggle your fingers if you would like to tell us.

[Choose a few kids to respond.]

TEACHER:

Well, my favorite thing about Christmas is learning about Baby Jesus. [Pretend to rock ababy.] Today we are going to celebrate and be happy because . . . God loves us so much, Hegave us Baby Jesus. And today, we are going to celebrate that Jesus is born! We can all behappy that Jesus is born. We can celebrate [ point index fingers upward and dance ] Baby Jesus [cradle arms and rock back and forth]. Say that with me, friends. We can celebrate[ point index fingers upward and dance ] Baby Jesus [cradle arms and rock back and forth].We can celebrate [ point index fingers upward and dance ] Baby Jesus [cradle arms and rock back and forth].

Today we are going to sing songs and play games as we celebrate. It’s going to be a greatday full of fun! I made something very, very special to help us celebrate. Do you wantto see it?

EVERYONE:

Yeah!

TEACHER:

Okay. Hold on just a minute. [Pull out cake and display it.] Tah-dah! I made a birthday cakefor Jesus! Christmas Day is Jesus’ birthday, so I thought we could celebrate and sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus! And if we’re going to sing “Happy Birthday” and have a party for Jesus,we should have party hats!

[Teacher and Helper pass out party hats to the kids. If you don’t use party hats, have the kids put on their pretend hats.]

Activity Stations(20 MINUTES)

Choose which activity stations you will use from the list included in the Activity Stationsfolder.




UNIT 1:


TEACHER:

Great! I think we’re ready! Let’s stand up and sing “Happy Birthday!”

[Helper and Teacher lead kids in singing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus.]

TEACHER:

That was so much fun! Today is going to be such a great day because . . . We can celebrate

[ point index fingers upward and dance ] Baby Jesus [cradle arms and rock back and forth].Say that with me friends. We can celebrate [ point index fingers upward and dance ] Baby Jesus [cradle arms and rock back and forth]. I can’t hear you! We can celebrate [ point index fingers upward and dance ] Baby Jesus [cradle arms and rock back and forth].

TEACHER:

Let’s look for some more ways we can have fun celebrating Baby Jesus. [Show scarves.] Oneway we can celebrate is by dancing and singing with our scarves.

[Helper and Teacher pass out scarves to every child.]

TEACHER:

All right, it looks like everybody has a scarf. Let’s sing!

MUSIC

Song Suggestion: “He is Born”

[Dance with scarves up high, down low, and dance circles.]

TEACHER:

Great singing, everyone! Will you all please pass your scarves back? [Collect scarves.] Nowon the count of three, everyone sit down. One . . . two . . . three. Sit down. That was fun!We want everyone to know Jesus is born. And since this is a party for Jesus, I think we

should play a game!

[If you have a toy duck, the Helper makes it walk up to the front and jump up on the Teacher’sshoulder.]

TEACHER:

Look! What animal is this? [Kids respond.] You’re right. It’s a duck! We should play Duck,Duck, Goose.

[Invite kids to sit in a circle. The Teacher will walk around the circle, tapping each head in turn,saying “duck.” When the Teacher taps a child’s head and says “goose,” both the Teacher and thechild run around the circle until the child sits back down. The Teacher should always be the one

tapping heads in order to maintain control. After a child sits back down, the Teacher asks thechild a question:

• What is your favorite thing to do at Christmas? • What is your favorite part of the Christmas story? • Let’s all say our special words: “We can celebrate Baby Jesus!”

Repeat until each child has had a turn.]




UNIT 1:


TEACHER:

You all did great! Let’s stand and sing a song to remember all the people in the Christmas story.

MUSIC

Song suggestion: “Who Was There?”

TEACHER:

God wants us to celebrate Baby Jesus. We can celebrate [ point index fingers upward and dance ] Baby Jesus [cradle arms and rock back and forth]. Say that with me, friends. We cancelebrate [ point index fingers upward and dance ] Baby Jesus [cradle arms and rock back and forth]. We can celebrate [ point index fingers upward and dance ] Baby Jesus [cradle arms and rock back and forth]. This is so much fun! I brought something else to celebrate.Look at this. [Show bottle of bubbles.] Do you know what this is? [Kids respond.] That’s right!These are bubbles. We are going to play some music while I blow bubbles. You can dancearound and pop them. But we’re going to stop the music and freeze sometimes, and theneveryone needs to stop! Okay, everyone, let’s stand up!

[Helper plays upbeat music as the Teacher blows bubbles and the kids chase them. Helper cutsthe music and yells “freeze!” several times. While everyone is frozen, Teacher says, “We cancelebrate Baby Jesus!”]

TEACHER:

Okay, everyone. You did a great job! Let’s all come back to our places. [Give the kids time to get back to their places.] It’s time to sing one more song!

MUSIC

Song suggestion: “Jump for Joy”

[Invite the kids to sit down on the count of three.]

Celebrationand Affirmation Activities(10 MINUTES)

The purpose of today’s activities is to celebrate the good news of Jesus’ birth. You can chooseone or both of the activities below, or consider what other treats, crafts, games, or surprises

you can bring to celebrate with your kids. You may wish to make this time longer than 10minutes today.

ACTIVITY 1:

CHRISTMAS MATCHING GAME

TAKE out the Christmas bag and matching cards.SAY, “I thought it would be fun to celebrate by playing a Christmas matching game.”PLACE the cards, face up, in the middle of the circle.




SAY, “We will each take a turn and pull a card out of our Christmas bag. All the cards havesomething to do with Christmas. We will match the card from the bag with one of the cardsin the circle.”PLAY the matching game until every card is picked and matched. The cards include awreath, gingerbread man, star, ornament, candy cane, lights, present, snowman, Christmastree, and Baby Jesus.SAY, “There are so many things I love about Christmas, but the best part of Christmas is

celebrating the birth of Jesus. [Show Baby Jesus card.] That is why we celebrate Christmas.”

ACTIVITY 2:

CHRISTMAS STORY BEANBAG GAME

PLACE the Christmas story poster on the floor. The poster includes pictures of Mary,Joseph, an angel, a shepherd, Baby Jesus, and a donkey. Ask the children to stand around it.1. GIVE one child the beanbag. Tell the children they will each get a turn.2. ENCOURAGE the child to throw the beanbag on one of the pictures. (If children have

trouble throwing, encourage them to drop or place the beanbag on the poster.)3. PICK up the beanbag and point out the Christmas story picture to which it landed closest.4. ASK the children, “What is in this picture?” Or “Who is this?” And “What did they do in

the Christmas story?”5. SAY, “Today we learned God wants us to celebrate together the birth of Jesus. We can

celebrate [ point index fingers upward and dance ] Baby Jesus [cradle arms and rock backand forth].”

6. REPEAT steps one through five until every child has had a turn. Pictures will be repeated.

UNIT 1:



Lesson 2 SG 15Lesson 2 SG 14

Lesson 2 SG 13Lesson 2 SG 11 Lesson 2 SG 12

Lesson 2 SG 16



UNIT 1:



AdditionalCelebration Activities• Bring in birthday goody bags for each child to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. Fill the bags with

fun Christmas goodies. Tell each child why you are glad he or she is a part of your class.

• Have the kids make a Christmas ornament to give to someone in their family. Bring precutcardboard or paper circles with an attached string or ribbon. Bring in some simple supplieslike stamps or stickers and let the kids decorate the ornaments. (Don’t bring scissors for the kids.)

• Have the kids each make a Christmas card to give to a friend. Bring in folded heavy paperand stickers to decorate the cards. Provide a sample card to show the kids. Ask each childwho they want to give their card to.

• Play “Pin the Star” on the stable. Bring in a large picture of a stable, tape to attach the sta-ble to the wall, some large star stickers, and a blindfold. Children can “pin the star” on the

stable. Give children the choice to be blindfolded or not. Some of them may prefer to justplace the sticker on the stable.

• Check out these web sites for more Christmas celebration ideas, recipes, and games:www.marsbrightideas.com; www.ricekrispies.com; www.orientaltrading.com

TEACHER:

We have had a great time celebrating God’s good news, His Son, Jesus. We have also had agreat time celebrating each other. God has put each of you in our class for a reason. He loveseach of you and wants us to learn about Him together.

God showed us His love by giving us Jesus. Let’s pray to God and tell Him “thank You” for

Jesus and our friends. [Lead the children in the following finger play.]

Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.]Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.]Give a little clap. [Clap hands.]Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.]Open them. [Open hands.] Close them. [Close hands.]Fold them in your lap. [Fold hands in lap.]

[Invite the children to repeat after you as you pray.]Dear God,Thank You for giving us Baby Jesus.

Thank You for our snack.In Jesus’ Name,Amen.

ShepherdingTip:Don’t worry aboutgetting all of your

activities done.Instead, take timeto notice and enjoythe kids as you playyour games andactivities.

ShepherdingTip:When making crafts,do as much prepa-ration at home aspossible. The kidsshould have onlyone or two things

to do to completethe craft.



UNIT 1:



Snack and Coloring Activity(15 MINUTES)

This is the time for you and the children to build community. A great way to let the kids know you care about them as individuals is to ask them questions about themselves.

GIVE each child a snack to eat.GIVE each child a Key Concept sticker to put on their shirt while they are eating their snack.GIVE each child a coloring sheet to color while they are waiting to be picked up. ASK each child a question or two:

• What was your favorite part of our celebration today?• What does your family do at Christmas?

Lesson 2 SG 18

W e c a

n ce l e b r a t e

B a b y J e s u s !

Lesson 2 SG 17

We can celebrate Baby Jesus!

Baby Jesus is Born (Luke 2:1-7)

Documents

12/4/11 Winter Unit 1: Good News of Great Joy Lesson 2