For the Leader

For the Leader

PREPARING TO TEACH

2.1 God Is Always With Me!

Items Needed

2.1 God is Always With Me!

This is the list of supplies that you need for the different parts of this lesson. Be sure to gather your supplies and have them ready to go ahead of time!

Hands-On Experience: Large (12” x 18”) piece of black construction paper, star stickers

Craft: Markers, brown or green crayons (one for every three or four children), sandpaper (one sheet for every three or four children), plastic packing tape, copies of the activity sheet

Game: Several foam or card stock stars (one to three per child), contact paper (a length of about two to three feet), masking tape

Center: Plastic bin, dry black beans, glow-in-the-dark stars, plastic scoops

Last-Minute Supply Substitutions

Craft: Instead of sandpaper, have leaders help kids draw small blades of grass with green crayons or dots to create sand with brown crayons.

Game: If contact paper is not available, tape black construction paper to the wall and put pieces of tape on the backs of the stars.

Center: If supplies listed are not available, cut out stars from paper in various sizes and have the kids sort them by size.

This is a devotional section for you as a leader to connect to the lesson topic before you teach it to the kids. Use this opportunity to prepare your heart and connect with God through His Word.

Read Genesis 22:15-18. Everyone struggles with feeling alone sometimes. We yearn to know that someone is always with us. That someone is God our Creator. It is impressive that all through Scripture, we can see this amazing promise that God is always with us.

One of the names for Jesus is Emmanuel, which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). God wanted us to understand what it really means for God to be with us. Jesus came and lived with humanity. He felt tired. He dealt with people who frustrated Him and was disappointed by others. Jesus is with us, and He understands what we feel and go through.

Because He is with us, we can have peace. We can trust Him on our worst days and on our best days. As you prepare to teach this week, remember that you can trust that you are never alone and that you can count on our loving God to always be with you!

Bible Story: God’s Promise to Abraham (Genesis 22:15-18)Big Truth 2: God Is Great!Big Verse 2: Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise. (Psalm 48:1)

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Goals of the Lesson

Sample Schedules

Quick Leader Tips

30-Minute Schedule

• Coming In Timeand Free Play (10 min)

• Lesson Time (10 min)• Craft and Going Home

Time (10 min)

60-Minute Schedule


• Song Time (3 min)• Verse Time (2 min)• Lesson Time (15 min)• Craft or Game Time (10 min)• Going Home Time

and Free Play (15 min)

90-Minute Schedule


• Song Time (5 min)• Verse Time (2 min)• Lesson Time (15 min)• Snack (10 min)• Craft Time (15 min)• Game Time (15 min)• Going Home Time

and Free Play (13 min)

Use these sample schedules to figure out how many minutes to spend on each activity. Feel free to adjust according to the needs of your group. If you want to spend longer on some of these, you can have multiple things going on at the same time and rotate the children through the stations.

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Here are some quick tips to help you as a Puggles leader.

Sometimes the parents in your group may appear too busy for any extra things to do with their child. The preschool years can be draining for parents, and they may be intimidated by the amount of things that they “should” be doing. But you can give them fun and easy ways to do discipleship with their child in a playful format. You can help parents encourage a love for God and appreciation of His creation in preschoolers with a free printable from Awana. Use it during club or send it home. Go to Nature Walk Bingo at awana.org/puggles2-1 to download and share this resource.

These are the goals for you to keep in mind as you plan your lesson. Pray for the kids as you prepare for your group.

Pray that the children would:• Understand that God always keeps His promises.• Understand that God promises to always be with us.• Grow in their awareness of God’s greatness.



Coming In (5-10 Min)

WHILE YOU TEACH

This is the way to start your lesson that connects the picture on the front of the teaching card with the topic of the lesson. The bold sections are the script you read, and the lighter text is instructions for you.

Verse Ti me (1-2 Min)

Song Ti me (3-5 Min)

Seat children in a circle on the floor. Sing a song to help quiet their hearts and hands. Hold up this teaching card and point to the picture on the front.

Have you ever looked up at the stars at night and wondered how many there are? God promised His friend, Abraham, that he would have more people in his family than there are stars in the sky. God did just what He said. God also promises to always be with us. Today we are learning that God is with us!


Int roduce the Lesson (1-2 Min)

Teach kids these hand motions to help them learn the Bible verse. Do the motions once by yourself before asking the children to do it with you. If your group has mastered the Big Verse, have them try one of the Puggles Bonus Verses in the resources at the back of this book.

Have the children repeat Psalm 48:1 after you and copy your hand motions. See if anyone can say the verse independently. Finish by talking about how the Bible verse tells us that God is great, which means that He is big and amazing.

Big Verse 2: Great is the LORD, (move hands up and then slowly down in a circle like they are fireworks) and most worthy (thumbs up) of praise. (Psalm 48:1)

Welcome the children to your group as they arrive and introduce the lesson topic to get them thinking about what they are learning. This is also a great time to fit in the Center Time activity as a way to get them interested in the lesson.

• Greet the children by name as they come in.• Tell them that they will be learning that God is always with them. Talk with them about how God’s

promises are true and one of those promises is that God is always with them.• Invite them to free play, or have an activity set out on the table.

Encourage the children to sing with you and do any hand motions that go with the song. Songs listed are included in the Puggles Big Truths Music CD and DVD.

Puggles Theme Song* Big Verse 2* There Are Promises** God Is So Good**

*Song by Randall Goodgame of Slugs & Bugs**Song by Yancy of Yancy Ministries

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This is a scripted short prayer to end your lesson. You can either read it alone or ask the children to repeat it.

Thank you, God, that You love us. You are so amazing and great! Thank you for promising to always be with us. Amen.

Pr ay Together (1 Min)

This section has two questions about the lesson. The bold sections are the script you read, and the lighter text is instructions for you.

Does God always keep His promises? Help the children understand that God always keeps His promises.

What does God promise us? Help the children understand that God promises to always be with us.

Questions to Ask (1-2 Min)

This is a way to help children connect to the lesson by engaging their senses and using objects they can touch. The bold sections are the script you read, and the lighter text is instructions for you.

While the kids are still seated, bring out the paper and stickers. Let’s all work together to create a beautiful starry night sky to help us remember that God is always with us. Give the children a star sticker or two, and help them place it on the black paper. Make sure their star doesn’t overlap other children’s stars and that each child gets a turn to help fill the sky with stars.

We had fun putting lots of beautiful stars on our paper. Each one can remind you of how much God loves you and promises to be with you. God is great because He is always with us!

Hands-On Experience (5-7 Min)

This is a story from the Bible that relates to the lesson topic. The bold sections are the script you read, and the lighter text is instructions for you.

God created so many stars that we can’t count them all. God promised His friend, Abraham, that He would give him a family with more people in it than there are stars in the sky! God blessed Abraham’s family, and eventually, there really were more people in his family than you could count. God kept His promise to Abraham.

Optional: Read Genesis 22:15-18 out loud to the children.

The Bible tells us that God was always there for Abraham. God did what He said He would and gave Abraham a son named Isaac. And Isaac had children named Jacob and Esau. They had many children and became a large group of people who were called the Israelites. God continued to keep His promises and blessed them so that they could bless others. God is always there for us too. He even sent His Son, Jesus, to be with us. God keeps His promises to us too. Next time you look at the stars, remember that God is always with you.

Bible Story (2-3 Min)


Cr aft Ti me (10 Min)

PUGGLES ACTIVITIES

Game Time (10 Min)


Going Home Time (5-10 Min)

This section gives guidance on how to end your Puggles group, including parent connection and conversation.

Say goodbye to the children as their parents arrive, making sure parents get the activity sheet for their child. Remind the children as they leave that God is great and that He is always with them!

This section has an optional center to have set up in your area for children to interact independently with objects related to the lesson. You can use a center during Coming In Time or as a station set up during Free Play.

Supplies: Plastic bin, dry black beans, glow-in-the-dark stars, plastic scoops Prepare Ahead: Pour the black beans into the bin, and mix the stars in so they are evenly distributed.Instructions: Place the bin with the black beans and stars on the table in front of the kids. Have children search through the bin to find the stars. Talk about how Abraham saw how great God was and that we can know that God is always with us.Question to Ask: Do you like stars? Where would you look to see real stars?

Center Ti me (10 Min)

Use this section to run a simple game that connects to the lesson topic. Other game options and a more expanded version of this game can be found in Time to Play: The Awana Preschool Game Book.

Game: Fill the Night SkySupplies: Foam or card stock stars (one to three per child), contact paper (a length of about two to three feet), masking tapePrepare Ahead: Peel the backing off the contact paper and use masking tape to mount the contact paper to the wall securely (with the sticky side facing out). Make it easy for kids to reach.Instructions: Have the preschoolers join you in your area across from the wall where you have mounted the contact paper. Explain that they will get to add a star to the night sky. Point to the contact paper, and tell them that this will be the night sky. Then give each child the same number of stars. Have them start on the far side of the room, and give them a number of steps to take or jumps to do as they cross the floor. When each child reaches the sky, he or she can stick the star to the contact paper.

Provide a fun and easy Craft Time using the activity sheet on the next page. Make enough copies on white paper or card stock so that each child has one. Send the completed sheet home with each child so the parents can see what their child learned.

Supplies: Markers, brown or green crayons (one for every three or four children), sandpaper (one sheet for every three or four children), plastic packing tape, copies of the activity sheet from the next pagePrepare Ahead: Before the craft, tape sandpaper to the table in several places. Instructions: Have the children color the child and the stars with the markers. Ask them not to color the hill yet — you have something special planned for the hill! Then have the children stand next to where the sandpaper is taped in various spots on the table. Have a leader work with the kids to do a crayon rubbing of the hill by putting the sandpaper underneath their paper where the hill is. Take the brown or green crayons and rub on the paper to reveal the sandpaper texture to look like grass or sand.

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NAME:

Big Verse 2: Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise. (Psalm 48:1)

Bible Story: God’s Promise to Abraham (Genesis 22:15-18)

2.1 God Is Always With Me!©2019 Awana Clubs International

Big Truth 2: God Is Great!

This week: When you go different places with your child, talk about how God is with you everywhere you go!

I learned that God is always with me!


Documents

For the Leader