Preschool: Widow with a Jar of Oil

Reasons Why Today's Class was Fun, Exciting, and Precious

#1: We had popcorn for snack! We started out with just a handful of seeds, which the kids did not think would be enough to feed the whole class. We sent the seeds through a hot air popcorn popper, and voila, our giant mixing bowl was full of popcorn. This was a great way to get our minds thinking about how God can work in amazing ways to make sure we have enough food.

#2: We heard an amazing Bible story! It was about a widow who did not have enough food to feed her family; all she had was a jar of cooking oil. After receiving advice from Elisha, she collected a bunch of empty jars from her friends and neighbors. She was able to fill all the empty jars with her one jar of oil. Then she sold the oil and used her earnings to buy food for her family. God provided through a miracle.

#3: We donated a very heavy grocery bag of food to the Greenwood Food Bank! We talked about how God provides through sharing what we have with others.

#4: We had guest musicians! Mark and Elizabeth brought their instruments and talent over to the Green Bean and shared a couple songs with us. It was a great change in routine that we hope to see more of in the future.

#5: We made magnets to help us remember to pray and thank God for our food!

Preschool: David and Goliath

Today we learned that God uses little people to do BIG things. David was just a boy, but God gave him strength and courage to fight Goliath the giant. This story was told with the help of Goliath the sock puppet and David the finger puppet.

Sanctuary preschoolers probably aren't going to be fighting a giant anytime soon, but we talked about things we can do with God's help that will make a big difference. This is a conversation that you might enjoy continuing with your preschooler throughout the week.

Some fun things we did today to help reinforce the lesson: We used measuring tape to compare our bodies to the height of a giant. We colored the poster-board-Goliath pictured here and played a pin the tail on the donkey type game with the drawing and some paper stones. We also looked at Jerry Pinkney's version of Aesop's fable, "The Lion and the Mouse." The mouse is a little creatures who does a big thing; he saves the lion from danger.

At the beginning of Sunday school, we typically sing a few songs with both classes. It is always a challenge to hold everyone's attention during this time. Today we experimented with switching song-time to the end of class. That was not as successful as we'd hoped, so Joey and I are going to put our heads together and try to figure out how to make song-time more enjoyable for all or how to replace it with something that is enjoyable. If anyone has any input, feel free to weigh in. I'd love help brainstorming from the people who know these kids best--you guys, their parents.

Preschool: God listens to our prayers

We opened up our lesson on prayer with a paper bag full of noisemakers. With my hand concealed by the bag, I would grab an egg shaker and shake it or clink a couple of spoons together or set off the ring tone on my phone. The kids tried to guess what was making the noise. We talked about how God recognizes the sound of our voice. He knows us and hears us no matter how loud or quiet we pray and even if we feel like God can't see us. 

Today's Bible story came from 1 Samuel, chapter 1:

Hannah wanted to have a baby so badly. When she saw other moms playing with their babies she thought about how much she wanted a baby and would cry. Her husband Elkanah tried to comfort her, but she was still sad. She prayed to God about her sadness. The priest, Eli, told her that God heard her prayer. What Eli said helped Hannah to be peaceful. And, guess what? God answered Hannah's prayer! She had a son named Samuel!

The kids who were at church today were sent home with strips of paper to make a craft at home. If your family was away from Sanctuary on this beautiful holiday weekend, you can still reiterate this lesson at home by cutting 7, 1 inch strips of paper and working on the craft detailed in the post before this one. Enjoy!

A note about signing in: Next week, I'll have the phone numbers of all Sanctuary parents logged in my phone. As long as I am teaching preschool, you will no longer need to write down your phone number on the sign-in sheet.  

 

Preschool: Take Home Craft

Today the kids will be sent home with supplies to make a paper chain that will help them learn more about today's lesson about God listening to Hannah's prayer for a son.

Prayer Chain

A Take Home Craft

Instructions:

1.        1.Write a prayer request on each strip of paper.  Ask your child to help you come up with ideas of things he or she would like to pray for.  

Some Examples

            -Thank God for your home

            -Ask God to take care of someone you know who is sick

            -Tell God about a time when you were not nice. Tell him you’re sorry.

            -Ask God to help kids who are hungry because they don’t have enough food

      2.  Help your child use tape or staples to form the strips of paper into a chain.

      3.  Hang the chain in the room that you plan to pray (bedside, near the dinner table, next to the potty chair). Each day this week, have your child rip off one of the chain links and lead them in a prayer according to what’s written on the strip of paper.