Preschool: Crossing the Red Sea

Today we finished up our three-week series on Moses with the story of fleeing Egypt and crossing the sea. After we read the storybook, the kids had a great time pretending to pack their bags and get ready to leave. Next we picked up our bags and pretended to follow Moses outside. A sidewalk chalk sea stood in the way of our escape until we drew a path right through it. We were able to cross without even getting wet. God was the one who made the path. He took care of His people! God can do incredible things!

The paper plate tambourine crafts are to remind the kids of how Moses and God's people had a celebration after they crossed the sea. After the fact, I realized that this craft presents some safety hazards. Please be aware that if/when the tambourine gets ripped open, dry pasta will spill out. Beware of this choking hazard. Also, staples probably weren't the safest choice for connecting the plates. I'll make an effort toward having better foresight. Please forgive me.

Every week, each kid brings something special to the class. This week Anna and Minerva brought lots of stories about their lives to tell the teachers. Nicolas N. brought an eagerness to play with all his buddies. Nicolas S. brought a smile and listening ears. Leto entertained everyone with made up stories about his goldfish crackers. Ethan gave me a big hug when he was feeling sad about missing his dad. Joel and Abram made beautiful creations with sidewalk chalk. I witness all this and leave feeling full of joy week after week. These kids are such a gift!

Preschool: Baby Moses

This week, we talked about how God starts taking care of us when we're tiny babies and continues to care for us as we grow. The main story we used to illustrate this point was the story of Moses in a basket, but we got our wheels turning about babies by reading, "My Baby and Me" by Lynn Reiser. It's a great Greenwood Library find that is illustrated with photos of preschoolers and their infant siblings.

The egg carton basket in the construction paper river with the upright construction paper grass was my favorite craft of the summer, and it was a big hit with the kids since it needed a lot of their favorite craft supply, glue.

We added a new song to our small repertoire. It's an oldie. You might know it. It goes, "Read your Bible, pray every day and you'll grow, grow, grow."

Next week, the marvelous Leah Rivers will be teaching the class while I'm visiting family in Minnesota.

Preschool: Joseph Part 2

Today we reviewed what we learned last week with the help of sock-puppet Joseph. Then we cracked open this week's story book to find out what happened next to Joseph and his 11 brothers.

There was a famine (everyone was hungry because food was having trouble growing), and everyone came to Joseph to ask for the food that he had stored away in his barn. Even Joseph's brothers came to ask for food. It had been so long since they had seen Joseph that they didn't recognize him, but Joseph recognized his brothers. He told them to bring their youngest brother the next time they came for food. They did what he asked; they brought the youngest brother. That's when Joseph invited them to eat a feast and he told them that he was there brother, Joseph.

The kids had a good time pretending to be Joseph's brothers as they filled up pillow cases with food from Joseph's barn/granola bars and potatoes from my pantry.

Traditionally the moral of this story has more to do with reconciliation, but the take home for the preschoolers was that God used Joseph to help provide food for the hungry people. We made a paper plate collage craft is to help remind us to thank God for giving us food.

Preschool: Two Coats for Joseph

Today's story of Joseph and the coat of many colors came to us through theater. Our Director of Children's Ministry, Joseph (Joey) De Young played the part of Joseph and I played narrator.

We learned that Joesph's dad gave him a beautiful, colorful coat. His 11 brothers were sad and mad that their dad didn't give them a coat and because they thought their dad loved Joseph more than them. Another word for how they were feeling is, "jealous." The brothers got so mad that they dug a deep hole and pushed Joseph into the deep, dark pit. Joseph was scared and lonely, but he knew that even in the pit, God was with him. Our stopping point in the story was when Joseph met Pharaoh. Pharaoh gave Joseph an important job, a gold chain, and a new beautiful coat to wear. God was with Joseph during this good time and during the scary time in the pit.

Some of the kids made their own coat of many colors out of a paper grocery sack. If your child didn't get a chance to finish his or her coat and would like to make one at home, here's what you do. Have your child decorate the grocery sack with colorful art supplies of your choosing. To make it into a coat, cut a straight vertical line where you want the opening of the coat, then cut circles for the head and arms.

Today we had some of the most intent listening and participation that we've had all summer. Sanctuary preschoolers are amazing!

Preschool: Noah's Ark

Last Sunday was very special because we got to pretend to be Noah and build an ark out of cardboard boxes and legos. The story was reiterated through play in different ways such as this: the children climb into boxes and pretend to be animals, the teacher taps her fingers on the sides of the box to make rain sounds and says something like, "It's a rainy, rainy day out here, but it's dry and warm in there. God is taking good care of you."

We also made rainbows out of strips of paper and cotton balls to remind us that God made a promise to never flood the earth again, and to remind us that God keeps his promises.

Preschool: Taking Care of God's World

Our class began with the children all pretending to be various animals. We had kangaroos hopping around and a few dogs digging for their bones.

Next we redirected our imaginations to a story of how the animals got their names. We read that God gave Adam the special job of naming the animals. In that story, we also learned that God told Adam and Eve that all the trees, plants, animals, birds, fish, and all of creation were for them to care for and enjoy.

The tree crafts with finger painted (or crayoned) leaves are to help remind us that God wants us to enjoy and care for nature too.

We practiced taking care of nature by picking up some recycling items that were hidden throughout the room.


Next week: Noah and the Flood

Preschool: Follow Me!

Today we learned how Jesus called his twelve disciples to follow him. Jesus found Simon and Andrew fishing in the sea and he said, "Follow me." Immediately, they set down their net and followed Jesus. James and John were also fishermen. They were mending their nets when Jesus asked them to follow him. They too obeyed immediately.

The main focus of the story was the fisherman, but it also introduced us to Nathaniel, Matthew, and Philip--all followers of Jesus.

The children relearned the story by acting it out with props: a blanket as a fishing net and fish-shaped paper cut outs. We played a Simon Says type game in which "Simon says" was replaced with, "Follow Jesus by...". Through this game we learned ways that we can follow Jesus like prayer, listening to our moms and dads, encouraging our friends and siblings, etc. We also played follow the leader while listening to "We're Following Jesus" by The Donut Man. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUiQMHEYAps

This week concluded our New Testament study. Next Sunday we'll start back at the very beginning with Adam and Eve.

Getting to know your kids has been a joy filled experience. I'm looking forward to a summer of fun and learning in the preschool class!