This week our KDI is building relationships- Children build relationships with other children and adults. In order to build a successful relationship, children have to look outside themselves. This does not come naturally! They have to be taught and it has to be modeled! As they give gifts they have picked out, hopefully with a friend in mind, not themselves, they learn how to cultivate relationships that are healthy and God-pleasing.
Table Activities- This week our table activities include making Christmas cards, building with gumdrops and toothpicks, decorating little trees, cookie cutter stamp painting, decorating magnetic Christmas trees, filling clear ornaments, making bird/squirrel feeder ornaments, Christmas coloring pages and more ornaments!
Small Group Activities- This week we will be making ice cream cone Christmas trees (edible), adding Gg is for gift giving to our journals and making Thank You cards to take home and fill out! On Wednesday we will be having a small Christmas party which will include playing a game, dancing to a song and opening our gifts. Please still send a healthy snack on that day. We may have a little sweet snack, but a good snack to get us through the Christmas service is appreciated!!
Large Group Activities- Dancing to Christmas music and hanging our feeder ornaments will be our large group activities this week!
Books of the Week- "A Night of Great Joy" by Mary Engelbreit
Bible Story- This week we hear the shepherds experience! Mary and Joseph had Jesus in a stable and laid him in a manger. Meanwhile, outside the town of Bethlehem, shepherds were watching over their flocks. It was probably a dark, quiet night. Not like today, no electric lights, noise of traffic. Truly silent and dark. An angel appeared to them and they were terrified!! The angel said not to be afraid for he brought the best news!! A baby had been born today and he was the Messiah!! All of a sudden, the sky was filled with angels praising God and singing "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom God's favor rests!" I imagine it as one angel got to step out past the curtain of heaven, told the shepherds the news and the rest of heaven just couldn't keep it in, they flung the curtains wide and let out a huge praise!! How awesome!! The shepherds said, "Let's go!" and they went and found the baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger! They worshipped him and returned to their fields glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, which was exactly as they had been told!! Oh, to have the joy and exuberance of the shepherds. To leave church or Bible study with such passion it bubbles out and over to tell everyone of what we heard and saw!
I pray the little ones share that passion with you on Wednesday, December 18th as they share through song the story of Jesus!
