The ideas below may help you when teaching your preschoolers a lesson about the birth of Jesus. Feel free to use these ideas to supplement your current curriculum or to make your own lesson.
Story Suggestions
- Matthew 1:18-25
- Luke 2:1-20
Game Ideas
Nativity Memory Game
Directions: Purchase or use a Nativity set with individual pieces. Place them on a table and have the children close their eyes. Remove one of the pieces and have the children see if they can figure out which piece is missing. After the missing piece is discovered, talk about its significance in the Nativity. For instance, if you take away a Shepherd, explain to the children how an angel appeared to the shepherds in the fields to tell of Jesus' birth.
Taking a Journey
Directions: Mary and Joseph traveled a long way to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Have your children brainstorm things that they would need on a journey, such as toothbrush, clothes, suitcase, etc. Write their ideas on one side of a whiteboard. Contrast their list with things that Mary and Joseph may have taken with them, and see the difference between traveling in modern times and Bible times. Explain to the children that Mary and Joseph did not have the luxuries that we have today.
Snacks
A good snack for this lesson would be:
Birthday Cake
Directions: Make or buy a birthday cake with all the trimmings! Have a party to celebrate Jesus' birth and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.
Another good snack for this lesson would be:
Apple Star Snacks
Directions: Cut an apple in half crosswise and show the children the star in the middle of the apple. Tell them about the star that guided the Wisemen to where Jesus was born and how important that star was. Now give all of the children an apple to look for their own star. Provide caramel dip or another fruit dip, if you like.
Activity Idea
- Sing your favorite Christmas carols telling about the birth of Jesus. Examples include:
- Away in a Manger
- Angels We Have Heard on High
- Go Tell it on a Mountain
- What Child is This?
- More songs
Art Center Ideas
Angel Visits the Shepherds Dot-to-Dot
Materials:
- Dot-to-Dot page below
- Cardstock paper
- Gold glitter glue
- Crayons
Directions:
- Print the dot-to-dot picture below on cardstock for each child in your class.
- Have the children color the picture with crayons, leaving the stars uncolored.
- Let the children add gold glitter glue to the stars so they will shine.
Manger Craft
Materials:
- Paper plate
- Wet wipes
- Glue
- Pretzel sticks
- Spanish moss (craft store)
- Shelled peanuts
Directions:
- Have children take two pretzel sticks and glue them to the paper plate to make an "X"for the legs of the manger.
- Glue Spanish moss above the pretzel sticks to represent the hay.
- Have the children glue a shelled peanut so that it lays on the hay to represent the baby Jesus lying in the manger. This is just too cute!
Suggested Prayer (or use your own)
Dear God, Jesus is a gift to us that we want to remember forever. His birth and his death keep you and me together. Thank you, God, for Jesus Christ, your one and only son. May he live within me until my work is done. In Jesus' Name ~ Amen.
See the full list of Sunday School lesson ideas on both the Old Testament and the New Testament!
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