Imagine hearing that Jesus was coming through your town, but you could not see him over the crowds because you were small. That is how Zacchaeus felt.
The ideas below may help you when teaching your preschoolers a lesson about Zacchaeus and how Jesus changed his life. Feel free to use these ideas to supplement your current curriculum or to make your own lesson.
Luke 19:1-10
Directions: Divide the children into two teams, one being the "Biggest Specialists" and the other being the "Smallest Specialists." Pick out an object such as a book, and tell one team member from the "Biggest" group to find the biggest book in the room, and one team member from the "Smallest" group to find the smallest book in the room. Try having them search for other items like dolls, blocks, crayons, etc. Have the teams switch roles, if there is time.
Directions: Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. Have a child come up to you and whisper what he or she wants to be when they grow up. Have them act out what they want to be, and see if the rest of the class can guess what they are. You can help each child with actions, if they need help. Give each child a turn at acting.
A good snack for this lesson would be:
Another good snack idea for this lesson would be:
Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. He climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see. And as the Savior passed him by, he looked up in the tree, and he said, “Zacchaeus, you come down from there; for I'm going to your house today, for I'm going to your house today.” Zacchaeus came down from that tree, as happy as he could be, he gave his money to the poor, and said: “What a better man I'll be."
A helper is recommended for this project.
Suggested Prayer (or use your own)
Thank you, God, for letting us know you. Thank you for taking care of us, too. We love you with all of our hearts, and all of our minds, too! Amen.
See the full list of Sunday School lesson ideas on both the Old Testament and the New Testament!