Safari
We believe that we have a great opportunity every week to teach our 1 and 2 year olds basic things about God that they can latch onto. We use lots of fun games, songs and rhymes to help them learn. As our toddlers have been hearing the story of Daniel in the lion’s den, each weekend they repeat a rhyme to help them learn our monthly focus called, ‘God hears me when I pray.’
Continuing the Conversation…
Recite ‘God hears me when I pray’ at home, model the actions, and encourage your child to recite and do the actions after you.
Daniel loved God and he did what was right.
(Cross your arms over your chest, and then point up.)
He lived by faith and not by sight.
(Point to your eye.)
Then Daniel got thrown into the lion’s den!
(Make claws with hands.)
R-r-r-r! R-r-r-r! R-r-r-r! What happened then?
(Move hands around like claws every time you say R-r-r-r.)
Daniel wasn’t hurt. The lions’ mouths were shut!
(Clap hands to together.)
Daniel prayed, and he had no cuts.
(Hold arms out in front of you.)
Quest
This past weekend our Quest-age children (3 years old to Kindergarten) learned the main point, ‘God hears me when I’m sad!’ They practiced their talking and listening skills with a fun game of Telephone. To put a spin on the classic game of Telephone, children had to talk and listen with their very own cup phones! You can make a set of cup phones with your child this week and review the main point.
Materials: Two plastic solo cups, a 3-foot long piece of string, and a pair of scissors
Instructions:
- Punch a hole in the bottom of each plastic cup with the scissors.
- Place one end of the string through the bottom of one cup and tie a knot.
- Place the other end of the string through the bottom of the second cup and tie a knot, connecting the two cups by the string.
- Your cup phone is ready to use!
Have your child place one cup up to their ear, while you speak into the other cup, and they’ll be able to hear you!
*Note: Make sure the string is pulled taut and that the string does not touch anything when using the cup phone, so that the sound can be transferred from one cup to another.
Continuing the Conversation…
Since your Quest-aged child learned that “God hears me when I’m sad!” this week you can continue the conversation by reviewing the Bible Story with them from Exodus 2:23-25. They heard the story of God’s people, the Israelites, crying out for God as they labored in the fields under Egyptian slavery. Although they cannot relate to such events, Quest kids learned that no matter what they experience, whether it’s a scary thunderstorm or being in a dark bedroom by themselves, God is always with them. Reinforce that God hears your child when they are sad, and they can pray to God in any situation…You can get creative and use your cup phone to teach your kid to pray to God.
Motion
In Motion this weekend, we continued in our series studying knowledge – discovering something new so you can be better at whatever you do. Today, we looked at Luke 4:1-13 where Jesus was tempted in the desert and used his knowledge of God’s Word to resist temptation. The kids participated in an activity called “Bible Smack” where they raced to suggest how to handle challenging situations and discovered Bible verses that provided insight.
Continuing the Conversation…
With your child having just heard how Jesus used his knowledge of God’s Word to make wise choices, this is a perfect opportunity for you to encourage your child to take some time each day to read the Bible. Today, and every week, your child received a GodTime card on their way out of Motion. The GodTime card contains 4 days of activities to help your child get into reading the Bible. This is a chance for you to encourage their participation or even help them complete these activities together. What an exciting prospect, that we could inspire kids to learn to love God’s Word at such a young age! We’re excited to play a part in that process with you. You can download the GodTime card here.
