SAY THIS
Adjust your attitude.
BIBLE STORY
Matthew 20:1-15 -
The Story of the workers in the Vineyard
MEMORY VERSE
“Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good. His faithful love continues forever.”
Psalm 136:1, NIrV
LIFE APP
Gratitude is letting others know you see how they've helped you.
Ms. Bobbi is bringing a Thanksgiving craft to do after singing and video.
SAY THIS
Say thank you.
BIBLE STORY
Luke 17:11-19 -
Jesus Heals 10 Men
MEMORY VERSE
“Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good. His faithful love continues forever.”
Psalm 136:1, NIrV
LIFE APP
Gratitude is letting others know you see how they've helped you.
Shout-Outs!
[Live for God | Application Activity]
Made to Connect: an activity that invites kids to share and collaborate with others while growing their understanding
What You Need: Paper, markers, and phone, camera, or video recorder, (Optional) supplies to make a small “thank you” gift
What You Do:
• Encourage kids to think of a family member or friend who has helped them and they would like to thank.
• Pass out the paper and markers.
• Instruct kids to write “THANK YOU” on their paper.
• Then, make a short video of each kid saying the name of their family member or friend while they hold up their sign and explain why they are grateful.
• Older kids can prepare their message before you film it.
· Optional: If you do not have the ability to video the kids, plan to put together a small “thank you” gift for someone in your church or community, instead.
o Encourage kids to make cards, thanking this person specifically for what they have done.
o Kids can also add small gifts or pictures.
What You Say:
“This was a great way to [Bottom Line] say thank you! It’s pretty easy to thank someone, but why don’t we do it every time someone helps us? (We get busy; we feel shy. Let kids offer other reasons.)
“There are a lot of reasons why we don’t always [Bottom Line] say thank you, but it’s important to do.
“How do you feel when someone else thanks you? (good, seen, appreciated, valued) You feel that person saw how you helped. You feel like they are happy with what you gave them or did for them. You feel good that they appreciated your effort. It feels great to be thanked!
“Think of how great it feels when someone sees how you’ve helped them and remember to [Bottom Line] say thank you whenever you can!”
SAY THIS
Celebrate what God has done.
BIBLE STORY
2 Samuel 6:12b-22a - David Dances
MEMORY VERSE
“Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good. His faithful love continues forever.”
Psalm 136:1, NIrV
LIFE APP
Gratitude is letting others know you see how they've helped you.
Opening Activity
Made to Move: an activity that increases the oxygen in the brain and taps into the energy in the body
What You Need: Music player or phone and music
What You Do:
· Play upbeat music.
· Ask kids to move or dance very slowly to the fast music.
· After a couple of minutes, switch to slower music.
· Ask the kids to move or dance very quickly to the slow music.
· If time allows, play Freeze Dance. Explain the rules:
o The kids dance as you play music, moving quickly to the slow music and slowly to the fast music.
o When you pause the music abruptly, anyone who doesn’t freeze in place must sit out until the next round.
What You Say:
“I’m a big fan of dancing! Did you feel strange, dancing a different pace than the music? Have you ever done that before? Did you worry about looking a little silly, flossing (or other cool dance moves) to a slow song? [Transition] We’re going to hear about someone who didn’t care how silly he looked to people when he danced because he wasn’t dancing for the people.”
We will watch video/recap story.
Dancin’ Davids
[Talk about God | Bible Story Review]
Made to Create: an activity that explores ideas through the process of drawing, building, designing, and problem-solving
What You Need: “Dancin’ Davids” Activity Page, pipe cleaners, paper towels, scissors, (optional) wooden or plastic beads
What You Do:
· Give each kid a pipe cleaner. They will make their pipe cleaners into the shape of a person. Follow along with the directions on the Activity Page.
o First, make the head by twisting a loop in the center. Shape the loop so it’s round like a head. There will be two long ends underneath the head.
o Next, make the arms. Just under the head, fold each end towards the center about half an inch, and twist the part that is folded over. There should be two ends under the arms, sticking out like an X.
o Next, make the body. Twist the ends together for 3-4 twists, about an inch long. There should be two short ends below the body.
o Finally, make the legs. Fold each end in over itself, and twist together.
o Kids can bend the end of the legs 90 degrees to make feet. With some twisting/ maneuvering, the little person will stand.
· Give each kid a piece of paper towel that’s long enough to cover their David.
· Direct the kids to fold the piece of paper towel in half lengthwise and rip a very small hole in the center fold.
· Instruct the kids to slip the head of their David through the hole so that he’s “wearing” the paper towel robe.
· If you have older or “crafty” kids, they can slide beads onto the body stem of their David before they twist the legs. They can also use beads to adorn the head before they twist the body.
What You Say:
“These are simple little Davids made of pipe cleaners—David doesn’t look much like a king. He doesn’t have a crown, and he’s wearing simple clothes. It reminds me of how David must have looked when he danced in our Bible story. How did his wife feel about him when he didn’t look much like a king? (Invite answers. She didn’t like that David wasn’t dignified and serious like a king.)
“David was thinking more about how to [Bottom Line] celebrate what God has done than how he looked. He set aside everything else—all the worries about being king and all the worries about what people thought of him, so that he could concentrate on celebrating what God had done.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever danced to [Bottom Line] celebrate what God has done, but there are a lot of ways we can celebrate. What is a way you can think of to celebrate? (Invite answers. Sing worship songs in church or at home; pray to thank God for what He has done; tell other people about the good things God has done in our lives.)
“Let’s keep thinking about all the ways we could [Bottom Line] celebrate what God has done.”
Song and Dance
[Hear from God | Memory Verse Activity]
Made to Create: an activity that explores ideas through the process of drawing, building, designing, and problem-solving
What You Need: Bibles, music player or phone, upbeat music
What You Do:
· Read Psalm 136:1 out loud from the Bible.
· If you have mostly older kids, separate them into groups.
o Ask each group to create something to help remember this verse: a song, a poem, motions, or a dance.
o After 5-7 minutes, gather the groups together.
o Ask for volunteers who want to perform their verse for the group.
· If you have mostly younger kids, say the verse out loud together while dancing to the upbeat worship music. Continue as long as their attention holds.
What You Say:
“This verse reminds us that no matter what happens, we can [Bottom Line] celebrate what God has done. Because God has sent us Jesus, we are never alone, and that means that we always have a reason to be grateful to God.
“God has done many things for His people, like we talked about before. (If time allows, let kids share about the Bible stories they know where God took care of His people.) But the most important thing God did was send Jesus so that we could have a relationship with Him that lasts forever. We can always be grateful for that and [Bottom Line] celebrate what God has done!”
(If time allows, more dancing at this point would be fun! Try to connect dancing and celebration with worship through your song choices. Choose a worship song to dance and sing to. And join in! Dance around and be silly with the kids, especially if you have older ones. Embarrassing yourself a little bit is the quickest way to get them to join in.)
Large Group (all kids PS-5th grade) will gather in the preschool classroom on the first floor across from the sanctuary.
Kids will need to be signed in by a volunteer (me) at a check in table in the lobby (I think this will avoid gridlock in the hallway).
I plan to take temperatures and hand sanitize before kids are allowed in classroom.
As I think I would probably be best to sign in, welcome, answer questions, I will need leaders in the preschool classroom with kids.
We will have TV and videos to share while we wait to begin. Other ideas for waiting - Eye Spy, Charades, Simon says.
After we watch our opening video, we will dismiss to small groups (upstairs).
If weather permits, we will go outside.
At 10:45, Small groups will be dismissed individually to the lobby on 1st floor to return children to parents.
Orange has an option for small churches who combine K-5th graders for large and small group. I will be using this curriculum for November and December because I am not sure we won't have to split small groups up based on family units rather than grade levels.
I will make every effort to put SGLs with their 'regular' small group students.
I have November Curriculum packs for teachers that I was going to hand out on Sunday. If you have the Lead Small App the curriculum can be found under Kids Connect.
SAY THIS
You always have something to be grateful for.
BIBLE STORY
1 Thessalonians 5:18 -
Give thanks no matter what happens
MEMORY VERSE
“Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good. His faithful love continues forever.”
Psalm 136:1, NIrV
LIFE APP
Gratitude is letting others know you see how they've helped you.
I'd like to have kids create something for Pastor Appreciation. I have some wooden hearts they can paint or write their name on. I can then make them into a garland or something.
Then we can play the floor is lava or capture the flag as both games support our bottom line: focus on our choices, tell the truth, be trustworthy.
We will focus on being united in Christ and how that helps us to make wise choices. There is strength in numbers. United we stand; divided we fall.
Idea 1:
We will give each child a craft stick and have them write down on it one thing that makes life hard for them.
We will ask them to think about the problem and break the stick in half.
The stick was easily broken alone.
Have them do it again.
Collect the sticks and try to break them all at once.
It's harder to break them when we have extra support. It's harder to be broken from our faith if we have support of family and friends in the church.
Idea #2
Go to soccer field.
Divide kids into two teams 1 at each goal.
Leader claps hands and kids on team A will turn around and try to tag kids on Team B.
Those who are tagged will become part of team A.
Kids on team B can avoid being tagged by running back behind their own boundary line or standing next to a teammate (6ft apart) with hands outstretched but not touching.
Ask:
Was it easier to run back or stand with a partner?
Sometimes it may seem best to run from problems, but God wants us to face them. It's easier to stand firm when we have support from our family and friends.
Making 'rocket launchers'.
Get Your Head in the Game
What You Need: “Action Cards” Activity Page
What You Do:
• Form two teams and direct them to stand at opposite sides of your space, as far apart as possible.
• Ask one player from each team to be their team’s “Controllers” and come stand in the middle of the room, each facing their own teams.
• Invite the “Controllers” to each take an “Action Card” and call out the directions to their team, which will do the action then freeze in place.
• Continue drawing cards until ALL the players on one team reach their Controller.
• Switch Controllers, shuffle the “Action Cards,” and play again as time allows.
What You Say:
“Winning or losing this game was totally out of your control. Even your team’s Controller couldn’t ‘control’ whether you moved forward, stayed in place, or had to go back to the starting line. Do you ever feel like life is that way, too—out of your control? We make choices that impact our lives for good or bad, but sometimes stuff just happens even when we’ve made great choices. It’s not our fault. It’s not our choice. It’s not anything we can change. If you’ve ever felt that way, it helps to remember that even though we don’t always have control, God does.
Today we want children to be reminded of Power Up from last year - that we have power through the Holy Spirit when we believe that Jesus died for our sins.
I picked two large group games to illustrate:
Shipwreck - Jesus is the authority, our Captain.
Zip, Zap, Zoom - We can pray for others because God has chosen us and given us power through Jesus.
For Small Groups (if we can manage):
We will sit in a circle staying as close to 6 ft apart as possible and review the kids' responses to the bulletin.
