AUGUST 23, 2020 - CGKIDS

Parents - 

Below are some resources for our children in children’s ministry. Please note that our Preschool - 3rd grade children are hearing the same story so that portion of the resources for the Sunday will be the same. The response options are different and have been created to be age appropriate. However, if you choose to reenact the story, you can have all ages participate. If you have multiple children in your family the Godly Play option for the K/1 grade room is a good option to adapt to all family members. 

I want to highlight some resources for you to talk to your children about race, racism and diversity. 

• This book comes in a kid version and then also has a parent companion book if you are interested.  

• This book explores how God made us all different.

• Parent Cue article - Raising Kids who will initiate racial equality

• There are more resources for parents on our Gospel and Race Recommendation page.

For Our Younger Preschool children:

1. Pray with your toddler. It can be something simple like - God we thank you for today. Thank you for Jesus and we thank you that He loves each of us. Thank you for Abraham and we are excited to learn more about him this month!

2. Sing Father Abraham.

3. Watch the video above with today’s story.

4. God made a promise to Abraham. He promised him he would be the father of a great nation and great family. His son Isaac married Rebekah. Color a picture of her.

For Our Older Preschool Room children:

1. Have your child say a prayer before they begin. If they struggle, it can be something simple like: Thank you God for today. Thank you for all the stories in Your book.

2. Remind the children that the story they are about to watch is from the Bible.

3. Watch the video above of our Godly Play story. 

4. Wonder - Answer the wondering questions on the video. 

5. Respond - Use a paper plate and help your child cut it in half and then cut an opening so it looks like a lion’s den. Have them color it brown or gray. The children could also create a lion. Here are instructions to make an easy one.

6. Sing with Mr. Larry and Ms. Gayle’s video. 

For Our Kindergarten and 1st Grade children:

1. Have your child say a prayer before they begin. If they struggle, it can be something simple like: Thank you God for today. We thank you for the promises that you made to the People of God and to us. 

2. Remind the children that the story they are about to watch is from the Bible.

3. Watch the video above. 

4. Wonder - answer the wondering questions from the video.

5. Respond - Use a paper plate and help your child cut it in half and then cut an opening so it looks like a lion’s den. Have them color it brown or gray. The children could also create a lion. Here are instructions to make an easy one.

6. Sing with Mr. Larry and Ms. Gayle’s video or sing Love God, Love People.

For Our 2nd and 3rd grade children:

1. Have your child say a prayer before they begin. If they struggle, it can be something simple like: Thank you God for today. Thank you for sending us your Son, Jesus. Please help us make others aware of Jesus’ love for them and how He gave to save us from our sins. 

2. Remind the children that the story they are about to watch is from the Bible.

3. Watch the video above.

4. Wonder about the questions in the video. Think about this as well: I wonder what we learn from this half of Daniel’s story? I wonder if you see a common theme? Keep it in mind for next week as we summarize the story and move on to the second part.

5. In your journals, think about the following: God protects Daniel in the story. We also see God protecting Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Think about a time where God has protected you. Write about it. After you are finished, write a thank you note to God for His protection.

6. Sing Love God, Love People

For Our 4th and 5th Graders:

In September, we are doing a church wide sermon series. My hope and plan is for our older preschoolers - 5th graders to learn, wonder and contemplate similar Bible Stories as our adults and youth. As a result, our 4th and 5th grade class will do some old Old Testament stories we won’t cover now and then we will begin with Creation, where we would normally start the school year. Please let me know if you have any questions.

1. Have your child pray.

2. Read Joshua 1:6-9.

3. Write down the answers to the following: How many times were the words “strong and courageous mentioned”? Do you think Joshua was afraid to lead God’s people? 

4. Read Joshua 6:1-20. What did Joshua do with what God told him? 

5. Read 8:34-35. Did Joshua still study and meditate on the Book Law. The Book of Law is the first 5 books in the Bible. 

6. Joshua knew God’s Word in his heart. This helped him help others. It is important for us to practice the spiritual disciple of study. Studying is defined as learning about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. When we read the verses above and think about the questions, we are studying the Bible. This week become familiar with your concordance in your Bible. It is like an index. It can help you find different spots in your Bible where words are written. For example, if you want to learn more about fear, you can look up the word and find all the verses that contain that word.  

7. Sing Love God, Love People.