Spring 2025 Tips
Session 1Re-play. Working together to act out a story may be difficult to manage with a larger group. Try using a simple chant with actions to retell the major events of the story.
A man walks down the road! Walk, walk, walk! (Swing your arms.)
Robbers push him down. Down, down, down. (Point down to the ground.)
The temple leader walks by. Walk, walk, walk! (Swing your arms.)
The temple helper walks by. Walk, walk, walk! (Swing your arms.)
The Samaritan sees the man. Look, look, look! (Shield your eyes.)
He bandages the man’s sores. Wrap, wrap, wrap! (Pretend to wrap your arm.)
He puts the man on a donkey. Trot, trot, trot! (Pretend to trot.)
He brings him to the inn. Sleep, sleep, sleep! (Put your head on your hands.)
The Samaritan loves his neighbor! Care, care, care! (Hug yourself.)
Responsive Play (Move). If the children in your group are not ready to work together as this game suggests, make a parade in which each child carries a plush animal toy on their shoulder, on their head, on their back, or in front of them. Play Follow the Leader around the room while each child carries one toy. Experiment with the different ways of holding the stuffed animals each time you make a loop around the room.
Responsive Play (Make Peace). Many young children are most comfortable with “parallel play,” in which they have their own materials and are playing alongside their peers. Giving each child their own doll and strips of cloth may be the best option for your group. Children may get ideas by noticing what other children are doing. Starting to notice what other people are doing is a step towards working and cooperating with others in shared play. Shared play requires give and take, which children become more able to do as they grow, along with guidance from caring adults.
Responsive Play. Open-ended activities such as working with play dough or blocks offer opportunities for conversation. There is no need to “quiz” children about their knowledge of stories. As they work with materials, you have an opportunity to notice what they are doing and to guide their actions. For instance, you could say, “You are making a place for all the people at the party” or “You saw that Cole needed craft sticks, and you shared. Now Cole has what he needs.” Short, simple sentences that express what children are doing and the positive impact their actions have on others help to build their confidence and their awareness of what they can do.
Responsive Play (Move). Taking turns to move in a game may be difficult for young children, as they are developing their attention span and their ability to wait. For an activity that involves more movement for everyone, walk around the room while music plays. Then, when the music stops, everyone stops their feet and pretends to eat food at the party. When the music begins again, everyone “walks to the party” again. Try this activity with different ways of moving, such as skipping, jumping on two feet, or hopping on one foot.
Responsive Play (Make Peace). Some young children will not be ready to roll a dice and move a game token that many places. As an alternative, children could color the path with a crayon or trace with a finger to show the way to the party. You could also forgo using the dice and just have children use small people figures and move them down the paths to gather around the table on the page, using the page as a “small world” for imaginative play.
Re-play. Moving around the room may not work well if your space is small, or if children become overstimulated when there is a lot of movement. Re-play the story with a simple game. Take a soft sheep toy and an item to be a coin, such as a circle cut out of cardboard. Sit in a circle and sing a song to the tune of “Are You Sleeping?” while passing the item around the circle:
I am looking, I am looking,
For my sheep! For my sheep!
Looking in the for-est! Looking in the for-est!
For my sheep! For my sheep!
When the song ends, the child who has the sheep puts it on their shoulder, and everyone claps.
Play a similar game with the coin:
I am looking, I am looking,
For my coin! For my coin!
Sweep-ing up the house now! Sweep-ing up the house now!
For my coin! For my coin!
When the song ends, the child who has it holds it up high, and everyone claps.
Responsive Play (Create). If using many materials would not work as well for your group, experiment with an unusual material. Use dark green paper as a backdrop and give children white, beige, and brown chalk to use to draw sheep. They also may draw shapes, such as a hill and valley where the sheep would have gone or a house for the woman. Allow them to draw freely and experiment with this special drawing material. Using fewer materials allows children to focus on drawing something they remember from the story rather than how to use the materials.
Responsive Play (Explore). Young children will enjoy counting objects but may not yet be able to count to 10. Many three-year-olds know the names of numbers to 10 and are beginning to recognize numbers from 1 to 10. Use this option to both reinforce what children are learning at home or in preschool and connect this skill to the Bible story. If having several sets of objects seems too overwhelming for your group, prepare a set of coins for each child to count. Cardboard circles covered in foil make great coins! This allows you to lead the children in counting together without distraction. Preparing a set of objects or coins for each child to take home also allows them to retell the Bible story to their family or caregiver.
Re-play. Group activities can be fun ways for children to engage with each other as well as with the story. However, some younger children prefer quieter activities on their own. Another option is to give each child a set of toys they can use to represent the story. Children may enjoy building a house for the father out of wooden blocks or interlocking plastic blocks. They could use strips of paper to show a road going away from home and coming back and use a toy figure to show the son leaving home and coming back. You may wish to quietly play music from Worship Songs for Children while children do a more independent and open-ended Re-play activity such as this one.
Responsive Play (Create). The suggested activity may be too complicated for younger children. A simpler option is to create a book about love together. Make a page for each child that says “_____ (child’s name) is loved!” at the bottom. Children can use crayons to decorate the page, by drawing a picture of themselves or simply by drawing what they would like on the page, using their favorite shapes and colors. Then staple the pages to make a book about God’s love. Read the book to children in future sessions.
Responsive Play (Go). To move around the building, try using a short rope such as an individual jump rope. Tie knots along the rope so there is on knot per child. Then have each child hold onto the rope, with their hand over one of these knots so you can move as a group. Children respond to the spaces that they are in, and you may find that some children want to run when they move into a larger room or a long hallway. Use positive words to explain how you will move as a group, such as: “We will all walk together,” “We will use walking feet,” or “We will hold onto our spot on the rope.”
Re-play. Modify the Re-play activity to meet the needs of your group. If actively retelling the story would not work as well with your group or in your space, try a quieter activity in which you give each child a “story bag” or “story box” with the storytelling props that you used, such as a strip of brown paper or cloth for the road, a figure for Jesus and two friends, and scraps of cloths to lay on the road. Some children may really enjoy working with the materials you used or with similar materials.
If you would prefer to use a more structured retelling of the story, try chanting these words together to the tune of “The Ants Go Marching.” Sing it a few times and add actions!
The friends went walking down the road! Hosanna! Hosanna!
Jesus rode on a donkey’s colt! Hosanna! Hosanna!
The people waved branches around,
They put their coats upon the ground.
And they all praised God, Hosanna! Ho-san-na! Da-dum-dum-dum-dum!
Responsive Play (Create). If using paint would not work well in your space, use crayons to decorate the coats instead. Using crayons is tiring for some children’s hands, and they may enjoy putting stickers onto the paper or using a dabber to add color instead.
Responsive Play (Move). If you would prefer to provide more structure to the movement activity, give children direction about how to wave the scarf. Have the children follow your lead by waving the scarf at a variety of heights. Wave it down by the ground. Wave it to one side and then the other. Wave it over your head. Wave it slowly and then quickly. Model each of these methods and have children follow as a stationary follow-the-leader activity.
Re-play. Rather than making play dough shapes to represent objects used in the story, imitate the actions of the story to help children connect with the actions that Jesus’ friends did. Travel as if walking to the home where the Passover was served. Pretend to walk up a flight of stairs, then gather around a table to eat bread and drink a small amount of grape juice. This method of retelling involves more movement and senses to help the children reconnect with the story using more of their senses.
Responsive Play (Create). If your group does not enjoy coloring activities or finds it very tiring to use writing tools such crayons or markers, use dabbers for this activity. Another option is to use round stickers or a stamp with washable ink, putting one sticker or stamp on each circle of this page. Young children vary in their development of fine-motor skills, so look for ways to engage the particular children in your group with activities that they enjoy the most.
Responsive Play (Move). Group activities may not work as well as independent movement activities with your group. If your group prefers more individual activities, have children do an action, such as jumping jacks, while music plays. When the music stops, have them pretend to drink from a cup by forming their hand into a cup shape. Then do another action, such as marching with high knees, while music plays. Then when the music stops, have them pretend to eat some bread. Continue with other motions, such as side-to-side jumps, hopping on one foot, or running on the spot.
Share the Story. This is a difficult story to share with younger children. Keep the focus on the ways in which the friends helped each other during this sad time. It was very sad that Jesus died, and his friends and mother cared for and comforted each other. Notice and name for the children that Jesus showed kindness and compassion to the people who were hurting him and to the robber on the cross next to him. Be sure to tell the children than this is not the end of the story. You may want to show them next week’s Story Picture so that they know of Jesus’ resurrection.
Re-play. Many young children enjoy rhythmic songs. Sing this song to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me.” Sing a few times so children can become familiar with the words:
Jesus cared about his friends.
He cared till the very end.
Even on the day he died
he helped the robber by his side.
Yes, Jesus loved friends!
Yes, Jesus loved friends!
Yes, Jesus loved friends!
He loved them till the end.
Responsive Play (Move). If moving about in your space does not work well, modify this activity to be a stationary activity where each child stays at their own assigned place, marked with tape or a carpet square. “Walk” by walking in place or patting your knees. Kneel or use another pray posture to remember Jesus praying in the garden. Walk in place again. Reach up high to remember Jesus going up the hill. Walk in place again. Curl up in a ball to remember how a stone was placed at Jesus’ tomb.
Re-play. Young children are beginning to learn about numbers and letters. They may need help to make a line between the numbers and the three events shown on the leaflet. For a more hands-on retelling of the story, act out the story as a group. Have all the children play the part of the women, using Bible-times costumes such as tea towel head coverings. They can walk together to the tomb, say that the stone has been moved and the tomb is empty. You can play the part of the messengers, saying that Jesus is alive. Then go back to the friends and say that Jesus is alive again. For this activity, you may wish to go to a different location in the building together or simply from one corner of your space to the other.
Responsive Play (Create). Younger children sometimes only make small dabs on the paper when they paint. To see the hidden images, they will need to cover the entire paper with paint. Use large paintbrushes and try painting hand-over-hand with the child to demonstrate how to make the broader brushstrokes needed to cover the paper.
Responsive Play (Move). Instead of doing a relay with the bean bags, allow free exploration with some structure. For instance, mark out a square on the floor for each child or put a length of masking tape on the floor for each child to walk on. On their own square or line, children can experiment moving with the “spices” (bean bag) on different parts of their body: in their hand, on the back of their hand, on their shoulder, on their head, and so on. This method eliminates waiting for a turn and allows for parallel play, which may help some children, who do not like feeling conspicuous, to feel more comfortable engaging in the activity.
Responsive Play (Explore). If the matching activity is too difficult for your younger children, hide some story figures or plastic eggs in a bin of shredded paper or birdseed for children to explore with their hands. These hands-on, sensory activities are often calming and intriguing for young children and give them open-ended opportunities to explore in their own way.
Re-play. With a group of younger children, make this portion of the session more hands-on. Having a discussion is quite abstract. The more you can do to make the concept of the body having many parts and the church having many types of people, the better. For instance, show photographs of people in your church the children would recognize. Another way to make this experience more hands-on would be to use dolls or other people toys such as simple wooden puzzles that show people. As children play in their own way with these people toys, initiate conversation about the parts of the body and what they are important for. Rather than asking questions, just offer comments which children may respond to in their own ways.
Responsive Play (Move). As a simpler option, set out a path for children to walk using tape or furniture. Play lively music such as “Life Together” from Worship Songs for Children, track 13. Pause the music on occasion. When the music pauses, children freeze in position wherever they are (rather than stepping into a hoop). In small spaces where moving around might be too difficult or might result in collisions, mark out a place for each child to walk in place and then freeze when the music stops.
Responsive Play (Explore). The standard game rules involve flipping a coin and moving one space (tails) or two spaces (heads). If this process would be too time-consuming for the children’s attention spans, consider building up to playing with the coin. At first, just take turns moving the game token to the next city along the path. When you arrive at each city, the children will put the matching Game Letters on the mailbox, and then the next child will move the game token to the next city along the path.
Re-play. Instead of using words to show what love is like, give children some people figure toys to play with, along with cardboard boxes that could serve as buildings or green cloths to be grass for the people. The children can play with these items in a more open-ended way and practice being friends by using these items. For younger children whose vocabularies are just developing, working with toys will give them an opportunity to play at friendship. If wooden or plastic people toys are not available, simple people can be made by drawing simple people figures onto flat stones or wide wooden craft sticks.
Responsive Play (Create). Simplify this activity further for your youngest children by writing “Dear ____, I [draw heart shape] you!” on a piece of paper. In the blank, write in the name of the person who will receive the letter and let the child color in the heart shape. Fold the paper and let the child help you put it in an envelope. Write the name of the recipient on the envelope and let the child decorate it with stickers.
Responsive Play (Move). Some young children may enjoy the suspense of covering their eyes while someone “delivers” a letter by moving around the circle. However, other children become uncomfortable not seeing what is going on at a given moment. An alternative would be to sing the song while passing the envelope around the circle as in hot potato. When the song is over, the child with the envelope holds it up high. Pass the envelope and sing again until everyone has had the letter delivered to them.
Responsive Play (Create). Some young children become very attached to the things that they make and, once they have made something, they want to take it with them. In this case, group art projects such as a paper chain may cause stress. Consider writing each child’s name on several paper strips, one for each child in the group. Each child can make a paper chain that contains a strip for each child in the group. This is a great visual reminder of the Bible story that they can take home and even add family members and friends to the chain.
Responsive Play (Explore). With young children, taking turns and moving a token along a path may be too challenging. This game has a fairly short path, but it does require more of an attention span than some young children may have. Children may prefer simply to match the cards to the mailbox without moving along the path. Another option would be to move people figures on the land and toy boats on the water without using the path. The “Letters to the Church” Game could be used as a backdrop “miniature world” for these items.
Responsive Play (Build). Young children need a lot of support for collaborative play to be successful and may work best with a smaller group. You and the children in your group may prefer to do a more independent option in which each child builds with wooden blocks or interlocking plastic blocks to build their own structure. These separate structures could create a small (temporary!) village of buildings. Some children may choose to share materials and work together to build a structure, but they would have the option of side-by-side, parallel play instead if that is more comfortable.
Responsive Play (Create). An alternative option to this activity is to print some maps of your area or find some old paper maps that are not needed anymore. Children can use crayons or markers to draw lines on the map. This activity may provide a bit more structure while still allowing children open-ended exploration and a chance to talk about how God is with us wherever we go while they experiment with colors and lines.
Responsive Play (Move). Moving about the room may not work in a small space or if the children in your group become overstimulated or tend to collide with each other when moving around. If you would prefer, play a passing game in which children sit in a circle and pass a bean bag while you play some music, such as “We Give Thanks” from Songs for the Seasons, track 2. When the music stops, the child who is holding the bean bag sets it down in front of them. Continue passing another bean bag until everyone has one. Try to stop the music when someone who does not have a bean bag yet is holding one, but if the music stops when someone who already has a bean bag is holding one, they can give the one they are holding to the next person who would have received it.
Responsive Play (Explore). Using small, “loose” items is intriguing to many young children and helps them to develop fine motor control to pick up and move the items. However, small enough items can be a concern as choking hazards. If the children in your group tend to put small things in their mouths, or if supervising them closely during this activity is difficult because of a large group size, modify this activity accordingly. Children could use crayons to make an equal number of dots in each basket or you could give each child six stickers so they could put two stickers on each basket.
Re-play. The puzzle offers a summary of the most important parts of this story. To follow up with some more ideas from this story in a guided way, chant a repeat-after-me story like “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt” so children can follow along, one sentence at a time.
We’re going to love each other, (pat your knees on each beat as you chant)
We’re going to love each other, (children repeat)
because love comes from God. (Pat your knees on each beat as you chant.)
because love comes from God. (Children repeat.)
We are child-ren of God. (Pat your knees on each beat as you chant.)
We are child-ren of God. (Children repeat.)
God shows us how to love. (Pat your knees on each beat as you chant.)
God shows us how to love. (Children repeat.)
We’re going to fol-low Je-sus. (Pat your knees on each beat as you chant.)
We’re going to fol-low Je-sus. (Children repeat.)
We’ll tell what he has done. (Pat your knees on each beat as you chant.)
We’ll tell what he has done. (Children repeat.)
We can look to Jes-us (pat your knees on each beat as you chant)
We can look to Jes-us (children repeat)
to learn about God’s love. (Pat your knees on each beat as you chant.)
to learn about God’s love. (Children repeat.)
We don’t have to be a-fraid. (Pat your knees on each beat as you chant.)
We don’t have to be a-fraid. (Children repeat.)
God’s love makes us strong. (Pat your knees on each beat as you chant.)
God’s love makes us strong. (Children repeat.)
God’s love shows us lov-ing ways (pat your knees on each beat as you chant)
God’s love shows us lov-ing ways (children repeat)
and guides us all along. (Pat your knees on each beat as you chant.)
and guides us all along. (Children repeat.)
Responsive Play (Create). Using crayons to draw for self-expression, even if they are not trying to draw particular people, places, or things, may be stressful for young children. Another option would be to use play dough with rollers and some cookie cutters, such as heart shapes or people shapes. Children can work with the play dough, mold it, and remold it, without the stress of worrying about how a finished product will look.