Tips for Younger Children

Bible Story. Use this simple, interactive story as an alternative for younger children.

Look, look, look. (Look up and hold your hand up to your eyes.) The mountain of God’s house will be the highest mountain of all.

Walk, walk, walk. (Walk your hands on your knees.) People from everywhere will come. Many people will come.

Come, come, come. (Make a hand gesture to come.) They will say, “Come, let us go up to God’s mountain. God will teach us to live in peace with each other.”

Love, love, love. (Hold your hands over your heart.) The people will turn their swords into plows. People will love one another and live in peace.

Re-play. Younger children may prefer to play quietly using story figures or the gardening tools. Listen and ask questions as they tell the story. Do not feel the need to insert details of the story but allow children to articulate what they saw, heard, or felt during the story.

Bless. Younger children will likely be distracted with parent arrivals at bless time. There is no need to wait until the end of the session to bless the children. Any time during the session is appropriate. During the busy holiday season, children can feel overlooked by distracted teachers or parents, older siblings, and adult conversation. Even with several children needing your attention at once, try to give each child some one-on-one affirmation or blessing at some point in the session.

Early Arrivals. Younger children may have a hard time being silent. Trying five seconds by counting silently with your fingers is a good place to start. While it may be difficult to get their attention the first time you try, it is well worth it to learn this life skill.

Re-play. Use this simplified poem to re-play the story. Give each child a stick puppet or a doll to play whichever part they would like to.

Zechariah, Zechariah. You saw an angel and could not speak.

Elizabeth, Elizabeth. You were full of joy when your baby was born.

Baby John, Baby John. You were born to people who were so happy to see you.

Zechariah, Zechariah. You praised God with all your heart.

Move. Structured games are often difficult for younger children. They struggle to understand rules and will find it hard to listen for specific instructions. If “The Angel Says” game is not working well for your group, change it to a more open-ended movement activity. Play music from Worship Songs for Children and have children move freely without speaking or singing. Pause the music and encourage children to pause for a moment and then resume their movements as you turn the music on again.

Learn a Verse. To keep younger children engaged, use different voices as you say the verse. Whispering, making your voice sound low, or singing the verse can be fun ways to keep the kids interested and participating. Do not be concerned if children just observe rather than joining you in saying the verse. This is age appropriate. They often observe many times before participating.

Re-play. You may want to keep this activity very open ended and play-focused rather than having the scripted “play” that retells the story sequentially. Younger children will focus on a part of the story that they relate to, so providing key props will help children do that.

Move. Younger children may find the rhythm instruments too noisy and overwhelming. You could provide streamers, ribbons, or lightweight scarves to wave as songs are played.

Re-play. Use the script below to guide your retelling if you prefer to add more structure to this activity. An adult will read all the parts, pausing after each sentence so the child playing the angel(s), shepherd(s), or Joseph can repeat the words.

Narrator: When Jesus was born, shepherds were on a hill outside Bethlehem. An angel appeared.

Angel(s): Do not be afraid! I have good news! A baby was born in Bethlehem! He is wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger. Glory to God! Peace on earth!

Shepherd(s): Let’s go to Bethlehem!

Narrator: The shepherds went to Bethlehem and found everything as the angel said.

Joseph: I am amazed!

Narrator: The shepherds praised God as they returned to the fields.

 Shepherd(s): What we saw was wonderful!

Responsive Play (Create). Help younger children to know which object goes with which part of the story. As you read each page of the story booklet on pages 4C and 4D of the PreK–Kindergarten Booklet, give each child the corresponding story object to place in their bag.

Attend to children’s feelings. Children’s excitement during the Christmas season is often focused on parties, baking cookies, decorating a Christmas tree, giving and receiving gifts, or seeing family. While these are common experiences, the season is not a happy time for all children. There may be sadness, anger, or other emotions influencing their outlook. Be sensitive to this possibility as you guide the conversation and activities today. Focus on Jesus, a gift of love given by God to every person.

Bible Story. Use this repetitive poem as an alternate Bible story for younger children:

Mary, Mary, what do you say?

How do you love and praise God today?

We bring our baby Jesus to the temple.

Thank you, God, for baby Jesus.

Simeon, Simeon, what do you say?

How do you love and praise God today?

God loves us and helps us.

God is a light for all the world.

Anna, Anna, what do you say?

How do you love and praise God today?

Baby Jesus is so special.

Baby Jesus gives us hope.

Early Arrivals. To make shakers for younger children, use something sturdy, such as small cardboard tubes or plastic eggs taped shut after the beans are inside. You want something that is easy to shake but will not be torn apart or be a choking hazard. They will enjoy making sounds to the music and rhythms of familiar Christmas songs.

Attend to children’s needs. Pay attention to the level of excitement of the children today. Follow their lead in terms of making decisions on what activities may work best and how long to stick with each activity. They may be excited. They may be exhausted. Allow time for children to talk about their experiences if they seem talkative. You may want to ask a simple open-ended question for the early arrivers, such as “How is your day going?”

Emphasize Jesus’ desire to learn. People often portray Jesus as being lost in this story, but he was not. Being lost is scary for younger children. Emphasize Jesus’ desire to learn from the teachers in the temple and his obedience to his parents when they returned to Jerusalem.

Bible Story. Read this simplified version of the story and act out the movements of Jesus and his family:

Jesus and his family walked, walked, walked (hands on knees, walking) to the festival in Jerusalem.

After the festival, his family walked, walked, walked (hands on knees, walking) toward home. But where was Jesus?

His family looked, looked, looked (hands up to eyes, looking) everywhere.

They walked, walked, walked (hands on knees, walking) back to Jerusalem.

They looked, looked, looked (hands up to eyes, looking) everywhere.

They found Jesus! He was listening, listening, listening (hands behind ears, listening) to the teachers.

Mary and Joseph were so happy to find Jesus! They all loved, loved, loved (hands over heart) each other very much.

They walked, walked, walked (hands on knees, walking) back home together.

Responsive Play (Move). If you go outside or into a larger space for this game, set rules for where the children can and cannot go to hide or seek. You may need to help younger children find a place to hide and help the others to seek. Have extra volunteers on hand to keep everyone safely within the game space.

Play. For younger children, try pegboards or simple three- to four-piece puzzles to begin with. It is important for young children to have success at play activities. Sturdy pieces or pieces with pegs will help them complete the puzzle without getting too frustrated as they develop fine motor skills.

Bible Story. Younger children may enjoy this rhyming poem as an alternative to the story. Act out the story with descriptive and action words.

People came from everywhere. Walking far and near.

They were baptized in the water. Cool, deep, and clear.

Jesus, too, was baptized there with tender, loving care.

Jesus prayed to God that day, with tender, loving prayer.

A dove flew down from heaven just then from the big sky above.

God said, “You are my beloved son. You, I will always love.”

Responsive Play (Move). Younger children need lots of opportunity for movement. They may not have the patience to wait until someone throws a bean bag to see what picture it lands on. You can simplify this and keep it moving by asking a child to point to their choice of activity on the poster and do that action.

Story. You may want to use this simple version of the story with actions for younger children.

Jesus walked to Galilee. (Walk with your hands on your knees.)

People came from all over to see Jesus. (Walk with your hands on your knees and look around.)

Jesus came to Nazareth, his hometown. (Walk with your hands on your knees.)

Jesus opened the scroll and read. (Act as if unrolling the scroll.)

God is with us. (Hold hands over your heart.)

The poor will have what they need. (Hold your arms as if holding a basket.)

The people will be set free. (Raise your arms.)

Those who are blind will be able to see. (Hold hands over your eyes and let go.)

God loves everyone. (Hold hands over your heart.)

Jesus rolled up the scroll. (Act as if rolling with your hands.)

Jesus sat down. (Sit.)

The people were so happy about the Good News of Jesus. (Raise your arms high.)

Create. Younger children may not understand about making a scroll, but they will enjoy unrolling it and pretending to read. Tape the corners of the paper to stabilize the materials for younger children or children with physical disabilities to make it easier for them to be successful in drawing and gluing.

Quiet space. Setting up a quiet space for younger children may be helpful for those who are stressed out by groups or separation from family. Board books, pillows, and something soft to hold can calm and comfort an anxious child. With the busy-ness of weekends at times, younger children may appreciate a calming space.

Re-play. If water play is too messy, sing the following story poem to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and encourage children to join in doing the motions.

Row, row, row your boat (pretend to row a boat),

out into the lake.

People want to hear God’s word (cup hand around ear),

good choices they will make.

Throw, throw, throw the nets (pretend to throw a net in the water),

right into the lake.

See the fish, so many fish!

It’s more than we can take!

Scoop, scoop, scoop the fish (use your hands to scoop fish),

right into the boat.

It’s getting full, we just might sink.

Friends, help us with the boat.

Friends, friends, friends, have come

right up next to us.

They reach and pull and reach and pull. (Pretend to pull in a full net.)

They never make a fuss.

Row, row, row the boats (pretend to row a boat),

right up to the shore.

Leave the boats to follow Jesus,

Leave them on the shore.

Responsive Play (Move). If your younger children are too restless for a cooperative game, let them pretend to fish using the materials from Early Arrivals (Play).

Responsive Play (Create). Younger children may enjoy the open-endedness of creating a story scene with play dough. Roll or pat out blue play dough for water. Make boats by rolling a ball of play dough and pressing a thumb in the middle. Pinch small balls of play dough for fish.

Bible Story. This week’s Bible text is more instruction than story. Show the Story Picture and say that Jesus told people about loving others. A shorter version of the story can be found on page 10B of the PreK–Kindergarten Booklet. Choose activities like play dough that are tactile and require minimal verbal language. These activities provide a safe and fun way for younger children to participate.

Responsive Play (Create). Cooperative projects can be overwhelming for younger children who may not know how or what to contribute to the drawing. Give each child several heart shapes to glue or tape on the “person” as a reminder to share God’s love.

Responsive Play (Make Peace and Explore). You may need to cut out the Blessing Shapes ahead of time for the younger children in your group. If you choose to do the Explore activity, cut out extra Blessing Shapes and have the children tape or glue a blessing on their snack bag.

Pray. Younger children may find it difficult to be silent or sit still during prayer time. Increasing the breathing ritual each week will help calm the children. Having something for each child to hold during prayer time may also help. Ideas include a small beanbag or a piece of soft cloth cut in the shape of a heart.

Responsive Play (Create). It will be wise to have extra volunteers to help trace the children’s hands and cut them out. Younger children may also have a hard time making the accordion-fold paper strip. For an alternative, draw a Bible-times robe on a piece of paper and make a copy for each child. Provide small pieces of cloth or tissue paper for them to glue onto the robe as a reminder of the woman who touched Jesus’ robe and was healed.

 Responsive Play (Move). A game with many steps and instructions may be frustrating for younger children. If an activity is not going well, switch to something independent like blocks or play dough—whatever is simple and calming for your group. This will give you a few minutes to regroup and prepare for the next activity.

Early Arrivals. Don’t be afraid to try this activity if you’ve never done it before! Using a pencil or their finger to draw designs in the salt will be fascinating for younger children. You will not need a lot of salt, just enough for a thin layer. Once the activity is finished, you can put the salt in a resealable plastic bag for use another time. You can also color the salt by mixing in drops of food coloring.

Responsive Play (Create). Use larger beads with younger children to give their developing hands something easier to grasp. Chenille stems are more stable than yarn or string. Another alternative is to make bracelets with construction paper strips that children can decorate with stickers or crayons. Wrap and tape the Jesus friendship bracelets loosely around their wrists.

Responsive Play (Explore). When young children are playing with small objects like pea gravel or rice, have a volunteer supervising at all times so that these objects stay in the tub and not find their way into little mouths. This is a great time to talk with the children about the Bible story and ask wondering questions that you might not have had time to earlier.

Responsive Play (Create). Most younger children will enjoy making bird feeders, even if they are a bit messy. Provide smocks to keep clothes clean and allow the children to work with the materials. Have paper towels or wipes ready to clean sticky fingers. Feeding the birds and other living creatures is a way to build empathy in young children.

Responsive Play (Move). With younger children, be sure to have extra volunteers on hand when going outside of your meeting space. Consider doing this activity near the beginning of your meeting time so that children will have time and space to get their energy out before settling down for the Bible story.

PreK–Kindergarten Booklet. As you use the PreK–Kindergarten Booklet with younger children, be encouraging even though they may not always follow the directions correctly. They may be just beginning to experiment with drawing and coloring. It is important that they feel successful and not discouraged. Especially during this session on worrying, this can be a good reminder to let these little ones feel like they are participating in meaningful ways.

Re-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.