Star of Christmas (Preschool Lesson Series): Lesson 1

This is a Christmas lesson series I developed for my Wednesday night preschool class from a collection of Christmas crafts on the Classy Clutter Blog and Squidoo. 

 

THE STAR OF CHRISTMAS

(Preschool Lesson Series)

Memory Verse:

"When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy." - Matthew 2:10

LESSON 1: The Star Appears

SNACK: M&M Christmas Trees
A cute snack the kids can make from an upside down icecream cone coated with a thin layer of green frosting.  The kids can place M&M ornaments on the tree and then eat the snack.

CRAFT: Felt Tree OrnamentsPrior to class, make and hang up the green felt Christmas tree.  During craft time, let the kids decorate large felt circles/"ornaments" with glitter.  Leave them on a table to dry.  Hang them at the beginning of game time.

MEMORY VERSE SHOUT: "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy" - Matthew 2:10 (NKJV)
(I teach the kids the verse and then we all see who can shout it the loudest)

PRAISE & WORSHIP: "I'm Counting On God" 

LESSON:
(During lesson time with my preschool class, we spend very little time around a table with me struggling to teach them Bible stories and biblical principles on their level because they are very easily distracted.  Instead, I may begin and end the lesson at the table; however, to bring the story to life for the kids and to essentially make it more memorable for them, we act out our Bible stories.  For this lesson, my biblical reference was the NKJV of the Holy Bible.)

Materials Needed:
Flashlight
Piece of paper with a star shape cut out to place over flashlight

What holiday is coming up?  That's right!  Christmas!  What are you guys asking Santa for Christmas this year?  (Let kids answer).  Sometimes it seems like it takes FOREVER for Christmas to get here, doesn't it?  We wait all year for this one special day.    For the next few Wednesdays, we're going to learn about a very special day that all of Israel waited on for many, many years.  They were waiting for a baby to be born but not just any baby.  This baby was going to rescue all of Israel.

Are you guys ready to go on an adventure? 

Explain that we will be pretending to be the wisemen.  Describe with great excitement the angel who appeared with goodtidings to the wisemen with news of the birth of the Savior.  The angel told the men, they would find the baby lying in a manger.  Suddenly, the whole sky was filled with angels as they praised God.  Encourage the kids to play along and pretend they are listening to the angels say "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men!"

The wisemen saw a bright star in the sky.  It was brighter than any other star.  They begin walking towards the star because they believed it would lead them to the baby the angels had told them was born that very night!  The baby who would be the Savior: our Lord Jesus Christ.

(To make the story more visually dramatic, have a flashlight with a piece of paper taped to the front.  Already have a star shape cut out of the paper so that when you shine the flashlight on the wall, all the kids see is a bright star).

Gather back at the table and have the kids all say the memory verse: "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy" - Matthew 2:10 (NKJV).  Ask the kids:  Who are "they"? (The Wisemen), Why were they excited to see the star? (Because they believed it would help them find the baby Jesus), Where do you think they will find Jesus? (The angels said they would find the baby lying in a manger)

People had been waiting thousands of years for Jesus.  That's why the wisemen were so excited when the angel told them he was finally born.  Did you know Jesus' birthday, the day He was born, was the very first Christmas!  That's why alot of people put a star on the top of their Christmas tree.  It represents the star that the wisemen followed.

GAME TIME:

Find the Christmas Star
To lead into game time, have the kids place their ornaments on the felt tree.  Once they have all placed the ornament on the tree, announce that you brought a really pretty star for the tree.  Go look in your purse/bag, etc. for the felt tree star.  Pretend that the star has gone missing from your bag.  

Before class, already have the star hidden somewhere in the classroom.  At our church, we have a Sunday School classroom that is unused on Wednesdays, so we frequently use it during game time.

Send the kids on a hunt to find the star.  Whoever finds the star, gets to help pin it above the tree. 



Create hype about next week by telling the kids that the wisemen lose the star they saw while they were in the east, and the wisemen will need the children's help finding the baby.