First Look

2-year-olds, July, Week 3

First LookTM
Curriculum for Preschoolers
We want preschoolers to take a first look at who God is and understand ... God made me. God loves me. Jesus wants to be my friend forever. Editor in Chief: Kathy Hill Copy Editor: Wendi Zebell Curriculum Writer: Autumn Ward, Ashley Hiers Illustrators: Jodi Blackwell Graphic Designer: Elloa Davis FL Creative Team: Sue Miller, Lois Pallansch, Kathy Hill, Kendra Fleming, Autumn Ward, Ashley Hiers Chief Executive Officer: Reggie Joiner Chief Operating Officer: Reggie Goodin Executive Director: Sue Miller Technical and Web Support: Hadley Brandt Partner Support: Deb Springer Scripture quotations marked (NCV) are quoted from The Holy Bible, New Century Version, copyright 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, Dallas, Texas 75234. Used by permission. These resources are intended to be downloaded and printed for use by the subscribing entity only and may not be electronically transferred to or duplicated by other nonsubscribing entities. Any unauthorized reproduction of this material or incorporation into a new work is a direct violation of US copyright laws. 2011 First Look. All rights reserved. STATEMENT OF FAITH USER AGREEMENT The reThink Group, Inc. gladly grants permission to churches, schools, and other licensees to tailor First LookTM materials to fit their unique leadership requirements, locale and format preferences, and physical environment needs. However, if you wish to edit the content substantively, including Bible stories, learning activities, scripts, and any other content in which biblical principles and concepts are presented, you are obligated to do so within the doctrinal guidelines weve expressed in our Statement of Faith.

Curriculum Materials for 2-year-olds 2011 First Look. All rights reserved. www.myfirstlook.org

First Look

2-year-olds, July, Week 3

July 17, 2011

Basic Truth: God loves me. Key Question: Who loves me? Bottom Line: God loves me. Memory Verse: Trust the Lord with all your heart. Proverbs 3:5, NCV Bible Story Focus: What God says doesnt always make sense. Gideons Army Judges 7:1-8

Heres an overview of what youll be teaching in 2s this week. Make It Fun (Choose one or all of these activities) Marching, Marching Army Men Sorting Make It True Bible Story and Worship Make It Stick (Choose as many of these activities as you like) Too Big If Youre Wearing ... (Bible story review) Trust in the Lord Brave and Courageous Dismiss

Curriculum Materials for 2-year-olds 2011 First Look. All rights reserved. www.myfirstlook.org

First Look

2-year-olds, July, Week 3

July 17, 2011

Basic Truth: God loves me. Key Question: Who loves me? Bottom Line: God loves me. Memory Verse: Trust the Lord with all your heart. Proverbs 3:5, NCV Bible Story Focus: What God says doesnt always make sense. Gideons Army Judges 7:1-8

Make It Fun
Prepare to offer one or more of the following activities as your 2-year-olds arrive. Let one or two teachers lead small groups of children in activities throughout the room while another teacher greets parents and kids at the door. At this age not all children will participate, but most will want to be part of the fun. 1. Marching, Marching What You Need: No supplies are needed. What You Do: March in different ways. What You Say: Stand up with me and let's pretend to be brave, strong soldiers. Stand up straight, put your hands by your side, face forward, and march! March, march, march! Hut two, three, four. Hut two, three, four. (Keep marching, either in place or all around the room.) Great marching, you brave, strong soldiers! We are going to hear about some soldiers in our Bible story today. 2. Army Men What You Need: Plastic army men and blocks. What You Do: Let children play with the toy soldiers, using the blocks as props. What You Say: These little guys are army soldiers. Soldiers often fight in battles. Being an army man is a hard job. Did you know that our Bible story is about army men too? We are going to hear a really neat story about a man named Gideon and his army.

Curriculum Materials for 2-year-olds 2011 First Look. All rights reserved. www.myfirstlook.org

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2-year-olds, July, Week 3

3. Sorting What You Need: Pom-poms in various colors and a container to hold them. What You Do: Let children sort the pom-poms into piles according to color. If the pompoms are different sizes, kids could also sort by size. What You Say: Look at all the pretty colors. What three colors are your favorites? (Wait for responses.) Oh, I like those too. Lets separate those three colors of pompoms into different piles. (After sorting, you can count each pile with the children.) Count the (insert color) pom-poms with me. (Do so.) Lets count the (insert color) pom-poms now. (Do so.) Finally, lets count the (insert color) pom-poms. (Do so.) Great job! Today we are going to hear a neat story about a man named Gideon. He had an army of soldiers that he had to separate into groups. I can't wait to hear about it!

Curriculum Materials for 2-year-olds 2011 First Look. All rights reserved. www.myfirstlook.org

First Look

2-year-olds, July, Week 3

Make It True
After children have participated in Make It Fun, tell the Bible story and then encourage the kids to have fun singing with you. When sharing the Bible story, guide kids to gather around you on the floor. Some kids (especially the younger ones) may wander. Thats OK. Theyre still listening and learning! Bible Story What You Need: A Bible. What You Do: Invite the children to sit on the floor with you. As they join you, greet them by name. Prepare to march around the room with the kids. STORYTELLER: Hello, everyone. I am so happy to see you today! (Open the Bible.) Our Bible story today is about a man named Gideon. Can you say Gideon? (Lead kids in doing so.) Good job! Gideon was an army soldier. Lets stand up and march like army soldiers. (March around the room or in place while chanting the following Bible story rhyme.) Gideon, Gideon, One, two, three. Your armys too big. Trust me! Trust me! Gideon, Gideon, One, two, three. I can do what God says, Cause [Bottom Line] God loves me! (Repeat.) God told Gideon to make his army smaller. Gideon had to separate his soldiers into the ones who were to go home and the ones who were to stay. (Again, march around the room or in place while chanting the following Bible story rhyme.) Gideon, Gideon, One, two, three. Your armys too big. Trust me! Trust me! Gideon, Gideon,
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2-year-olds, July, Week 3

One, two, three. I can do what God says, Cause [Bottom Line] God loves me! (Repeat.) Im so glad God loved Gideon! And Im so glad [Bottom Line] God loves me! Worship For additional worship resources to equip your worship leaders and worship team, visit www.amberskyrecords.com. What You Need: A CD player and God Loves You and Me, from the One Big Gulp CD (available at www.amberskyrecords.com). Lead children in singing God Loves You and Me. As the children listen to the music, take turns picking them up and dancing with them. STORYTELLER: Gideon trusted God, and so can we. God loves you, and [Bottom line] God loves me! Prayer STORYTELLER: God, help us to always trust You. Help these little ones to believe in You and trust that You love them. Amen.

Curriculum Materials for 2-year-olds 2011 First Look. All rights reserved. www.myfirstlook.org

First Look

2-year-olds, July, Week 3

Make It Stick
Choose two or more of the following activities to help make the Bottom Line stick. Lead the activities with small groups of children. Encourage children to play on their own if they do not wish to take part in an activity. 1. Too Big What You Need: A set of LEGO building blocks, consisting of only three different colors. What You Do: Separate the LEGO building blocks into three separate piles according to color. Build a tower using all the blocks in each pile. Tear down that tower and then only build with two of the colors. Tear down the second tower and then only build with one color. Retell the Bible story. What You Say: Can you help me separate these LEGO building blocks? How many colors do you see? Let's separate them into three different piles. Each color gets its own pile. (Say the colors as you separate them.) Now that we have them separated, can you help me build a tower using all the blocks? Great! Wow, look at that tower! But it's a little too big. Let's tear it down and separate the colors like before. (Do so.) This time let's build the tower with only two of the colors. (Do so.) Super! This tower isn't as big, but it's still a great tower! We still need to tear it down, though. This tower is still too big! Lets separate the colors again. (Do so.) This time, lets build a tower using only one color of building block. (Do so.) Thats an awesome tower! It is just the perfect size! Its not too big or too small! Just like in our Bible story, Gideon listened to what God said and made his army smaller and smaller, even though it didn't make sense to him. Gideon trusted what God said. God loved Gideon and his army. God loves you and me, too. Who loves me? [Bottom Line] God loves me. 2. If You're Wearing ... What You Need: No supplies are needed. What You Do: March around with the kids. As you do so, call out different colors. If kids are wearing the color called, they should sit down. Retell the Bible story while playing. What You Say: Everyone stand up and march with me. We are going to march just like Gideon and his army. Are you ready? Great! March, march, march, march. Hut, two, three, four. In our Bible story, God told Gideon he had too many soldiers in his army. That sounds crazy, right? But Gideon trusted God and sent some of his soldiers back home. Maybe they were soldiers that were wearing (call out a color that several of the
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2-year-olds, July, Week 3

children have on). If you have that color on, sit down. The rest of you soldiers, let's keep marching. March, march, march, march. Hut, two, three, four. Gideon still had too many soldiers! Maybe those soldiers were wearing (call out another color). If you have that color on, its time for you to sit down. All my other soldiers, lets keep marching! March, march, march, march. Hut, two, three, four. Gideon STILL had too many soldiers! Maybe those soldiers were wearing (call out one last color). If you are wearing that color, sit down. Look who we have left. (Count out how many soldiers you have remaining.) We only have (state the number remaining) soldiers left to fight the battle. (Motioning to the kids who are seated) We started with all these other soldiers. Gideon loved God and knew that, even if it didn't make sense to him, God would take care of him if he did what God said to do. So Gideon told a whole bunch of his soldiers to go back home, and they did! God loves all of you! Who loves me? [Bottom Line] God loves me. 3. Trust in the Lord What You Need: No supplies are needed. What You Do: Recite the memory verse while doing the motions. What You Say: Gideon listened and did what God wanted him to do because he knew God always does what He says He will do. We can trust God because He loves us and does what He says He will do. Repeat what I say and do. Ready? Trust (hug yourself) the Lord (point straight up above you head with one finger) with all (make big circles with both arms) your heart, (cover your heart with both hands) Proverbs 3:5, (open hands in front of you like a book). Great job! Let's do it again together. Trust (hug yourself) the Lord (point straight up above you head with one finger) with all (make big circles with both arms) your heart, (cover your heart with both hands) Proverbs 3:5, (open hands in front of you like a book). We can trust God with all our hearts because He loves us and always does what He says He will do. Who loves me? [Bottom Line] God loves me. 4. Brave and Courageous What You Need: Brave (from the Activity Pages on the Web site), cardstock, a hole punch, scissors, and yarn. What You Do: Make a banner by copying the Activity Page onto cardstock and
Curriculum Materials for 2-year-olds 2011 First Look. All rights reserved. www.myfirstlook.org 8

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2-year-olds, July, Week 3

punching two holes at top. Cut a length of yarn, thread it through the holes, and knot it. What You Say: Gideon was a leader in God's army. God told Gideon he had way too many soldiers, so he sent some of them home. Gideon and the army continued marching, but God told him he still had too many soldiers! More soldiers were sent home. Gideon looked at how small his army was, but God told him that they would win the battle. Gideon was brave because he believed that God does what He says He will do. Let's make a bravery banner to help us to remember that God does what He says He will do. This side says, God loves me.' The other side says, Trust the Lord with all your heart, Proverbs 3:5.' Lets all march and hold our banners. March. March. March. God loved Gideon, and He loves you, too. Who loves me? [Bottom Line] God loves me. Get Ready to Dismiss Set any take-home creations where you or parents can get them easily. Greet parents at the door and let parents know that this month preschoolers are learning that [Bottom Line] God loves me. Encourage parents to repeat the Bottom Line at home and help their child understand that [Bottom Line] God loves me. Have this months Small Talk available for parents to pick up or send it in a monthly email. Encourage parents to use the activities found in Small Talk to reinforce this months Bottom Line: [Bottom Line] God loves me.

Curriculum Materials for 2-year-olds 2011 First Look. All rights reserved. www.myfirstlook.org