Jesus Cares Unit
Jesus Cares Unit Bible Truth: Jesus cares about all people. Bible Verse: “But with God, all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26 Bible Basis: Luke 5:17-26; John 5:1-15; John 9:1-11, 35-38; Luke 17:11-19 Children will learn:
Jesus cares about all people. Jesus can do anything. Jesus can heal illnesses. Ways we can help other people and show love. About people with disabilities and treating them with love. To thank Jesus for all he does.
Lessons: 3/5/17 – Friends Bring a Paralyzed Man to Jesus 3/12/17 –Jesus Heals a Man Sick for 38 Years 3/19/17 – Jesus Heals a Blind Man 3/26/17 – Jesus Heals 10 Men With Leprosy For the next few weeks we will be learning about a few of Jesus’ miracles in the Preschool Ministry. Jesus always made time to meet people’s needs. He devoted his time here on earth to caring about people. He could have withdrawn with his disciples and spent all of his time teaching them. But he didn’t. Instead, Jesus healed sick people, freed captives, and comforted the brokenhearted. He touched the lepers, hugged the children, and he changed lives with his miraculous love. He taught by example, and we are to imitate his compassion. Our young preschoolers often feel powerless and helpless in this big world. Sometimes they might even wonder if anyone cares about them. It can be difficult for them when parents have to work and older siblings are too busy to play with them. In this unit, children will discover that Jesus is a special friend who cares about all people. They will learn how Jesus cares for families of all shapes and sizes, and they will discover ways they can show Jesus’ love to others.
Another component of this unit will be sharing with the children about disabilities like blindness or being unable to walk. Here are some basic ideas to share with your child to teach them about disabilities… No two people are the same -- some differences are just more noticeable. A disability is only one characteristic of a person. All people have many facets: likes and dislikes, strengths and challenges. Children with disabilities are like all children in that they want friends, respect, and to be included. Children can be born disabled or become disabled from an accident or illness. You can't "catch" a disability from someone else. Just because someone has a physical disability (when a part or parts of the body do not work well) does not mean they necessarily have a cognitive (or thinking) disability. Children with disabilities can do many of the things your child does, but it might take them longer. They may need assistance or adaptive equipment to help them. Try to use clear, respectful language when talking about someone with disabilities. For our younger child, keep your explanations simple, such as, "She uses a wheelchair because a part of her body does not work as well as it could." Make sure to reinforce with your child that name calling -- even if meant as a joke -- is always unacceptable as it hurts people's feelings. Family Picnic: Plan a family picnic. If the weather cooperates you can go out to your back yard or to a local park, or if it’s raining or snowing just spread a blanket on your living room floor and have a fun little picnic inside. Pretend you are going to hear Jesus speak. Take along your favorite lunch foods and play a recording of your favorite Bible story to listen to while you eat lunch together. Stretcher Rides: Use bandage wraps, gauze wraps, or toilet paper to wrap up your child’s wrist or ankle loosely. Then use a blanket to pull your bandaged child across the room with the blanket. Tell them the Bible story about men who carried their hurt friend to see Jesus. You can also let your child try to bandage you and try to pull you on the blanket. Mud and Straw Treat: Give your child a large square of wax paper and then give them a handful of chow mein noodles or frosted shredded wheat cereal and several spoonfuls of chocolate pudding. Explain to the children that in Bible times, roofs were made out of mud and straw. Give your child a spoon and show them how to layer their chocolate pudding and chow mein noodles to make “roofs” and then they can try to make holes in the middle of their “roofs” and explain that four friends made a hole in a roof so that they could lower their friend
down to see Jesus and be healed. You can also talk with your child about the chocolate pudding looking like the mud that Jesus used to put on the man’s eyes to restore his sight. Helping Hands Jar: Decorate a jar or other container and label it “Helping Hands.” Fill the jar with household jobs your child can do, such as setting the table. Let your child choose a job each day. At the end of the week, let your child use their “helping hands” to make a favorite treat or snack and talk about all of the ways they helped around the house this week. Touch and Find: Have your child close their eyes or put a blindfold on them. Allow them to use just their fingers to find your nose, shoes, knees, hands, hair, and ears. You will need to remind them to keep their eyes closed. When they are finished, have them open their eyes and talk about what it would be like to find things when they couldn’t see. Talk about how Jesus healed a man who was born blind. Picking Up Problems: Have your child slip clean socks over their hands. Have them try to pick up some small items like string, paper clips, small toys, or coins. Talk about what it was like to pick up things without being about to use their fingers. Tell them that Jesus once healed some men with leprosy. Explain that leprosy was a disease or sickness and that sometimes people with leprosy would have trouble using their fingers. Wiggle Prayer: Tell your child Jesus cares about all people who are sick and he helps people who are well. Jesus helps us all the time. We can be like the one thankful man in the story of the 10 lepers and tell Jesus we are glad he helps us by saying a special prayer together God made my fingers. (Wiggle fingers) God made my toes. (Wiggle toes.) God made my elbows. (Flap elbows.) God made my nose. (Point to nose.) God made every part of me. (Touch head, shoulders, knees, and toes.) And I thank him gratefully. (Fold hands in prayer.) Thank you God! Amen. Art: Making get-well cards. This activity can help children learn how to show concern for people who are sick. We want to show care and concern for people who are sick and hurting just like Jesus did. A simple way to make cards is to take an 8 ½ x 11 piece of paper and fold it in half. Then use pictures of flowers from magazines or old greeting cards and talk about the different flowers. Explain that you are going to make cards to send to people who are sick. Let your child choose one picture to put on the card. Help your child make the card,
and explain that the Bible tells about a man who was sick and needed help so his friends helped him. When we send greeting cards to our friends, we help them feel better. Then talk about other ways you can help people who are sick feel better. Books to explore: Here are just a few books you might look for at the library or a bookstore: Jesus Heals the Sick (Beginner's Bible) by Crystal Bowman The Miracles of Jesus by Tomie dePaola The Miracles of Jesus Hardcover by Tracy Harrast Miracles: Wonders Jesus Worked by Mary Hoffman Miracle Man: The Story of Jesus by John Hendrix Read and Play: The Miracles of Jesus (Read & Play) by Alice Gold and Cathy Beylon
Songs: Everything is Possible (Sung to the tune of The Mulberry Bush) With God, everything is possible, Possible, Possible. With God everything is possibleThe Bible tells us so. Jesus Loves Us All (Sung to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”) Jesus loves us all (Cross hands over heart) He loves us all the time. (Turn in a circle) Me and you (Point to yourself and then to someone else) His love is true.( Point up) He loves us all the time! (Cross hands over heart) Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for caring about all kinds of people and for wanting to be our friend. We are so happy that you can do anything! And we love you, Amen.
Jesus cares about all people. Jesus can do anything. Jesus can heal illnesses. Ways we can help other people and show love. About people with disabilities and treating them with love. To thank Jesus for all he does.
Lessons: 3/5/17 – Friends Bring a Paralyzed Man to Jesus 3/12/17 –Jesus Heals a Man Sick for 38 Years 3/19/17 – Jesus Heals a Blind Man 3/26/17 – Jesus Heals 10 Men With Leprosy For the next few weeks we will be learning about a few of Jesus’ miracles in the Preschool Ministry. Jesus always made time to meet people’s needs. He devoted his time here on earth to caring about people. He could have withdrawn with his disciples and spent all of his time teaching them. But he didn’t. Instead, Jesus healed sick people, freed captives, and comforted the brokenhearted. He touched the lepers, hugged the children, and he changed lives with his miraculous love. He taught by example, and we are to imitate his compassion. Our young preschoolers often feel powerless and helpless in this big world. Sometimes they might even wonder if anyone cares about them. It can be difficult for them when parents have to work and older siblings are too busy to play with them. In this unit, children will discover that Jesus is a special friend who cares about all people. They will learn how Jesus cares for families of all shapes and sizes, and they will discover ways they can show Jesus’ love to others.
Another component of this unit will be sharing with the children about disabilities like blindness or being unable to walk. Here are some basic ideas to share with your child to teach them about disabilities… No two people are the same -- some differences are just more noticeable. A disability is only one characteristic of a person. All people have many facets: likes and dislikes, strengths and challenges. Children with disabilities are like all children in that they want friends, respect, and to be included. Children can be born disabled or become disabled from an accident or illness. You can't "catch" a disability from someone else. Just because someone has a physical disability (when a part or parts of the body do not work well) does not mean they necessarily have a cognitive (or thinking) disability. Children with disabilities can do many of the things your child does, but it might take them longer. They may need assistance or adaptive equipment to help them. Try to use clear, respectful language when talking about someone with disabilities. For our younger child, keep your explanations simple, such as, "She uses a wheelchair because a part of her body does not work as well as it could." Make sure to reinforce with your child that name calling -- even if meant as a joke -- is always unacceptable as it hurts people's feelings. Family Picnic: Plan a family picnic. If the weather cooperates you can go out to your back yard or to a local park, or if it’s raining or snowing just spread a blanket on your living room floor and have a fun little picnic inside. Pretend you are going to hear Jesus speak. Take along your favorite lunch foods and play a recording of your favorite Bible story to listen to while you eat lunch together. Stretcher Rides: Use bandage wraps, gauze wraps, or toilet paper to wrap up your child’s wrist or ankle loosely. Then use a blanket to pull your bandaged child across the room with the blanket. Tell them the Bible story about men who carried their hurt friend to see Jesus. You can also let your child try to bandage you and try to pull you on the blanket. Mud and Straw Treat: Give your child a large square of wax paper and then give them a handful of chow mein noodles or frosted shredded wheat cereal and several spoonfuls of chocolate pudding. Explain to the children that in Bible times, roofs were made out of mud and straw. Give your child a spoon and show them how to layer their chocolate pudding and chow mein noodles to make “roofs” and then they can try to make holes in the middle of their “roofs” and explain that four friends made a hole in a roof so that they could lower their friend
down to see Jesus and be healed. You can also talk with your child about the chocolate pudding looking like the mud that Jesus used to put on the man’s eyes to restore his sight. Helping Hands Jar: Decorate a jar or other container and label it “Helping Hands.” Fill the jar with household jobs your child can do, such as setting the table. Let your child choose a job each day. At the end of the week, let your child use their “helping hands” to make a favorite treat or snack and talk about all of the ways they helped around the house this week. Touch and Find: Have your child close their eyes or put a blindfold on them. Allow them to use just their fingers to find your nose, shoes, knees, hands, hair, and ears. You will need to remind them to keep their eyes closed. When they are finished, have them open their eyes and talk about what it would be like to find things when they couldn’t see. Talk about how Jesus healed a man who was born blind. Picking Up Problems: Have your child slip clean socks over their hands. Have them try to pick up some small items like string, paper clips, small toys, or coins. Talk about what it was like to pick up things without being about to use their fingers. Tell them that Jesus once healed some men with leprosy. Explain that leprosy was a disease or sickness and that sometimes people with leprosy would have trouble using their fingers. Wiggle Prayer: Tell your child Jesus cares about all people who are sick and he helps people who are well. Jesus helps us all the time. We can be like the one thankful man in the story of the 10 lepers and tell Jesus we are glad he helps us by saying a special prayer together God made my fingers. (Wiggle fingers) God made my toes. (Wiggle toes.) God made my elbows. (Flap elbows.) God made my nose. (Point to nose.) God made every part of me. (Touch head, shoulders, knees, and toes.) And I thank him gratefully. (Fold hands in prayer.) Thank you God! Amen. Art: Making get-well cards. This activity can help children learn how to show concern for people who are sick. We want to show care and concern for people who are sick and hurting just like Jesus did. A simple way to make cards is to take an 8 ½ x 11 piece of paper and fold it in half. Then use pictures of flowers from magazines or old greeting cards and talk about the different flowers. Explain that you are going to make cards to send to people who are sick. Let your child choose one picture to put on the card. Help your child make the card,
and explain that the Bible tells about a man who was sick and needed help so his friends helped him. When we send greeting cards to our friends, we help them feel better. Then talk about other ways you can help people who are sick feel better. Books to explore: Here are just a few books you might look for at the library or a bookstore: Jesus Heals the Sick (Beginner's Bible) by Crystal Bowman The Miracles of Jesus by Tomie dePaola The Miracles of Jesus Hardcover by Tracy Harrast Miracles: Wonders Jesus Worked by Mary Hoffman Miracle Man: The Story of Jesus by John Hendrix Read and Play: The Miracles of Jesus (Read & Play) by Alice Gold and Cathy Beylon
Songs: Everything is Possible (Sung to the tune of The Mulberry Bush) With God, everything is possible, Possible, Possible. With God everything is possibleThe Bible tells us so. Jesus Loves Us All (Sung to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”) Jesus loves us all (Cross hands over heart) He loves us all the time. (Turn in a circle) Me and you (Point to yourself and then to someone else) His love is true.( Point up) He loves us all the time! (Cross hands over heart) Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for caring about all kinds of people and for wanting to be our friend. We are so happy that you can do anything! And we love you, Amen.
