Bible Story: “Daniel Chose to Obey”
Scripture: Daniel 1:1-20
Babies
The parents of the children you teach are fortunate because you are regular teachers. Their children are building relationships with you. The babies recognize your soft voice and they know you by the way you hold them and relate to them. Something so simple but so consistent helps babies recognize others who love and care for them. Why is this so important? Because babies need the consistency of care from those who genuinely provide for their needs. They will learn about God and Jesus because they know you and are learning to trust you. What a marvelous opportunity you have as you mention, “God loves you, and I love you, too.” They learn to believe the things you say.
1s
Ones will learn more about obeying God when they have experience doing what mom or dad asks or what teachers and others may ask of them. Encourage ones to follow instructions by asking them to roll the ball to you and you roll it back; make a game of it. Gather a few toys such as pop-beads, blocks, or pull toys and play along with the children. As you play, mention: “I like to play this game together—you do what I ask. The Bible tells us to do what God says.” Remember that children will one day learn to do what God says, but they need positive experiences in learning to follow instructions.
2s
Locate a small paper bag and index cards (found in the resource room). On the cards print descriptive words such as Jump Up and Down, Turn Around, Touch Your Nose, Bend Down, etc. Put the cards in the bag. Say to the children: “Let’s play a game. I will read a card and then you do what it says.” Encourage the children when they follow your instructions. These simple instructions are the beginnings of doing what others ask. When twos have positive experiences like these, they may choose to do what you ask more readily. They are learning that playing and trusting you is fun. State: “Our Bible verse today is ‘Do what God says.’ ”
3s-Pre-K – Puzzle or Group Time
Gather pretend food items from the homeliving kitchen area and place them in a bag. Ask the children to see if they can guess the food items in the bag. Describe each food item by: its color, its size, soft or hard, rough or smooth, fruit or vegetable, etc. When the children guess, take the food item out of the bag and place it on the floor in front of you. When the game has ended, mention: “Daniel chose the food to eat because God had told him to eat good food. We can do what God says, too.”
Kindergarten – Group Time
On a large piece of art paper, print the statement Choose to obey. Print the children’s names on the sheet of paper and leave room for you to record answers. After you tell the Bible story about Daniel, ask: “Do your parents ask you to do things at home? Do you make the right choices to obey your mom and dad?” Guide the children to tell you what their parents ask them to do and record their answers beside their names. Have fun with this activity. Mention: “Daniel chose to obey God. You can choose to obey, too.” Together say the Bible verse “Do what God says.”