Week 2: Jan 12

Our theme for January is "Who is Jesus and Why Does it Matter?" 

*Since we got off track this was actually our Week 2 lesson

Week 1- Jesus as a Kid (Luke 2:41-52)

The first week in the new year is a great time for self-reflection. Most kids in school will have to write their own resolution when they get back in their classrooms, so I like to do something a little different at church. A lot of families make their resolution to get back in church so I generally try to find something fairly simple that can be done with any number of students (we have usually between 25-35 kids each week, but New Years' often brings in 40+).

This year I'm going to focus on what Jesus was like when He was a kid, compared to what they are like today. I'll put my kids in groups by tables and give each a piece of big chart paper. They will brainstorm characteristics kids have, and characteristics Jesus has. After about 8 minutes, I'll collect all papers (probably 3-4 since our tables are large) and hang them for the kids to see. 

Then we'll read through the thoughts together. I'll hand out a venn diagram copied on regular white paper for the kids to fill out as I fill out a large version on the wall. We'll talk about how we are different from Jesus, and how we are the same. The kids should understand that Jesus was fully God but also fully human, and He probably enjoyed a lot of the things they do today (running outside, playing with friends, etc.) For the kids that can't write, I'll let them draw a picture of themselves in the first circle, a picture of Jesus in the last, and something that they have in common in the middle. 

Here is a sketch I made, but it will be a bit neater for the kids. If you've never used a venn diagram before, you can see how the bubbles overlap with similarities, and differences are on either side. 

Here is the one I made for my kids. I used ScrappinDoodle's awesome border graphic and a font by Khrys Bosland.

Here are a few of my kiddos' charts... I always set out crayons when we're writing for the kids who finish fast and the littles who draw pictures instead.