Be sure that you have the surprise bag, your Bible, and teaching picture with you. If you have had children find and mark the lesson text in their Bibles, make sure the children bring their Bibles to lesson time.
Ask children to show you their eyes. If they’re having difficulty focusing their attention, play peek-a-boo once or twice and then remind them that good listeners will show you their eyes.
Ask children to show you their ears. Pretend to “turn your ears on” and remind them that good listeners use their ears when a teacher is speaking.
Ask children to show you their mouth. Place your finger over your mouth, and whisper to remind them that good listeners have quiet mouths.
Ask the children to show you their hands. They will repeat this simple rhyme with you, doing as the words say:
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Give them a little clap, clap, clap.
Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Put them in your lap, lap, lap
Using the Surprise Bag to Introduce the Lesson
Open bag, and let every child see what is inside.
(Don’t allow children to leave their seat or try to hold the object.)
Using the object, tell the children the Bible lesson.
Encourage interaction by asking them what they think came next, how they might feel, etc.
Review/Retell the Lesson using Visual and Auditory Cues
- Use the teaching picture to review the details of the lesson and draw their attention from the object to the actual lesson. (Often simply describing the picture and asking questions will encourage children to participate in the review.
- Tell children that the lesson you just told them is found in ________book of the Bible. Tell them to open their Bibles using their bookmark. Ask them which book they found that morning. (i.e. Luke) Ask them if they can find the same lesson in their Bible if this means it’s true. (YES). Ask them if God’s Word is true. (YES) Retell the story as you are “reading” it from the Bible, encouraging children to follow along and asking review questions.
- Remind children to gently place Bibles back on shelf and to treat God’s Word with respect. After they return Bibles, children should stand on the red carpet and get ready to practice their memory verse. (Posted on the wall to your left, above the teaching pictures). Practice 2-3 times, changing from soft or loud, etc. to encourage repetition.
- Tell children it’s time to talk to God, and hold hands to form a circle around the red carpet. Ask if anyone wants to pray aloud. Keep it short unless a child chooses to pray.
Reflections Along the Journey 