The Beatitudes

Preschool, ages 3 – 5

Overview of all workshops in this Preschool Rotation:

• Art #1 – making a bee puppet reminds us to "bee" kind, "bee" humble…
• Art #2 - Play-doh becomes a medium for talking about feelings. (I developed this second Art workshop for our 2nd time through this lesson material, because we had numerous dairy allergies in our preschool classes who couldn't use the Cooking lesson.)
• Games – games that reinforce being kind and loving others – “Jesus Says”, “Hug a Bee”, and “Beanbag Toss”.
• Drama – role-play situations – practice living the Beatitudes.
• Video – Veggie Tales “Madame Blueberry” – a thankful heart is a happy heart.
• Cooking – all of this lesson can not be included in this posted set, for copyright purposes. See reference to book used (in the last post).
  
  

Scripture Reference:

Matthew 5:1-10

Key Bible Point:
Jesus teaches us how to be kind, gentle, and loving.

Rotation Objectives

Children will learn that:

• Jesus teaches us through stories in the Bible.
• Jesus taught us the “Beatitudes”—sayings that teach us how to act, including being gentle, kind, and loving.
• When we follow Jesus’ teaching, we can be truly happy.

For the Bible Background material on this lesson view our post at:
https://www.rotation.org/topic...8215984263#609105352

A Note about our Preschoolers
Our preschoolers include ages 3, 4 and Kindergarteners. They stay in their own rooms and the workshops come to them. As you will see we keep things simple for this age group.

Their basic schedule is:
15 min. free play
20-30 min. to do the lesson
15 min. music (led by music director)
The workshop leaders determine how to allocate time based on children’s needs.

Art Workshop #1

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Make a bee puppet to remind us to “bee” a good friend, be kind, loving, and helpful.

Reminder: This is a Preschool lesson set. Children in grades 2 and up won't want to make a bee puppet!

For scripture and objectives - see above.

Leader Preparation

• Read the scripture for this lesson.
• Read and reflect on the overview material provided for this lesson.
• Prepare an opening and/or closing prayer in case you need one.
• Gather the materials.
  
  

Supplies List

• Yellow felt bee “bodies” (one per student) – sewn from a rectangle of yellow felt, approx. 3” x 9” (folded in half and sides sewn closed in a rough bee shape – i.e. tapered to head)
• Sample bee puppet
• Black pipe cleaners; Sharp scissors (adult use only)
• Black crayons
• Wiggly eyes (two per student); White glue; Small paper plates; Q-tips
• White “fun foam”; Bee wing template
• Sharpie fine-point pen (adult use only)
• Coloring page (optional)

Preparation Required Before Start of Class:

• Cut out bee wings from fun foam. (Use template provided or “eyeball” it). [Older children might want to cut out their own wings using paper.]
• Cut pipe cleaners into 3 pieces (use 1 piece per student).
• Put a small amount of glue on several paper plates. Set out Q- tips as glue “dispensers”.
• If you look at the sample bee, you’ll see where you need to cut little slits in the felt for the antennae and the wings – cut slits for the number of bees you think you might need.

Lesson Plan: Opening

Greet the children and introduce yourself.

Begin with a prayer.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection

Whenever it is appropriate, gather children in a circle on the rug. Allow them to respond to the following questions (try to give everyone a chance to participate):

• Ask: How many of you like having friends?
• What do you like to do with your friends?
• If you want to be friends with someone, how do you treat them?

Do:  Repeat some of the “features” of being a good friend that the children have shared.
Say:  Good friends share with one another, good friends are kind to each other, and good friends help each other. Today we’re learning that the Bible teaches us about being good friends. The Bible tells us how God wants us to live. Listen to this story.

Do:  Read the story from one of the story Bibles or storybooks. As the Rotation progresses, ask the students to tell you the story they’ve been hearing.

Do:  Take a minute to talk to the children about what they are going to be doing today.
Say:  The story in the Bible that teaches us how to be good friends is called “the Beatitudes”. Say that word with me, “the Beatitudes”.
Bring out the sample bee. Have him buzz around and talk to the children, asking what they are learning.

Do:  Have the puppet say: Since I am a bee, I know all about the “bee-attitudes.” The “bee-attitudes” are “bee kind,” “bee loving,” and “bee helpful.”

Do:  Have the bee invite the children to make a bee just like him.

Instructions for bee puppet:
Show children how to use black crayons to give their bee stripes, and a face. They’ll have to press down, but the crayon does work on felt. [Note: do not use washable markers, as the color will rub off on everything!]

Allow them to shape the pipe cleaners into antennae. Show them how to weave the antennae through the two holes you precut at the top of the bee. Allow them to weave the wings onto the bee’s back and glue on the eyes. Show them how to use the puppet.

Be sure to write the child’s name on their project (on the back of the wing is a good place, using a Sharpie pen.) Involve the students in the cleanup process.

Reflect (”Play” with the puppets)
When a group of children has finished their bees, have them bring their bees to the rug.

Say: Let’s use our bees to learn the Beatitudes. I’ll tell you an example. If you think I’m describing living as Jesus taught, the Bee-attitudes, have your bee buzz in the air like this (show them). If you think it’s not, keep your bee on your lap.

• Sally comforts her friend when she hurts herself on the playground. (Buzz)
• Your sister got a really neat toy for Christmas. You took it from her.
• Brian always wants to choose what game we should play.
• Tony helps his brother and sister settle their argument. (Buzz)
• Emily has Amy over for a play date. When Amy goes home she thanks Emily for having her over. (Buzz)

Add some of your own ideas or get the children to make some up!

Closing
Say:  You may take your bee home. As you play with your bee, remember that God wants us to be loving, kind, and helpful.

Ask children if they have anything they would like to pray for. Include these requests in your prayer. Optional words: Dear God, be with us as we grow and learn. Help us remember to live as you taught us. Amen.

Resources:
Our Basic bee design (Busy Bee) from: https://www.daniellesplace.com/ which now requires a membership subscription to access.

Art Workshop #2

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Use Play-doh as a medium for talking about feelings.

For scripture and objectives - see above.

Leader Preparation:

• Read the scripture for this lesson.
• Read and reflect on the overview material provided for this lesson.
• Gather the following materials.

Supplies List

• Stuffed animal (a cat or a dog)
• Play-doh for each child
• Optional: A non-stick surface for each child (ex. a plastic plate) in rooms where table space is limited
• Bible and accompanying story text (see attached handout)

Lesson Plan: Opening

Greet the children and introduce yourself.

Begin with a prayer.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection

Do: Gather children at the tables (preferred for working with play-doh) or in a circle on the rug. Have the stuffed animal in your lap. Ask about their pets or pets they might like to have (allow everyone to respond).

Ask: When you’ve played with a pet, has anyone ever told you, “be gentle”?
What does it mean to “be gentle”?
What about being gentle with people—how are we acting if we are gentle with someone?

Say: When we are gentle we think about other people’s feelings, and we use words like please and thank you. We are learning a Bible story that teaches us to be gentle. In our Bible story today, Jesus is grown up and teaches instructions on how people should act. These instructions are called “the Beatitudes.” Listen to this story from the Bible.

Do:  Read the story from the Bible. (Hold open the Bible with the alternate wording tucked inside. (As the Rotation progresses, ask the students to tell you the story they’ve been hearing.)

Say: Sometimes when you read the Beatitudes, instead of talking about being gentle, the words say, “Happy are the meek.” Meek is another word for gentle. When we follow God’s teaching—when we are gentle with others—we can be truly happy. Let’s talk some more about being happy, as we do a project.

Do: Give each child some play-doh. In spaces where a table surface is not available, also hand out to each child a non-stick surface (ex. a plastic plate).

Ask: How do you look when you’re happy?
Do:  Show them how to make a smiley face using play dough. (Example: make a pancake for a face and form indentations for a smile and for eyes).
Ask: What makes you happy?

Do:  Have them create something (or a couple of things) that makes them happy. Let others guess what they have made. (Examples: heart for love, cake for birthdays, etc.)

Do: Hold a Bible.
Say: What makes me really happy is learning about God’s word in the Bible. The Bible teaches us how to live. Today we learned about Jesus teaching the Beatitudes. Jesus told us to be kind, and loving, and gentle with others. When we live as Jesus taught, we can be truly happy.

Do: Have them each say one thing about God that makes them happy. Have children make using Play-doh, a cross, a book (for the Bible), a rainbow, or something else that shows how God brings happiness to people.

Closing

Say: When we remember to be gentle it makes God happy and it makes us happy too.

Prayer: (Note: Prayer can be done whenever it fits in; it does not have to be a part of the “closing”.) Ask children if they have anything they would like to pray for. Include these requests in your prayer. Optional words: Dear God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for teaching us through the Bible. Be with us as we grow. Help us to remember to be gentle. Amen.

Resources:
The Humongous Book of Games for Children’s Ministry. Loveland, CO: Group Publishing, 2002.

A Lesson Set written by Carol Hulbert from First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor, MI
Copyright 2009 First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor, MI.
Permission to copy materials granted for non-commercial use provided credit is given and all cited references remain with this material
Edited in 2021 to add information about our 2nd time through this Rotation