Note by an Exchange Volunteer -- the original post was too long, so we've split the lesson into two posts, this post contains:
- Drama
- Puppets
- Art
The Widow’s Mite
Drama Workshop
Summary:
By acting out and discussing the story of the Widow’s Mite children will explore the emotions of the people placing donations in the collection boxes and Jesus’ response to their donations. Children will learn that donations (time or money) to the Kirk help to do God’s work.
Scripture Reference:
Mark 12:41-44
Concepts:
- Jesus sees and appreciates sacrifices and gifts we make however small.
- A gift is special when it is a sacrifice.
- God wants us to give to the church in good times and in bad, whether we are rich or poor.
- We should give to the church because the church does God’s work.
- Even a little gift can be important.
Objectives:
- By acting out and discussing the story of the Widow’s Mite children will explore the emotions of the people placing donations in the collection boxes and Jesus’ response to their donations.
- Children will understand that God sees and appreciates sacrifices and gifts we make however small.
- Children will learn that donations (time or money) to the Kirk help to do God’s work: feeding hungry (Meals on Wheels, Ark Shelter), housing (WIHN), and teaching (church, Sunday school, preschool), etc.
Supplies List:
- Carpet squares or chairs
- Collection box
- Costumes
- Script
- CD player
Leader Preparation:
- Read the scripture ahead of time.
- Gather the materials.
Presentation
Opening - Welcome and Introductions:
Greet the children and introduce yourself
Tell children they will act out the story of the widow’s mite. Explain that a “mite” is a small coin (similar to a penny).
Dig - Main Content and Reflection:
Scripture/Bible Story:
Read the passage together as a group.
Discuss the passage. How do we know that the donators are rich? Do they draw attention to themselves with their dress and large bags of money or how they act? How do we know the widow is poor?
Application:
Ready (Actors needed): Everyone may participate in some role in this drama. Suggestions for actors (may be adjusted to suit class size) are: Jesus-1 person, Widow-1 person, Rich givers-3 or more, Disciples-1 or more, people in church-3 or more.
Set (Scene Set-up): Set up a church using either carpet squares to sit on or chairs. Have a collection box (a covered coffee can might work well since it would make nice clanking noises when coins are added). May add other decorations to church stage as desired. Put on costumes, fancy for rich givers, plain for widow. Have moneybags with “gold”. Have tape player with church doxology and other music.
Action: You may choose to ad-lib the story rather than follow a script depending on the class. See suggested script. Make copies for actors and highlight lines. Some imaginary dialogue has been added to add interest and stimulate discussion. The story is short, you may want to repeat the scene and have children switch roles.
Younger children: The workshop leader should narrate the story while the children mime the actions. The “church-people” actors should be cued to say the “Oohs” and “aahs” when needed. The narrating workshop leader may throw in extra clues as to how the children should act and respond. Eg “the Rich-giver walked boldly and proud. He made a big show of dropping in the money.” “The church people were interested and impressed, nodding to each other”. “The widow came in softly”. “The disciples drew back in surprise at Jesus’ words”.
Sharing and Discussion:
1.Why did Jesus especially appreciate the Widow’s gift of coins? Does this story mean a small gift is always better than a large gift?
Jesus liked the way the widow gave all she had from the heart. He saw her great faith in God and the church’s work. Jesus appreciated how she gave what she had without grumbling or showing off. People can make large or small sacrifices of time or money.
2. What things do we (or our parents) give to the church?
Things: money for offerings used for missionaries, charities, church operation, pennies for hunger, food, (and others)
Time: WIHN (hosts, van drivers, cooks), Habitat for humanity homebuilders, missionaries, Meals on wheels delivery, teachers, etc.
Reflection Time:
Suggestion for journal writing: Have the words to the doxology written on a poster or on strips of paper to hand out to children. Explain that the doxology is a special song that we sing every Sunday after the offering is collected. Read words together. Ask children to record doxology in their journals. (Either copy words or glue pre-printed words into journals).
Doxology:
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise God, all creatures here below;
Praise God above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen
Closing:
Conclude the session with prayer. You may want to sing or say the doxology together for the closing prayer.
A lesson from Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church
A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.
The Widow’s Mite
Workshop leader announces time for “church” to begin. Play church music tape as Jesus, widow, and all actors proceed to stage “church” and sit down.
Jesus: (sits near collection boxes) I’m going to sit here today and watch people put their donations into the collection boxes.
First Rich-giver: (Goes to donation box and puts money in) Here is my donation. I could have used that money to buy some extra donkeys and a flock of goats, oh well. (grumbles and sighs)
People in church: Ooh, look how much he gave!
Second Rich-giver: (Goes to donation box and puts money in, clanking etc.) Here is all the money from my extra change basket. Look it almost fills the collection box.
People in church: Ooh, Aaah, what a rich man!
Third Rich-giver: (Takes two bags of money and puts them in.) This money should help the church most of all.
People in church: Wow! He has brought the most money.
Widow: (walks quietly to collection box and drops two coin in, returns to seat and sits down)
Jesus: (calls disciples over) Listen to me, this poor widow put in more than all the other givers. They gave their extra coins but she put in all she had to live on.
Disciple(s): Her coins are important?
Jesus: Yes! It was a small gift but a big sacrifice for her. It was all she had. A small gift given from the heart is of great value to God. She is rich in faith in God and he will take care of her. (The disciples were amazed)
The Widow’s Mite
Puppets Workshop
Summary:
Children will explore this idea of “giving up” (sacrificing) in their gifts to others using 5 brief skits.
Scripture Reference:
Mark 12: 41-44
Concepts:
- A gift is special when it is a sacrifice.
- An offering can be money, time or talents.
Lesson Objectives:
This workshop will focus on helping children understand the “spirit of giving”. Jesus taught that the widow’s gift was more valuable because she was sacrificing so much to give it. This suggests that our gifts are more special, too, when we sacrifice or “give-up” something. Children will explore this idea of “giving up” (sacrificing) in their gifts to others. They will also discuss that gifts are not always money or presents, but can be time or a talent shared with someone as well.
Leader Preparation:
- Read the scripture ahead of time.
- Gather the materials.
Supplies List:
- Puppets
- Scripts
Presentation
Opening - Welcome and Introductions:
Greet the children and introduce yourself. Tell the children that today they will use the puppets to learn more about giving.
Dig - Main Content and Reflection:
Bible Story:
For the first two weeks of the lesson, it is recommended that the class read the story from the Bible—Mark 12: 41-44. After reading the story—or on the third-fifth weeks of the rotation when the children are already familiar with the story, begin a discussion of it with the following ideas:
What was different about the widow’s gift compared to the rich givers? – The widow was very poor. The other people had plenty of money. The widow gave only a few pennies but the rich people gave many dollars. The rich people didn’t need the money they gave; it was extra. The widow gave all the money she had.
Jesus said the widow’s gift was bigger than all the others. How can that be? -- Jesus was thinking about the effect the gift had on the giver when he said this. For the widow, the gift was everything she had. She could not give any more even if she wanted to. But for the rich people, it was just a little bit of what they had. Jesus said that made the widow’s gift much more valuable even though in dollars it was not worth as much as what the rich people gave. A sacrifice is something that requires the giver to “give up” something. Rather when we give sacrificially, it makes a difference to us and we have to do without something because of what we have given up. The widow is certainly an example of this.
Continue the discussion with the following question:
- Is giving money or buying presents the only things that we have to give? -- No, we can give anything we have; our time, and any talents or abilities we have.
- What might be some examples of this? -- Giving our time to visit someone who is sick or in a nursing home. Sending a card to someone who has a death in the family. Singing in the choir for worship. Helping a younger child with homework.
- What does that tell us about our gifts? The widow could not give very much, but she gave what she could.
- What do you think Jesus is saying about giving in this story? – Opinions will vary, but help the discussion move toward the following ideas: We should have to “give up” something when we give to others. Our giving should not just be our extra money, but we should give enough that we notice that we have given something—we might have to do without something so that we can give to God.
Application:
Note: There are 5 short skits rather than one longer script. Each skit has 2 characters. If time is a problem, or class size complicates equal participation, one or two skits could be eliminated.
Divide the class into 5 groups. Children can decide who will be a puppeteer and who will speak within each group. Depending on class size, some children may do both reading and acting—or one child could do all the acting (puppeteering) or all the reading.
Give each group a skit script and two puppets.
Allow the groups 5 minutes or so to practice their script. Grades 1&2: The shepherd and workshop leader should “speak” the voices while the children act them out. You may want to do this for the other grades as well to keep the pace moving and to allow the children to focus on what is being said and not the mechanics of reading.
If you have a large group of children, you may repeat the skits so everyone has a turn.
After each skit, the workshop leader could ask the puppet a question about some aspect of the skit scenario. “ The puppets should respond. Eg. Speaking directly to the puppet “Don’t you wish you could spend that money on something for yourself?”
At the end of each skit, ask the performers to sit down and have a brief discussion about which gift in the skit would be considered “special”, “best”, or “most valuable” by Jesus based on the Widow’s Mite story.
Act the out the subsequent skits allowing time for a brief discussion at the end of each.
Wrap-up:
Spend a few minutes talking about how sacrificial giving makes the giver feel. Ask the children how they feel when they give a gift they have made or they have earned the money to buy. Do they feel differently when they have been involved in the giving in these ways rather than a parent just buying something for them to give? Help the children realize that even when they “given-up” something they can feel good about how much they have done for someone else—what they have given instead.
Reflection Time:
Tell the younger children to write the name of a friend or relative at the top of the journal page. Tell the older children to write the name of relative at the top of the page and the name of a friend about half way down the page. These names can be anyone they know well and to whom they would like to give a gift. Below each name, ask the children to write at least three gifts they could give this person that they would not buy at a store.
Closing:
Close with a simple prayer about giving, asking God to help us give generously and cheerfully. Ask God to help us see ways we can give to others that does not involve money.
A lesson from Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church
A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.
Script: Which Gift is Special?
Leader Note: These are short skits. Following each skit, stop the action and hold a brief discussion with the children about the gifts being given. What are the people in the stories sacrificing or not sacrificing? It seems worthy to note that in the Widow’s Mite story, Jesus did not say the gifts from the rich people were not good—or that they should not have given them—only that the gift from the widow was more sacrificial. The criteria of sacrifice—what the giver had to “give-up”—can be used to help the children think about sacrificial giving.
SKIT 1
MRS SMITH: “Did you hear about that bad tornado in South Carolina?”
MRS. WILSON: “Yes, I sent a check for $500 last week. I just got a raise.”
MRS. SMITH: “That’s so generous! That money can really help a lot of people! You know I just lost my job so I can’t give such a big gift as yours. I’m leaving tomorrow to go to South Carolina, though. I’ll be working at a Red Cross shelter for 10 days. It must be awful for the people who lost their homes.”
SKIT 2
JORDAN: “Hey, you should see this great e-mail card I sent Grandma for her birthday! She’ll love it! It has this cute little bug that sings and dances! You can even play a game with the bug! Grandma will be so surprised!”
TAYLOR: “I didn’t do anything like that. I wrote Grandma a letter on some notebook paper. I told her about school and I tried to draw a picture of that turtle we found in the backyard last week. I said ‘Happy Birthday’ at the end.”
SKIT 3
MICHAEL: “John, can you go to the Hurricane’s game with me on Friday?”
JOHN: “That would be great! I’d love to go.”
MICHAEL: “Mom says the game will be over about 10 or a little later. You can just spend the night here afterward. That would work out great!”
JOHN: “I’ve never been to a Hurricane’s game before. This will be super!”
MICHAEL: “Ok, we’ll pick you up about 6 on Friday.”
JOHN: “No, wait a minute. I’d better think about this a little bit.”
MICHAEL: “Hey, wait, what’s wrong? I thought you wanted to go!”
JOHN: “I do. I really do. But… well … my neighbor just had a new baby. She’s got a little 3-year old, too. I told her I’d play with the little boy on Saturday so she only had one kid around for awhile. He’s coming to our house at 8 Saturday morning and staying ‘til lunch.”
MICHAEL: “Don’t worry about that. Just give the baby a new rattle and give the little boy an old truck of yours or something. That’ll be the same and you can still come with me.”
SKIT 4
JENNIFER: “You know how Kaitlin loves Winnie the Pooh? I found some fabric with the Pooh characters on it and I made a pillowcase for her. Don’t you think she’ll like that for her birthday? It took me about two hours to make it. My aunt helped me with it.”
AMANDA: “Well, I don’t know about a pillowcase. Surely she’s already got plenty of those. But I got her the newest CD! No one has it yet. She’s going to love it!”
SKIT 5
MR. JOHNSON: “I don’t need these old tools anymore. I got this new set last Christmas. I think I’ll give the old ones to the Dorcas shop. Let’s go now and take them there.”
MRS. JOHNSON: “Well, I can’t go now. I was planning to go to the Food Bank. The newspaper said they needed help sorting all the cans they collected at the State Fair. I’ll be gone until about 4 o’clock. Will you go with me to help?”
The Widow’s Mite
Art Workshop
Summary:
Make a collage of examples of people giving out of faith in every day newspapers and magazines.
Scripture Reference:
Mark 12:41-44 , Luke 21:1-4
Concepts:
- Jesus sees and appreciates sacrifices and gifts we make however small.
- A gift is special when it is a sacrifice.
- God wants us to give to the church in good times and bad, whether we are rich or poor.
- Even a little gift can be important.
Lesson Objectives:
- The students will discuss what the widow gave out of faith.
- The students will identify ways that they can give to the church and community.
- The students will make a collage of examples of people giving out of faith in every day newspapers and magazines.
Teacher preparation in advance:
- Read the scripture passages and attend the Faith Quest Leaders Bible Study.
- Prepare a closing prayer.
- Gathering appropriate magazines that have pictures of people giving to the church and community is the major challenge for this lesson plan. We will be placing a ‘call for magazines’ in the church bulletin. This list should include
· Parenting magazines
· Children’s magazines
· Presbytery / Church magazines/newsletters
If an adequate source of pictures/articles cannot be secured, then the children may be asked to illustrate people giving directly on the posterboard.
Supply List:
- Poster board,
- marker pen
- Scissors for the children to cut out the articles and pictures.
- Glue or paste to attach the pictures to the posterboard.
Presentation
Opening - Welcome and Lesson Introduction:
Greet the children and introduce yourself
Explain the purpose of this workshop.
Dig - Main Content and Reflection:
Scripture/Bible Story:
There are two accounts of this story within the gospel. Ask the children to find each of the passages in their Bibles.
Read the Mark version to the class, as it provides more detail. In later weeks, when the children are familiar with the story, the Luke version may also be used.
Application:
- Discuss with the children what the widow gave to the church. Point out that she probably gave all that she owned, and likely sacrificed her food money to the church.
- Ask the children to identify ways that people give out of faith to the church today. Be sure to point out that money is just one way that people give. Ask the children if they can think of people who give generously. One example would be nuns and monks, who forego worldly possessions to focus on serving God.
- Make a collage. Distribute magazines that contain pictures and stories of people giving to the church and/or community.
- Allot 15 minutes for the students to find and cut out their pictures and articles.
- At the top of a large piece of posterboard, write “The Gifts People Make.” Ask each person, to paste their pictures and articles to the posterboard.
- Once all the pictures are attached, ask each person to identify and describe a picture or article they attached that shows someone giving. Ask the children to share their thoughts about the picture they attached. What was the person giving? Was the gift a sacrifice? Limit everyone to 1 picture or article.
Older children:
The older children will be more adept at perusing the magazines, and they will be able to read articles. They may cut out just word headings as well.
Younger Children:
Younger children may work in teams of two for identifying pictures of people giving to the church or community. The younger children will be more focused on finding pictures instead of articles.
Reflection Time:
List 2 ways that your family currently gives out of faith to the church or community.
Identify something else that you could give to the church that would be pleasing to God.
Closing:
At 10:45 ask the students to close their journals and sit quietly for prayer.
Prayer: You can ask if anyone would like to pray, but have a prayer ready in case no one volunteers. Thank God for giving us wealth and opportunity, and pray for those that are less fortunate. Ask Him for the strength to give back all that He has given to us.
Tidy and Dismissal: Ask children to help tidy up. If time permits, find a place to hang the poster on the wall for future classes to see.
