Here is a painting you might wish to share with students. 

At the following website you can watch a video that talks about the painting, explaining some of the symbolism (which is rich!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRPLiTZAry4

 Updated link provided by LeahW on 1/7/14. (Thanks Leah!)

--Carol

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Image is a photographic reproduction of a public domain work of art. (Such reproductions are in the public domain in the United States.)

Science Idea

Just processing here, but our kids LOVE science, so I try to fit a science lesson in fairly often.

For this story of Jesus in the temple, we are looking at submission to authority. How Jesus submitted and went with his parents in the end.

The idea forming is using magnets. We have iron shavings, that would "submit" to the will of the magnet. We could use pencil shavings as an example of NOT submitting - they will not go with the magnet.

OR

I'm thinking of those little games (birthday favors) that have the (I hope) metal balls inside. The object is to shake the game and get the 4 balls in the 4 holes. If the balls are metal, using a magnet will make the game pretty easy, and they are cheap enough that each child can have one.

Staci

Create a Small Book (Jr./Sr. High Class) 

For our rotation on Jesus as a boy at the temple we had three different workshops: Carpentry, Arts and Crafts, and film.  I got ideas for the Carpentry and Craft lesson from this website but, of course, changed them to suit my purposes.  One of things that was important to me in this story is what it means for Jesus to come to the temple; what it means for him to be nearly the age of a Bar Mitzvah and to be joining the community of faith.  So the craft workshop focused on this aspect of the story--Jesus' coming of age. The students then translated these ideas to what it means to be confirmed in our church and what it means for them to participate in the community of faith.  All ages of students in our Sunday school were encouraged to think about what it is they have to offer.  Even the youngest among us can contribute from their gifts and abilities and talents. 

Lesson Attached:  With each class we then made a small book in which they recorded their thoughts and ideas.  I'll attach a copy of the lesson plan that was used with our Jr./Sr. High class.