The Tiny Seed - Autumn - Everything Has a Season

Autumn / Everything Has a Season...The Tiny Seed

Introduction: Show the children a collection of leaves and other Fall items. Discuss how God made the trees and the seasons. Talk about how trees change throughout the seasons.

Fall Fingerplay:

Red and yellow, green and brown (count off colors on fingers)

Leaves are falling to the ground (simulate falling leaves with hands)

We pile them up, oh so high ("pile" leaves with hands)

Then we JUMP in (pretend to jump in leaves)

My friends and I!

Story: Ten Tall Oaktrees, by Richard Edwards. Discuss how God wants us to care for the Earth He created. Discuss ways we can care for the Earth.

Song: "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," from "Sunday School Songs" recording by Cedarmont Kids.

Fall Song/Game: "The Leaves on the Trees" (tune: "The Wheels on the Bus")

Form a circle with the children then sing:

"The leaves on the trees came tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down (flutter hands down while singing...)

The leaves on the trees came tumbling down, all over town (flutter hands down then turn around.)"

"The leaves on the trees are red, red, red. Red, red, red. Red, red, red (everyone wearing red goes to center of circle and shake themselves...)

The leaves on the trees are red, red, red...all over town."

Repeat for orange, yellow, green, brown, and purple (or any other colors, until all children have had a chance to be in the center of the circle.)

Story: The Tiny Seed, by Eric Carle. Briefly discuss the significance of a plant's life cycle.

Bible Verse Bracelets: (Print out, on a brightly-colored sheet of paper, today's verse repeated down the page. Cut between each verse so that you have 10-15 strips, each with the verse printed on it. Ask the children to form a line, and using tape to stick the ends together, wrap a "Bible Verse Bracelet" round each little wrist. Some children do not want to wear it; in that case, hand it to them and tell them to use the verse as a bookmark. The children love these, and come to expect them at each session! The verses also find their way home to parents and siblings, and help to spread the news about the storytime topic.)

Ecclesiastes 3:1 "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven."

Prayer: "Thank you, God, for the trees, and for the different seasons You created. Help us to take care of the beautiful world You made. Amen."

Art: Leaf Rubbings.

Use a variety of boldly-textured leaves. Help the children place paper over the leaves and make colorful rubbings using pencil, chalk, and/or pastels.

The Grouchy Ladybug: Story time themes: Insects, Summer, Humility, The Golden Rule, Manners, Telling Time

Title: The Grouchy Ladybug
Author/Illustrator: Eric Carle
Word Density: Low to Medium
My Recommended Age-Appropriateness: Preschool to 8

Summary:

In this Eric Carle classic, a ladybug (or ladybird, or ladybeetle, depending on your locale,) gets up on the very wrong side of the rose petal. Determined to pick a fight with every obliging creature it runs into, the poor ladybug moves through its (notice its gender is undefined) day, hour by hour, and finds absolutely no contentment. What it doesn't realize until the very end is that happiness is a state of mind; the ladybug chooses to be grumpy, and so grumpy it is. The silly bug challenges progressively bigger and scarier and more powerful animals (and even a giant whale's fin, in a moment of final desperation.) Finally, getting what it asked for, the ladybug lands right back where it began its dreary day. In humility, the ladybug learns how to be accepting, pleasant, and friendly at last. Carle's vibrant illustrations, the exciting cut-away design of the book, and its progression showing an analog clock moving through the hours of a day, all combine to keep this classic story a vital part of any preschool classroom or storytime session. It compliments other books carrying the same themes of grouchiness, bad days, and bad manners, such as A Pig's Book of Manners, by Nicholas Allan and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst.

Pick and choose among the following themes, Bible verses, and songs to create a lesson that best ties in with your current theme or objective:

Christian Themes:

1. Humility.
2. Being a good neighbor.
3. Treating others like you would like to be treated.
4. Do not think more highly of yourselves than you ought to.

Preschool Themes:

1. Grouchiness.
2. Manners.
3. Being nice.
4. Insects.
5. Telling time.

Scripture Connections:

1. Romans 12:3 "I realize how kind God has been to me, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you." (CEV)

2. Matthew 23:12 "Whoever makes himself great will be made humble. Whoever makes himself humble will be made great." (NCV)

3. Luke 6:31 "Treat others just as you want to be treated." (CEV)

4. Matthew 22:39 "And the second command is like the first: 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself." (NCV)

Song Connections:

1. "The Selfish Song," by Veggie Tales.

2.  "Telling Time," by Jennifer Fixman, "We Love Math With Miss Jenny."

3. "Show Kindness Every Day," from Jack Hartmann's "Counting Piggy Tails - Better than Counting Sheep."

4. "Living In Harmony," by A Capella Kids.

Enrichment:

If you use this lesson during the Spring or Summer, take the children outside and try to catch ladybugs. Place the caught specimens in a bug viewing container and let the children study them, using magnifying glasses and sufficient light. If no ladybugs are to be found, provide a library table with lots of nice glossy books about ladybugs for the children to peruse.

The Secret Birthday Message: Storytime themes: Birthdays, Pirates, Directional Words, Shapes, Following Jesus

                              

Title:  The Secret Birthday Message

Author/Illustrator:  Eric Carle

Word Density: Low
Age-Appropriateness: Toddler to 8

Summary: 

I get really, really excited about ANY of Eric Carle's books. But I get especially happy when I find a new one (or in this case, old one.) First published in West Germany in 1971, The Secret Birthday Message is a little gem. With characteristically wonderful artwork, Carle presents a simple idea. A boy named Tim discovers a mysterious coded message in his room on his birthday-eve. In it are specific instructions for where to find his birthday present. Full of symbols, shapes, and directional words like "in," "behind," and "through," Carle uses specially-cut pages that lead the reader on a literal treasure hunt through the book. And of course, in classic Carle fashion, there's a surprise at the end of the search. A thoroughly lovely and educational presentation by my favorite author, artist, philosopher, and universal grandpa, Eric Carle.

Using this story as the basis for your lesson, choose from or combine the following themes found in this book to correspond with your current curriculum unit or lesson objectives:

Preschool themes:

1. Secret messages/Pirates.

2. Birthdays.

3. Shapes.

4. Directional words.

Christian themes:

1. Follow the Savior.

2. Jesus' Birthday.

3. The Greatest Treasure is Peace With God.

4. God's message for us.

Scripture connections:

1. Matthew 6:19-21: "Don't store treasures for yourselves here on earth where moths and rust will destroy them and thieves can break in and steal them. But store your treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. Your heart will be where your treasure is." (New Century Version)

2. John 8:12: "Later, Jesus talked to the people again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. The person who follows me will never live in darkness but will have the light that gives life.'" (New Century Version)

3. Acts 10:36: "You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all." (NIV)

4. Ephesians 4:6: "[There is] one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." (NIV)Song suggestions:

1. "Follow the Saviour" by Colin Buchanan from "Follow the Saviour" CD.

2. "The Greatest Treasure" by Colin Buchanan, from his "Practise Being Godly" CD.

3. "The Best Book to Read is the Bible" from Colin Buchanan's "Follow the Saviour" CD.

4. Song, "Luke, Chapter 9 Verse 23," from Colin Buchanan's "Practise Being Godly" CD.

·Enrichment: Provide a "secret message" for the children to decode. Place a bag of treats in a hidden area. Draw a map using symbols and pictures, and show it to the children. Help them decipher the map and find the treats.

                      

Walter the Baker: Themes: Confession/Redemption, Honesty, Making Mistakes/Telling the Truth, Occupations, Pretzels, Multicultural Units

Title: Walter the Baker by Eric Carle
Word Density: Medium
My Recommended Age-Appropriateness: Preschool to 12

CHRISTIAN THEMES: 
1. Confession and honesty.
2. Redemption.



PRESCHOOL THEMES: 
1. Making mistakes.
2. Telling the truth, even when it's hard.
3. Pretzels.
4. Occupations and community workers.
5. Multicultural units.

SUMMARY: Walter the Baker tells the tale, in Eric Carle's own imaginative way, of the origin of the humble...pretzel. More like a fairy tale than his "Very" series, (The Very Grouchy Lady Bug, The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, etc.,) this story is wordier and can be used for an older audience. And what fun! Walter, the "Very Gifted Baker," pleases the Duke and Duchess every morning with his fantastic sweet rolls. But one day, an accident causes him to make a grave mistake, and Walter substitutes water for the milk in the recipe. He hopes no one will find out, but the sophisticated palates of his rulers detect the problem straightaway. The Duke wants to banish Walter forever, but then decides to offer him a chance for redemption. Walter is challenged to invent a roll through which the "rising sun can shine three times." But to make things trickier, he added, "it must be made from one piece of dough, and...it must taste good." Walter fears he is good as lost, until another accident saves the day. With lively and colorful collage illustrations, Carle's sense of humor shines through. I especially liked the pages where Walter is shown struggling to invent the new roll, and bits of dough show up in strange places, even on the poor, intrusive cat. Very fun even on a totally superficial level, Walter the Baker can be used to draw out deeper levels of meaning. Use it in storytime lessons teaching about mistakes, honesty, and redemption. Another Eric Carle classic!

Pick and choose from the suggested themes, Bible verses, and songs to create a lesson plan that best suits your current teaching unit or learning objective.

SCRIPTURE CONNECTIONS:

1. 1 John 1:9 "But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away." (CEV)

2. Psalm 34:22 "The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him." (NIV)

SONG CONNECTIONS:

1. "My Reedemer Lives" from the Hillsong Kids CD "Tell the World"

2. "Second Chances" from the Veggie Tales soundtrack from "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A Veggie Tales Movie" CD

ENRICHMENT: Take your group to a local bakery to watch how pretzels or other baked goods are made. Bring some warm pretzels back for your children to enjoy.