Here is a fun Bible time idea: How many Children were Sitting with Jesus?-Teaching Preschoolers About Jesus
Teaching preschoolers about Jesus is essential. There is so much for them to learn. For example, how many shepherds visited baby Jesus in Bethlehem? How many jars of water did Jesus turn into wine? How many lepers thanked Jesus for healing them? Preschoolers are learning their numbers and counting is a life-long skill they are learning now. So, why not combine counting with God’s amazing Word to make this endeavor extra fun? Here is a fun Bible school activity that you can play with your preschoolers that I call “How many Children were Sitting with Jesus?”
Here’s what you do:
For this activity you will need to find some Bible story pictures that contain quantities of items that your children can count. The best place to find these pictures is online. Go online to ”Google Images” and type in the name of a Bible story. Here is a list of stories I suggest:
1. How many shepherds visited baby Jesus? – Luke 2:8-21
2. How many listened to Jesus teaching in the temple? – Luke 2:41-52
3. How many children were sitting with Jesus? – Matthew 18:1-14
4. How many sheep are with Jesus? – John 10:14
5. How many jars of water were turned into wine? – John 2:1-11
6. How many lepers thanked Jesus for healing them? – Luke 17:11-19
7. How many loaves? Fish? Did Jesus feed the 5,000 with? Baskets of leftovers?
8. How many friends were with Jesus at His last supper? – Luke 22:1-23
9. How many crosses were on the hill? – Matthew 27:27-56
10.How many angels were at Jesus’ empty tomb? – Matthew 28:1-10
11.How many friends walked with Jesus on the road to Emmaus? – Luke 24:13-32
12.How many angels were with Jesus when He went up to Heaven? – Acts 1:9-11
Choose pictures that are simple in nature, not too ornate and as stated before, find pictures that have countable objects. Once you have these pictures, print them off and then laminate them for long-term use. Next, make number cards that reflect the numbers of objects found in the pictures. Place them on a pocket chart or out on a table for all to see. Then grab a bucket or basket that the numbers will go into. Finally, have some kind of countable treat such as raisins or gold fish crackers or carrots.
Here’s how to play:
Pick a child to choose a Bible story picture, then ask him the counting question. Encourage him to look at the picture and count the objects he was asked to count. Then have him find the number and place it in the basket. Go through all the Bible story pictures in the same fashion. After all the stories have been shown, have a child reach into the bucket of numbers. The number he picks out will be the amount of treats everyone will receive. If the child picks a low number such as 1, 2 or 3, you may want to allow him to pick another number so that the amount of the treat will be larger. Have fun!
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“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom as you sing psalms, hymns, and spirituals with gratitude to God.”
Colossians 3:16
