Monday, August 17, 2009

Fruit of the Spirit for Preschoolers: Love

Here is my plan for the first four weeks of this study - I will continue to share in four week segments throughout the school year. This month, we'll spend one week on introducing the Fruit of the Spirit and the remaining three weeks on the first quality: love. Note: to print journal pages, click on each one to enlarge and then save or print.

Week One: Intro

Day 1:
* Pray for an open and listening heart. (Psalm 25:4-5)
* Read Galatians 5:22-23
* What is fruit?
* Where does it grow?
* Do these kinds of fruit sound good?
* Do you think acting these ways makes God happy?
* Sing "Fruit of the Spirit" (Steve Green cd)
* Ask God to grow this fruit in us. Pray.

Day 2:
* Pray
* How many fruits can you name from our Bible verse yesterday?
* Read Galatians 5:22-23
* Who is the Spirit?
* Talk about the three parts of the Trinity - use an apple to explain. The seeds, the flesh and the peel are all the apple, but three parts of the apple.
* Sing and march to "Fruit of the Spirit"
* Finish by holding hands in a circle for prayer.

Day 3:
* Pray
* Review Galatians 5:22-23
* Color fruit and glue onto tree page

* Introduce notebooks/journal
* Ask God to help us as we learn more about what pleases Him.

Day 4:
* Pray
* Review verse and picture from yesterday.
* Read Fruit of the Spirit book
* Sing
* Pray

Day 5:
* Pray
* Read Galatians 5:22-23
* Tell me what you have learned this week! Review.
* Sing
* Pray

Week Two: Love

Day 1:
* Pray
* What is the first Fruit of the Spirit in the list? Review Galatians 5:22-23
* What does it mean to show love?
* Give examples: Does taking your sister's toy show love or does sharing a toy with your sister show love?
* How do you spell love?
* Learn the sign for love.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read John 3:16 and teach motions (teach whatever motions come naturally to you and your children!)
* Who does it say showed love? (God)
* Who does God show love to? (the world)
* Are you part of the world? (YES!)
* Does God love you? (YES!)
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read John 3:16 and review motions.
* How do we know God loves us? (He sent His only Son to die for us!)
* Who is God's Son? (Jesus)
* If we believe in Him, where will we live forever? (Heaven)
* Share plan of salvation if your child is ready to hear at this point.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* John 3:16 with motions
* Journal: color and talk about what we've learned this week


* Sing
* Pray

Day Five:
* Pray
* Review Galatians 5:22-23
* Review John 3:16
* Sing
* Pray

Week Three: Love

Day One:
* Pray
* Review two verses.
* We have talked about how God loves us, but how can we show love to God?
* by reading His Word
* by obeying Him
* by praying
* by memorizing His Word
* by how we treat others
* by singing songs of praise to Him
* Read Deuteronomy 6:5
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read Deuteronomy 6:5
* What does it mean to love God with all our heart? soul? mind?
* Talk about the word "all" - show two jars one with something in it and one empty. Pour some of jar one into jar two.
- Did I give all I had or some?
- What do I need to do to give all?
* That is how we are to love God!
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* Read Deuteronomy 6:5
* Mark several stories in a Children's Bible: Noah, Abraham, Daniel, Cain, David, Esther, Pharoah, Israelites disobeying God, etc...
* Have children look at stories.
- Did this person show by the way they lived that they love God with all their heart, soul, mind?
- Which ones do you want to be like?
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Read Deuteronomy 6:5
* Journal: help each child write down why they love God!

* Sing
* Pray: offer praise through what is on journal sheet

Day Five:
* Pray
* Deuteronomy 6:5
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

Week Four: Love

Day One:
* Pray
* Review verses
* John 13:34
* Who are we to show love to?
* How can we show love to others? Name some specific ways.
* Do you know what the rest of the verse says? It says that other people can see that we love God and are learning from Him by the way we act to each other.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Two:
* Pray
* Read John 13:34
* Show journal page - look at lakes: we are to love God first and more than anything else! Then, we are to love our family - after that, we show love to our friends, neighbors, church and the world around us.

* Color and put in journal.
* Sing
* Pray

Day Three:
* Pray
* John 13:34
* Read or paraphrase Matthew 25:35-40 (here is a sample of a simple paraphrase):
- There is a story in the Bible about people who are hungry and don't have enough to eat or drink. But, Jesus said that those who loved Him gave them something to eat. Was that showing love? You bet! It was showing love to the person who was hungry - but also to God because they were helping take care of God's people. Did you know that the Bible says the way we treat other people is the same way we treat God?!
* Take each child aside individually and ask/help them think of something they could do to show love to another family member today. (Make their bed, do a chore, put clothes away, share a toy, etc...)
* Sing
* Pray

Day Four:
* Pray
* Read John 13:34
* How did you show love yesterday?
* We have talked to God about how we love Him (see journal page from last week) and we have shown love in our family, now we are going to reach out and show love.
* Give each child some spending money. Go to store and purchase food for those who don't have enough. Deliver to food pantry. (You could substitute anything similar that works in your situation!)
* How did it make you feel to show love?
* How do you think you made God feel?
* Sing
* Pray

Day Five:
* Pray
* Review
* Sing
* Pray

** Let me know how the journal pages print - I drew them on 9x12 pieces of paper and am still working out how to best fit them into an 8 1/2 x 11 format.

18 comments:

Lecia said...

Monica,

Thank you so much for sharing this study. It looks wonderful! I plan to print them out each month and use them with my three year old.
You are a blessing and encouragement to other families raising their children for the glory of the Lord!

Leanne said...

two other great books on the fruit of the spirit are from Jim and Elizabeth George...
A Little Boy After God's Own Heart
A Little Girl After God's Own Heart
They have beautiful examples and illustrations, also!

Ami said...

Thank you for your hard work!

These printed great. I printed them landscape, when necessary, and also made the header and footer not print. I lost about a half-inch to margins but they're going to work great!

Anonymous said...

Wow, this is wonderful!! tammyp

Unknown said...

This so neat, Monica!!! Can't wait to see how your girls grow with this!! I'm trying to adapt the two books I just got (God's Wisdom for Little Girls & Little Boys) to a lesson plan of some sort...I will have to use some of your ideas!

Oh...and I made the chore charts!! YEA! I'm tweaking my chore list and still trying to figure out what works best for our family, so when I finish that I will post some pics!

Thank you, thank you for all the inspiration!!!

Blessings,
Amy

Blissful & Domestic said...

so far so great. The pictures printed out fine. Thankyou for posting the whole four weeks. I am excited to start this with my littles and being able to fine tune it towards their needs. What a blessing it is that you share your inspiration on your blog so others may benefit and grow as well. Thankyou Monica

joysmallpack said...

Monica, This is just awesome! I LOVE how you have put it together, and it is so special to have scripture studying time with our children. Thank you very, very much for sharing with us the results of all the time and care that you have put into investing in this!!! The fruit of the spirit is so applicable every single day in life =) -- we are going to appreciate having it more on the forefront of our minds through this children's study. (ME included!!!)

A note from previous posts of yours... I also loved your TEAM family night and want to feature that here in our house soon too.
And, from a ways back, I was thrilled to see how special it was for you to be at your Dad's marathon and was so glad for you to be a part of that. As for the other day with Pike's Peak, so neat-- a cheer team in his family is probably the best gift ever.

Have a very good day Monica!! Thanks again!

joysmallpack said...

Oops, and one more thing I forgot to add. :-) I gleaned new ideas from others sharing their back to school traditions! Thanks!
For us:
* The night before school starts the children get to eat dinner out of their new lunch boxes, and if it's feasible, we have that dinner spent at a park with a picnic and playtime on the last eve of summer.
* 1st day of school morning has Daddy making them a special breakfast
* And to welcome them home from the 1st day, I take a square envelope with the flap open, and draw on the front to make a house (it is already in the house shape when you open the flap) and write HOME SWEET HOME on it. On the other side, they find treats in the pocket of the envelope. This could also be used when they come home from a weekend overnight at Grandma's, or other such things. :)

Mrs. K said...

Monica~
This couldn't have come at a better time. I am currently shopping for curriculum for my preschool Sunday School class. It's called preschool but it's actually through six years old so I have a wide range of abilities and attention spans :o) I am going to adapt your plans to my class.

rachaelnz said...

Hi Monica,
Thanks so much for sharing your pages. I have printed them out for my littles to colour in this morning.
Blessings :-)
Rachael in NZ

*carrie* said...

Monica,

You are amazing! Thanks for sharing this resource with others, especially your kids!

love you, me

Grace said...

I am planning on doing this later on in the year. right now I am trying to get my brain organized which in itself is a huge undertaking ;) I Love this idea and how simply laid out it is. Good job!

Jessica said...

Super excited about your series!! What great work you do and I'm so glad that you're sharing it! Thanks again! You're such a blessing.

Dawn said...

Thanks so much for sharing. I am going to start this with my own preschooler and one I babysit for. You have great resources but I thought I would share this site www.lapbooklessons.com/FruitofthespiritLapbook.html They have a ton of resources for that study and much more that seem to fit right with your style of teaching.

Gina said...

Wow! This is just what I've been looking for! We have been memorizing the fruits of the spirit this month and I wanted to do more with it but didn't know where to begin! Thank you so much!!!

By the way, this is the first time I commented! I found your blog several months ago and love it! My children are nearly the age of yours (5,almost 4, 2 ,4 mo) and so many things you do with your family is ideas I can use! I love your creativity! It is inspiring!!
Gina at Home Joys

The Liberty Belle said...

What a wonderful study. Thank you for sharing. Your blog is indeed a blessing.

Anna said...

Monica,
Thank you so much for sharing your study with all of us. I just finished studying the fruits of the spirits with my little girls this summer we had so much fun! You can see some of what we did here: http://joyineverystep.blogspot.com/2009/05/our-summer-bible-study.html

My little ones are 1, 3, & 5, so I know this is something we will be studying again. I am book marking all your posts, so that when that time comes I can include your wonderful idea.

I greatly enjoy your blog. I read it often just do not get a chance to comment much.
Anna

Anonymous said...

I am finally de-lurking after reading here for the past year and a half! Thank you SO much for sharing this. We are beginning school soon for the year and will be joining you in using these devotions. I appreciate all the work you have put into it and it is truly lovely of you to share with us. :)

I am so excited about this because it allows me to delve deeper into this topic with my children aged four and three! Last year I cut out fruit shapes labeled with the Fruit of the Spirit and displayed them in plastic sheet protectors. We spent one week on each fruit, singing the "Hide "Em in Your Hearts" songs, and talking daily about how we can show/use this fruit. (We went on to cover other topics like the Ten Commandments, The Lord's Prayer, etc.) This will be the perfect way to revisit these important lessons on a more personal and reflective level than we did last year. I also love the way it provides example and encouragement for little ones to devote time to journals and pursuing a walk with the Lord.

Your blog has been a blessing in so many ways to me as we endeavor to raise our little ones in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. May you be richly blessed!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Rebekah