Aim to know that we can be happy because God’s loves us
Aims
*To know that we can be happy because God’s loves us.
*To learn that each person is special to God.
Materials
*“The Prince Who Never Smiled,” from A Child’s First Steps to Virtues, by Emily Hunter
*Picture to cut, paste and colour
*Heart-shaped stickers or heart shapes to cut
Lesson Outline
1. Introduction
2. The Prince Who Never Smiled
3. Discussion
4. Activities – act out the story, play ‘keep your cool’, colour a picture
5. Review the aims
6. Prayer
1) Introduction
* What makes you happy? Ask the children all the things that make them happy. Christmas, birthdays, presents, getting sweets, visiting grandparents, someone saying nice things about us, being first in a competition, playing a sport, a funny joke, funny people, watching a movie, having an outing, pocket money, a bedtime story, etc…
* What makes you smile? God wants everybody to be happy. Today’s story is about what makes us happy
2) The Prince Who Never Smiled
There once was a king who had a son who never smiled. He had everything he needed, but he wasn’t happy. The king offered a reward to anyone who could make his son smile. Many tried, but they all failed. After searching for many miles a poor peasant girl, called Marabelle, was found. She was well-loved, always happy and she loved God very much. She believed she could make the prince smile. She told him that God is full of love and He loves each person, including the prince himself. When the prince realized that God loves him, he smiled for the first time.
Everyone celebrated. Marabelle received a reward and later she was to marry the prince.
3) Discussion
* What kind of things do you think the prince had that could have made him happy? money, a big castle, servants, his own horse
* Who tried to make the prince smile and what did they do?
jester – danced, pranced (exaggerated movements), funny faces
magician -rabbits from as hat, balloons from his sleeves
baker – lots of pastries
tailor – a suit of clothes
* Why couldn’t the prince smile?
He didn’t feel God’s love
*What made the prince smile?
to know he is loved by God
* What does the story teach us?
* We can be happy, because God loves us. We are all God’s children. Because we are God’s children each one of us is special to God. He made each person different. Some are tall and some are short. Some are white and some are black. Some have beautiful voices and some have beautiful faces. But he loves each and everyone of us. That’s what makes us special!
4) Activities
* Act out the story. Try different ways to get the prince to smile
* Play “Keep your Cool” Children stand in a line, hands behind their backs, looking straight ahead, trying not to smile. Teacher tries to get them to smile. If they do they must sit down, until only one person, the winner, is left.
* Cut the happy face of the prince. Attach over the sad face, so it can be raised and lowered to reveal a happy or sad face. Colour the picture. Add heart-shaped stickers for decoration.
5) Review the aims of the lesson
* To know that we can be happy because God’s loves us.
* To learn that each person is special to God.
6) Prayer
Say a prayer to thank God for His love and making us special
