I Am Special!
“I Am Special” September- God Made Me
LESSON PURPOSE: I am a child of God, my Heavenly Parent. GOD made me in his image because he loves me.
MATERIALS: Learning props and toys, craft supplies, music.
SONG IDEAS: God Made Me, He's Got the Whole World, This Little Light of Mine
BOOKS: When God Made You / 1-2-3 God Made Me / God Gave Us You
AS CHILDREN ARRIVE: Sensory Play (Choose 1)
- Sensory Self Portraits- Provide playdoh, pipe cleaners, yarn, googly eyes etc. Children creatively make their face!
- Button Box- Have children make faces with buttons on paper plates! No need to glue + craft, just sensory play.
- Dolls- Dramatic Play- have children play with and take care of dolls.
SCRIPTURE: Choose 1 or 2 to focus on
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." -Psalm 139:14
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." -Genesis 1:27
"When God gives us love, how much would He want to give? God's love does not have a set limit. He wants to give infinitely. Even after giving everything, God still says, 'Because of you, I want to live in you.'" -Rev. Moon
WELCOME: SONG, PRAYER, TP Greeting
REVIEW & TRANSITION:
Did you all have a wonderful Summer? Thumbs up for "yes!" Thumbs down for "no". Well I am so glad that you all had so much fun playing outside and enjoying God's creation, friends and family during the Summer. Now we are going back to school + routines and with that comes a new year of Sunday School! Yay! To kick off another year- we want to get to know each other more as children of God, our Heavenly Parent. Today we will learn that each of you are special.
ATTENTION GRABBER:
- Mirror in a Box: Tell children that you have one of the most important people in the whole world in your box. Have children guess who that could be! Open it to reveal a mirror! Have children take turns looking at the mirror one at a time and ask them who they see. Ask again who the most important person in the world was in the box? (Me!) Yes, each of you! Today we will learn why.
CIRCLE TIME SONG OR POEM: (choose 1)
I Am Special- Frere Jacques. "I am special. I am special. (point to yourself) Don't you see? Don't you see? (make binoculars with your fingers) Someone very special. Someone very special. (hands out to the side, palms up) 'Cause God made me. God made me!" (point up and then to self)
I Am Me- Poem "No one looks the way I do. I have noticed that it's true. No one walks the way I walk. No one talks the way I talk. No one plays the way I play. No one says the things I say. I am special. I am ME. There's no one else I'd rather be!"
SONG VIDEOS: click on the link: (choose 1 or 2)
- God Made Me Special- Lyric Song
- God Made Me- Sing Along
- God Made Me, God Loves Me- Bible song
- Made for This- Worship Dance
READ ALOUD: (Optional) Stories such as: When God Made You / 1-2-3 God Made Me / God Gave Us You
*TEACHING POINT 1: I Am Special
INTRO: Who here has a nose? How about fingers & toes? Yes, God gave all of us a body! There are certain things we all have in common like having a body, heart, mind and spirit. But there are also things that make us each unique! (Optional: use props to explain) We all look different on the outside, (mirror) we also think, feel and act differently. We have different things we like to eat (orange), hobbies (ball), talents (ballet slippers) and skills (paintbrush). We have different families (family photo) and each have a unique personality. (emoji)
DISCUSS: Sit in a circle and discuss with children. Pass around the mirror or a teddy bear as a "microphone" so children take turns sharing & listening. Choose a few questions:
- What is your favorite thing to play?
- What is your favorite food? dessert?
- What is your favorite Season?
- When is your Birthday? How old are you?
- What are you scared of?
- Who do you love?
- What is your talent? What are you good at?
- What's your personality like? Are you you shy, outgoing, happy, thoughtful, kind, sweet, energetic...?
- What do you want to be when you grow up?
GROUP ACTIVITIES: (choose 1)
- Measuring- Measure each child with a measuring tape or weigh each child with a scale and talk about how we're all different sizes! And God loves you if you're tall or short, light or heavy.
- Awards- Pair up children. Ask them what award they would give their friend. Some ideas: most silly, best dancer, kind friend, good helper, creative, sporty, brave... Or teacher make up an award for each child (think about it ahead of time).
- That's Me Game- Tell children to stand up and say "That's Me" when they hear something about them like: I'm the oldest child, I love pizza, I have brown eyes, I was born in the Winter, I climb trees, I have blue eyes, I'm a little brother or sister, I'm a boy, I'm a girl, have a pet etc.
*Teaching Point 2: I am a child of God, my Heavenly Parent. (*Optional Extension)
INTRO: Do you know who made you? God made you out of love! God is our Heavenly Parent and we are his children. God made us because He loves each one of you so much! We are made in God's image. God made us as boys and girls- his children. (He created you through your parents love.)
DISCUSS
- Who made you? God our Heavenly Parent
- Why did God make you? Because He loves us. (God wanted to experience joy and love with me.)
- How can we learn more about God? In Sunday School, church, from our parents, in prayer, from God's Words...
GROUP ACTIVITIES:
Playdoh: In the Bible it says "Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8 Have children form people out of playdoh or you make a person out of playdoh as you explain the verse and how God made us and loves us.
CONCLUSION:
God our Heavenly Parent loves each of us so much! He made you, and you and you! (point to each child). We are all unique and special to God and our own parents in different ways.
TITHING & PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Parent, thank you for making me special and a beautiful child of God. Thank you for your love. I'm grateful for who I am, what I look like and what makes me me! I will continue to explore and learn new things as I grow. We love you. Amen. Aju!
CRAFTS: choose 1
- Fingerprints: I am thumbody special! ;) Have children make fingerprints using paint or ink on the printout.
- Popsicle Stick Frame: Help children glue together popsicle sticks to make a frame. They can draw themselves or insert a photo inside.
- Mirror: Using construction paper, aluminum foil + stickers have children make mirrors! (precut mirror shapes ahead of time)
- Name: Prewrite each child's name, have them trace the name with glue or a glue stick + stick on decorations.
- All About Me: Pick an "All About Me" free printable from the Pinterest board and help children to write & color them! These would make a great bulletin board!
SNACK IDEAS:
Gingerbread cookies! Fruit Faces!
Enjoy the lesson! Feel free to submit photos to lgavin@unification.org Love seeing lessons come to life and each community