THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: JOY!
Galatians 5:22-26 / Psalms 47:1 / 1 Peter 1:8,9 / Luke 2:10 / Philippians 4:4
DECLARE THE WORD OF GOD AT THE CLASSROOM DOOR:
- We have been talking about fruit… the fruit that grows on trees and the fruit of God’s Spirit that grows inside of us. Today we are thinking about the Fruit of the Spirit… JOY!
- Let’s shout and clap: “JESUS GIVES ME JOY!”
WORKTABLES / WORKSHEET: PDF
- Printing Text: JESUS GIVES ME JOY! (joy is having a happy heart)
- Painting Edible Fruit: Lemon
- Review Lemon Fact Sheet PDF
- Visuals: Real lemon, cutting board, kid-safe knife, prepared lemonade, paper cups
- Lemonade Taste Test. Give thanks to God for lemons and refreshing lemonade!
- Plant some lemon seeds in a small pot and observe over the next few months
- Add a piece of fresh lemon to our sealed jar. Observe decomposition over time.
- “Now, let’s go to the carpet and learn about another kind of fruit: JOY! PDF
SONGS:
- Call to Worship: I Hear the Blowing of the Shofar Calling me to Worship God!
- Fruit of the Spirit Song: Christ the Vine… JOY JOY JOY with puppet Hap-Bee
- I’ve Got The JOY, JOY, JOY, JOY Down in My Heart
- Chorus to Fruits of the Spirit by Wesley’s Wuppets
LESSON VISUALS:
- Fruit of the Spirit Poster (Art Project)
- Basket of plastic fruit(assorted) and clear glass jar of rotting fruit
- GOOD vs ROTTEN flashcards PDF
LESSON:
- Read THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: JOY PDF
- Play the sorting game with the GOOD vs ROTTEN flashcards
PRAYER SUGGESTIONS: PDF
- WORSHIP: You Give me joy, JESUS!
- RESPONSES: Think of a time that you felt grumpy about something. Ask Jesus to help you have a happy heart next time.
- Blessing over children: Romans 15:13 May the God of all hope FILL YOU WITH JOY!
FREE PLAY: Before you hand out play cards, show them you are setting the FREE PLAY TIMER (to go off about 5 minutes before parents are expected to arrive/11:40 AM in the WD classroom). The timer will let them know they have 1 more minute to play then everyone will STOP PLAYING and clean up the centers. After centers are in order, students will be directed to the carpet to pick a book from the shelf and quietly “read” until families arrive. This will be a good lesson on classroom responsibility. It also helps students stop playing before parents arrive (facilitates transition).
During FREE PLAY, call the children one at a time to work on the art project: Add JOY to Fruit Trees (PDF
Overtime Activity: Should the service extend beyond the normal dismissal time, there are some circle games that can be played (Marbles, Bean Bag Toss, Doggie’s Bone etc). These games are located under the TV stand.
DISMISSAL:
- Call the students one at a time when parent/guardian arrives. Prompt other students to call out “GOODBYE (student’s name)”
- Student returns PLAY CARD to the tray
- Student checks mailbox for take-home papers
- Student selects a snack from the table in the hallway
CLOSING DOWN THE CLASSROOM: PDF
- Wash brushes and close paint jars
- Turn off battery operated keyboard
- Stack chairs and carpet mats
- Vacuum area rug (rechargeable vacuum plugged into corner outlet)
- Turn off heat and lights
- Place garbage can outside classroom door
- Return teaching materials to packet
