Sharing can be a challenging topic with our Little Lambs. We often have very high expectations for our littlest ones. We expect them to drop a toy the minute another child expresses interest in it and think of a child who doesn’t as selfish. Considering this is a higher bar than we set for adults, I try to not place these expectations on the children I work with. With this in mind, I looked for activities that wouldn’t start fights with our preschoolers’ naturally possessive natures while still teaching them about the delights of sharing.
Story: Jesus Feeds Thousands
The Sharing award encourages an emphasis on the Bible story of the boy who shared his lunch with Jesus. Many Bible story books will have this story in them. I find the length of the story and the ratio of text to pictures in The Beginner’s Bible are great for preschool crowds. (You’ll find the story on page 357.)
Crafts: Cards for Sharing
For our craft we made cards to share with our club’s community service project. Kids were also welcome to make a card for family or friends. I provided sticker kits, blank cards, and card inserts. I thought 3-4 cards per kid was way more than they would make. And, I was wrong! They made every card they could, and we have a pile of wintery cards to spread some smiles and joy. For more information, coloring cards printables, and cut files for the snowy cards, check out this post. For Spring cards, check out this post.
Game: Share the Sheep
This game is so simple, I considered swapping it for something new, but I still remember how much my last Little Lambs class loved it. This year’s class LOVED it too. The only way the teacher was able to move them on to the next activity was to assure them they could play it again at the end if there was time. This game is from The Giant Book of Games from Group Publishing. I modified the game a little to better fit our theme and time constraints. Group includes a bible story and discussion questions.
Jesus wants us to treat other people the way we want to be treated. One way we treat others nicely is by sharing with them. We’re going to play a sharing game. We’re going to pretend the pom-poms are sheep and each of you is a shepherd. When I tell you to start, collect as many sheep as you can. But, you can only keep the sheep that match your bowl. When you find sheep of a different color, help the other shepherds by giving them the sheep that match their color.
Supplies: Colored pom poms – one color per child, a container, and something with the pom pom color on it.
I used take and toss containers in four colors and 10 matching pom poms. Cups with a piece of colored paper inside would also work nicely. You could throw all the “sheep” out at once, or have a slowish steady trickle of sheep hitting the floor. For a larger group, add more colors. For groups larger than 5-6, I’d recommend dividing into smaller groups.
(Preschool Skills: Numbers) Loaves and Fishes Counting Puzzle
The Loaves and Fishes puzzle gives Little Lambs an opportunity to practice counting while also reminding them of the Bible story. Cut the picture into strips and put them in order on the mat by counting the dots at the bottom of the strip. Since Little Lambs have such a wide range of abilities, I made this puzzle self-correcting. The dots and corresponding numbers are color-coded. They can practice their counting, and they can be successful even if they aren’t very far on their counting journey yet.
This puzzle can be used in a few different ways. For my club, I laminated everything so it can be put together over and over again. You could add Velcro dots for a little more fun. Or it could be the craft – they can put the strips in order and glue them on the page. I would recommend cutting the strips in advance and mixing them up – it’s not really a puzzle otherwise!
Extra: Sharing Page
I printed the sharing page from the workbook just in case they needed another activity. It was not used this week. The Little Lambs chose to play more rounds of Share the Sheep instead! You can find the workbook at AdventSource (and possibly your local conference) and it’s also a free pdf download at clubministries.org.
Extra: Share Throwing a Balloon
This is just as simple as it sounds. Blow up a balloon, and toss it around with the kids and parents. I’m not sure why balloons are innately fun, but they always are! (Obviously, please be aware of latex allergies..)
Closing Circle Time
Story: Share Some Kindness, Bring Some Light
Share Some Kindness, Bring Some Light by Apryl Stott is a sweet story of a bear who wants to make friends with the other forest creatures, but everyone is afraid of him because he’s so big. A little girl befriends him and tries to help him make friends. It takes a few tries to figure it out, but after they rescue a young fawn from deep snow, the other animals realize Bear just wants to be friends, and he’s not going to eat them. Apryl Stott’s pictures are gorgeous, and it has a lovely message of acceptance and giving.
Warning to conservative churches: The story is obviously not realistic (bears don’t make candle lanterns to give away to other forest animals), so if your parents are offended by talking animals, you might want to keep looking. As for everyone else, this book was published in the last few years, so check your local library for it.
Song: Taking Turns Song
This song is to the tune of Frere Jacques. I found the song on Vimeo. Note: the first half of the video is teaching sign language and has no sound. The lack of sound confused both myself and my Little Lambs’ teacher. Your sound is fine (I assume) and the video does work – just give it some time. We did not use the signs. The words are in the printable at the end of the post. If you know who created these words, please let me know, so I can give them credit.
If You’re Happy and You Know It
My Little Lambs co-teacher many years ago insisted that we end Little Lambs with If You’re Happy and You Know It. And ever since, it’s always seemed like the right way to close a meeting.
Prayer
We finish each Little Lambs meeting with an abbreviated version of the Lord’s Prayer.
Resources
For more resources for the sharing award, check out my pinterest board. I have a pin for a list of books about sharing and a great article about teaching young kids to share. As I find more resources about sharing, I’ll add them here. (Have any recommendations to share with me? I’d love to see them!)
Reminder
I chose these activities to fit my club’s meeting length and needs. Your club is different than mine! I have more activities here than are required to complete the award. If you have less time, prioritize a book, a game, a craft, and a song. Add more activities in to fit your time constraints. If you have extra time, you could repeat a fun activity or add in other sharing-related activities. Pinterest is a great resource!
What is your favorite game to play with your Little Lambs when you teach the Sharing? Please share with us in the comments!