I am Special
Greeting:
Greet each child as they come in the door. Make sure they have name tags, and the parenthas signed them on the sheet.
Opening: Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Sing song “I am Special”
Development:
Scripture: And God said to the people, “I made you, I love you, I know your name.” (Cf. Is 43:1-4)
Saint: Peter… One day, Jesus and his apostles arrived at a place called Caesarea Phillippi. There Jesus asked his apostles this question, “Who do men say the Son of Man is?” This was the name by which Jesus often spoke of himself.
They answered Him, Some say John the Baptist: and others Elijah; and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the son of the living God.”
Jesus said to Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father in heaven, And I day to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shell loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
By these words Jesus promised to make Peter the head of His Church. Keys are the symbol of power. Jesus meant that Peter was to have power to rule His church
Peter was the first Pope of the Holy Catholic Church; He was the head, on earth, of the religion founded by Jesus Christ Himself. Peter was the first of the long line of popes that have succeeded each other ever since the time of Christ.
After this Jesus began to tell His apostles what things were to come upon Him before many months. He said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected buy the elders and chief priest and Scribes, and be put to death, and on the third day He will rise again.
Peter took Jesus aside and told Him that He would not be put to death. But our Lord told Peter that his thoughts were still too worldly. The Kingdom of which He was to be the head would not be an earthly one.
Story: pg. 23
Activity: Glittered name, look at my name, ABC practice sheets
Song: Jesus loves the little children (in folder)
Exercise: Toss balloons to each child and have them say their name.
Prayer: Invite the children to repeat phrases of the following prayer after you. Dear God, I thank you, for making me, so special, I am glad, that I have, a special name, I feel happy, when I hear, the sound of my name.
Bible Verse: Thank you God (sign language)
Blessing: God is good, kind, and loving. May God’s name be praised forever. Remember God made you; God loves you; God knows you by name. May God bless you always with happiness. Amen
Special to my family
Greeting: Welcome each child as they come in the door. Make sure they have nametags, and the parent ahs signed them on the sheet.
Opening: Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Sing song “I am Special”
Development:
Scripture: Children obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to God. (Cf. Col. 3:20)
Saint: Anne was the mother of Mary (the Blessed Virgin), and the grandmother of Jesus.
Anne and her husband were without children, and they believed that God was punishing them. Joachim would go to the mountain everyday to pray. Anne would pray in their home and begged God to give her a child. She would tell God that she would dedicate her child to the service of God.
An angel came to Anne and told her “The Lord has looked upon your tears. You will give birth to a daughter, and she will be honored by all the world.” The angel made the same promise to Joachim.
A daughter was born to Anne, and she was called Miriam, which means “Mary.” Anne offered her child to God in service of the temple at a very early age.
St. Anne’s name means “grace.” God endowed her with special gifts and graces to be the mother of the Mother of God.
Story: Prodigal Son/ Something new for shadow
Activity: Show the children the picture of the Holy family. Tell them a little about the Holy Family. Jesus was a part of this family and he obeyed his parents.
Use the activity sheets provided to make a family tree. Have the children make the faces of those in his or her family. Have the children cut out the picture, the help the fold the edges so it is a three dimensional tree. (Adults only use a stapler to secure the tree.
Song: Jesus loves me (Sign language optional)
Exercise: Balloon toss, each child has a turn at tossing the balloon to each person. As the balloon comes to the child they say their name. If you feel as though they are ready have them say the name of the child they are going to toss it to on round two.
Prayer: God made us a family. (R.) We need one another. (R.) We help one another. (R.) We love one another. (R.) We forgive one another. (R.) We play together. (R.) We work together. (R.) We celebrate together. (R.) We praise God together. (R.) Amen.
Bible Verse: Thank you God (Sign language optional)
Blessing: May the love of the Lord be in your hearts, and in your words and deeds throughout the week.
Dismissal: Please remember to help the children gather all their belongs, and make sure their parent signs them out.
Special to my friends
Greeting Welcome each child as they come in the door. Make sure they have nametags, and the parent ahs signed them on the sheet.
Opening: Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Sing song “I am Special”
Development:
Scripture: In the Bible God talks to us about love and friendship. God tells us that it is wonderful to have good friends. (Cf. Sir 6:14:15)
After closing the Bible say … A friend is also someone you can talk to. God is our friend. We talk to God when we pray. And God is always ready to listen to what we have to say.
Saint: Guardian Angels, “He Has given his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways” (Ps. 91) Both the Old and the New Testament recognize that God gives each person born into this world an angel guardian. Jesus, calling a little child to him, said that the angels in heaven watch over children such as this one. By a loving providence God reaches into human life to guard and, protect and lead us on our way to salvation.
Story: Jesus appears to two disciples. Pinky finds a friend.
Activity: Happy friends day card, / friendship chins
Song: Jesus loves me/ Jesus loves the little children (sign language optional)
Exercise: toss the balloon and as it comes to each child they then say their name. If you go for another round of the game have them say the name of the child they will toss the balloon.
Prayer: God made us a family. (R.) We need one another. (R.) We help one another. (R.) We love one another. (R.) We forgive one another. (R.) We play together. (R.) We work together. (R.) We celebrate together. (R.) We praise God together. (R.) Amen.
Bible Verse: Thank you God (sign language optional)
Blessing: May the love of the Lord be in your hearts, and in your words and deeds throughout the week.
Dismissal: Please remember to help the children gather all their belongs, and make sure their parent signs them out.