Since Christmas comes every year this allows us the chance to, each year, focus on a different aspect of the story. We’ve done Advent Rotations from the point of view of:
- Shepherds and angels,
- Wise Men,
- Jesus’ mother’s perspective, and
- through the eyes of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah.
This year we’ll take a look at the overall birth story of Jesus. Our target is to ensure that kids know the sequence and timing of story events surrounding Jesus’ birth. We’ll also be digging into the concept of “God with us.”
Our story is found by interweaving the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Read the story as the kids will hear it, in Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-23, Luke 2:1-18.
On Sundays, at the downtown location of FUMC, our schedule is:
| Date | Our workshops for 1st through 5th graders… | |||
| Art | Cooking | Drama | Games | |
| Room 212 | Social Hall | Room 215 | Room 204 | |
| 11/23 | 1st & 5th grade | 2nd grade | 4th grade | 3rd grade |
| 11/30 | 4th grade | 3rd grade | 2nd grade | 1st & 5th grade |
| 12/7 | Enjoy worship and Communion with your family. Read the scripture to be used in the service. |
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| 12/14 | 2nd grade | 1st & 5th grade | 3rd grade | 4th grade |
| 12/21 | 3rd grade | 4th grade | 1st & 5th grade | 2nd grade |
| 12/28 | Enjoy worship with your family. (One service at 9:30.) | |||
| 1/4 | Enjoy worship and Communion with your family. (One service at 9:30.) We are celebrating Epiphany. Read the scripture ahead of time. | |||
And here’s what the 6th graders will be doing this Rotation…
Lots of special projects! (They’ll almost always be in the Pine Room.)
| 11/23 | 11/30 | 12/7 | 12/14 | 12/21 | 12/28 & 1/4 |
| Watch a short video called “The Coat: A Story of Charity.” Participate in a service project for the Humane Society. | Do baking for Ronald McDonald House families. | Worship with your family. Read the scripture to be used in the service. | Spend the morning with our younger kids! Perform a drama, read storybooks and sing with them. | A Christmas party! | Worship with your family. |
And on For Saturdays at the Green Wood location, here is the schedule…
| Date | Workshop or Activity |
| 11/22 | Work on a service project. (Bring your favorite music to listen to while we work.) |
| 11/29 | Game night! Bring your favorite board or card game. |
| 12/6 | Art Workshop |
| 12/13 | Cooking Workshop |
| 12/20 | Drama Workshop |
| 12/27 | Worship with your family |
| 1/3 | Children will enjoy a special showing of Saint Nicholas – A Story of Joyful Giving. |
What’s happening in each workshop?
- In the Art Workshop students will help tell the story using various colors of felt, creating a “stained glass window.” They will create a stained “glass” scene made into a Christmas tree ornament that reminds them of the story of Jesus’ birth.
- In the Cooking Workshop students will create a nativity snack bag with items to represent story elements. They will get to try out some of this snack at church but will bring home a bag of goodies. Share this snack bag as a family and have your child use it to retell the story!
- In the Drama Workshop students will enact the story. What a great way to learn the story details by participating in the story!
- In the Games Workshop students will play a quiz game to see how much they really know about the story.
On Saturday nights and on Sunday mornings at FUMC our Cool Disciples experience Rotation Model Christian education, as they learn about Bible stories and concepts through kid-friendly multimedia workshops. If you are in the area please join us for the fun learning at First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor, MI.
Photo credits:
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Crèche photo is from my archives.
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Family Faith Companion 