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The Wise Men

Teacher's Guide - this is just one possible lesson plan.   Visit the Christmas Section for further ideas to supplement this.

Introduction:

Some children may not know this part of the Christmas story as well as the other parts.  The story never changes, but it seems the world tries to reinvent what Christmas is all about.  I've said this before, but it's worth mentioning again.  When instructing young children, repetition is a positive thing.  Everything is so new at this age that it is helpful to repeat important messages multiple times.  This is the third lesson on the Christmas story, the last lesson will cover the Nativity.

The message:  The wise men gave gifts to Jesus.   We need to give to others.

The message of the wise men is an important one.  The wise men, traveling from the East, came to give worship and give royal gifts.   It would be a good idea to mention the fact that the Bible doesn't mention the number of wise men there are.  It seems that "we" have decided there are three (probably for the purpose of pageants, or the number of gifts mentioned that were brought to Jesus).  This is one reason why we give gifts as Christmas, but more importantly because Jesus gave of Himself so freely.  He is the greatest gift of all!

Make sure you repeat the message many times during the lesson.  Send the wise men gave gifts to Jesus Take Home Sheet home with the children to encourage parents to reiterate the message during the week.  It includes a poster at the bottom that the children can color and hang on their wall or refrigerator. 

Preview of the lesson:

Some people like to do craft time first and story time second and some like to switch it around.  I like the first option, myself.

Always consider offering, Coloring Pages for children who aren't interested in participating in the group activity (or if you get done the group activities very quickly and need something to fill in the spare time).  Everyone has a need for "alone time" once in awhile.  Also, sending home the coloring pages with the Take Home sheet provides parents with much needed help in reinforcing the lessons.  You can make a nice little booklet each week with the take home sheet on top -- I promise that most parents will appreciate the effort! 

Description	Time Allotted	Supplies
Welcome!   Receive name tags.  Have the children use crayons, markers, yarn and whatever other materials (such as sparkle glue) you have available to personalize their name tag. Sing the Learning our Names song	10 to 15 minutes	Bow name tags, scissors (or adults can precut),  crayons, markers, yarn, safety pins or tape.
Craft time! Preschool thru Grade 1:  Make a camel silhouettes craft .  This makes a nice craft, and may need some preparation time by the teacher before class, to make it easier to do with the kids. Grade 2 and 3: This craft provides a different option for the older kids.  The camel silhouettes craft for this age group requires all the kids to have a pair of scissors.	15 to 30 minutes  depending on your adult/child ratio	Preschool thru Grade 1:  camel template,  black paint, masking tape, scissors, printer. Grade 2 and 3: camel template, black construction paper, glue, printer, scissors, printer.
Bible Story/Song Time: It can be fun to sing with the children, especially at Christmas time.  Children tend to remember songs for a long time.  Incorporating bells or small instruments might add some more fun to the singing. All Grades: Sing the Three Wise Men. Preschool and Kindergarten: Read the  Story of The Wise Men (or read from your own store bought children's bible).  Grade 3:  it's tough to know when it's the right time to start readings from the Bible, but if the children have been read a children's version of the story in the past, I believe this is a good age to introduce the King James (or your preferred) bible reading.	10 minutes	There are several coloring pages for the Wise Men story.  You could print the pages, staple them together and let the kids take the pages home to color through the week.
Closing: Depending on the time remaining, allow the children to brainstorm about how they can give to others this Christmas.  To help discuss you could make the Christmas Coupons ahead of time (this will give the children examples of how they can "give" to their parents). Standard ending song:  for example We love to learn together,  together, together We love to learn together And give thanks to God. substitute "learn" for sing, pray, etc (to the tune of The More We Get Together)	5 to 15 minutes	To end the lesson you could make a Nativity Scene felt bulletin board.  Add to it each week as the different characters are discussed.   Words to: standard ending song