My Wonder Studio

Here is a 30-minute 0–5 lesson plan that focuses on how God can use anyone, even if you feel small and unskilled. Don’t limit what God can do through you. (Don’t miss out on “Even Though I’m Small, Part 1.”)

Read “With God’s Help, Part 2.”

Ask the children to think about a time when they were able to do one of the things listed in this article (“I can give to others,” “I can study God’s Word,” etc.). Talk about how even these everyday things may not seem that important, but they are ways to draw closer to Jesus, help others, be a good example of God’s love and kindness to others, etc.

Read “You May Be Small, but You Matter.”

Listen to “Be the Best.”

Discuss some of the things that are described in this song, and how even though something seems less grand, it still has a needed role. For example, while the captain of a ship is important, the crew is necessary to keep the ship running and maintained. Stairs make it easier to go up and down a steep place, but a railing helps to make climbing up and down the stairs safer.

Read “Bright Pebbles: With Jesus’ Help.”

Memorize the rhyme at the end of “With Jesus’ Help”:

When a job is too hard for me,

And I don’t know what to do,

With Jesus’ help I can do all things—

Oh, this I know is true!

Color one or more of the pages from “Coloring Book: With God’s Help, Part 2.”

Additional material:

• Video: Fish! And More Fish!
• The Oak Tree

“Even Though I’m Small, Part 1” is a 30-minute 0–5 lesson plan that focuses on people and children God used in the Bible. God can use anyone, even if you feel small and unskilled. Don’t limit what God can do through you.

Watch “Little Things.”

Read “With God’s Help, Part 1.” You might want to include reading a children’s Bible story about each of these characters to refresh the children’s memory about each one. You’ll find the reference for each story in a box on each page if you want to read the stories from the Bible.

Discuss how each of the children and people God used in the stories in this article helped to make a difference to others through what they did. Explain how God doesn’t look at a child and think he or she is too small or young to be of help, rather He wants everyone to do what they can to help others and lift one another up.

Watch “Too Big.”

Talk about what it means to be “too big.” Sometimes you can act too big when you think you are better than other people or you know more than everyone else. This makes it harder for other people to play or work with you because you always think you know best. It also can make it harder for God to use you to show kindness or care to others because you are too focused on yourself.

Read “Little Things Matter.”

Explain that everyone has something that can be used to help others, and often it is not a showy or amazing skill, but those things that are kind, thoughtful, and helpful to others. Ask the children for examples that come to mind.

Memorize Philippians 4:13.

Color one of the pages from “Coloring Book: With God’s Help, Part 1.”

Note: You can find part 1 of this lesson plan here.

Here is a 15- to 20-minute lesson plan that highlights the following lesson objective: “Understand that difficulties, trials, and obstacles are a part of life, and through learning to work through them, one can gain valuable understanding through these experiences; study and memorize Bible verses upon which this principle is based.” (Christian Life and Faith: Biblical and Christian Foundation: Overcoming Obstacles-2a)

Read “God Gives Victory.”

Talk about how God can help to give us victory when we call on Him. There is nothing that He cannot help us to overcome!

Recall a time in your life, or help your child recall a time in their life, when God helped to give victory when something seemed impossible to overcome or to get through.

Watch “Ezra Frech Story.”

Bring to your child’s attention that not all obstacles are physical in nature, but that the principles to overcoming an obstacle or adversity are the same—one must persevere despite the struggle and focus on the outcome and the goals that can be reached. Help your child to recall some of these tips: Focus on the positive, count your blessings, overcome the obstacle; don’t let it overcome you, see the good that has come out of your adversity.

End with reading these articles and claiming the verses: “A Thought for the Day: Defeating Dragons” and “I Will Help You.”

Additional material:

• “Face the Wind”
• “Something to Remember…”
• “The Boxing Match”

Here is a 30-minute lesson plan that highlights the following lesson objective: “Understand that difficulties, trials, and obstacles are a part of life, and through learning to work through them, one can gain valuable understanding through these experiences; study and memorize Bible verses upon which this principle is based.” (Christian Life and Faith: Biblical and Christian Foundation: Overcoming Obstacles-2a)

Ask your child what they think an obstacle, adversity, or difficulty may be. Discuss some of the types of obstacles or adversities someone may face in their life—it could be a physical disability, difficulty remembering facts and figures at school, or it could be that they are from a poor country or background where they are often told it can’t get better for them. The conclusion of this short discussion should be that we all face obstacles or adversity, no matter what it is—life is full of them. So what do we do?

Watch “Overcoming Obstacles” (YouTube video by Steven Claunch).

Discuss how not everyone has to overcome a physical disability, but as Steven Claunch brought out, there are other obstacles that we each face in our lives that are unique to us. The goal when faced with a big or small obstacle is to not allow the obstacle to overcome us, but for us to overcome the obstacle. Often an obstacle can overcome us when we become negative and focus on what we don’t have, instead of what we do have.

Read “Overpowering Negative Thoughts.”

Read “Growing Stronger, No. 2: Hidden Fortune.”

Discuss how this story shows that we often find out new things about ourselves—new gifts and blessings—when we hit an obstacle. In the story, Moira discovered that she had a talent for poetry when she thought she would only ever love to dance. Ask your child to think of something they may have discovered about themselves at a time when they were sick or unable to participate in something they had wanted to do. Encourage them to think of a good thing that came out of an adversity they faced.

Study these verses “Crazily Cool Cards Set: Overcoming Difficulties” and “Crazily Cool Cards Set: Overcomers.” Your child might want to choose one or more cards to print and color.

Here are some things you can talk about or do with your child to help reinforce the article “God Is Powerful!”:

Ask your child what he or she considers to be awesomely powerful. Then take a moment to imagine how God is even greater than that power.

For a fun way to help your child see the power of God’s creative force at work in a seed, try sprouting a seed in a wet paper towel or wet cotton balls. After the seed has sprouted, you can plant it in a pot of dirt to watch it continue to grow. See "Germinating Seeds in Papertowels."

Here’s a picture of a puppy in the womb that some children might enjoy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/84727393@N00/305842027/.