3-5 years

 

Juniors 3-5 years:

A sound childhood faith

Hearing the Bible stories and getting to know Jesus as a reliable and good friend from the age of 3 lays a foundation and provides assurance for the future. Children in this age group come with a natural, childlike faith and are curious and imaginative. In order to receive the message, children need a safe framework and an environment where they feel kindness and support.

  • Juniors like to know what to expect and often look forward to revisiting something they remember from last time. Repetition and similar setups for gatherings help in promoting calm and creating a good atmosphere.
  • Being welcomed by name and perhaps receiving a small welcome gift such as a sticker when they arrive makes children feel included, seen and valued. Something placed on their chair or a nice animated image on the screen that fits the theme builds anticipation.
  • A Bible story should not be longer than 10 minutes and should be told in simple language that children can understand. Visualizations and tools that appeal to all the senses are especially important for this age group. Short sessions and lots of variety help them stay focused.
  • Engaging songs that relate to the theme and story, preferably with actions, help children remember the message and ensure that they enjoy singing along.
  • The activity component is very important for the children’s enjoyment, creates good memories and helps them make friends. It is important to have variety so that you can engage the calm, creative children, as well as more active, outgoing children.

Latest published themes for Juniors

The Christmas story

At Christmas, we celebrate that Jesus was born. He is our best...

David, the shepherd boy

The shepherd boy David confronted both a bear and a lion, knowing...

Noah’s ark

Sarah and Simon see a rainbow. What does it remind us of?...

The Good Samaritan

Simon hears Jesus tell the parable of the Good Samaritan and learns...

Jesus walks on water and calms the storm

Jesus walks on water – in this story, we learn what it...

God made me – and He loves me!

God made everything. But of all the things He made, He loves...

The man who said thank you

Why should we say thank you?...

Jesus, the Good Shepherd

Jesus is called “The Good Shepherd.” What is a shepherd, and what...

Jesus feeds the 5000

Jesus cares for our faith, and that we will have everything we...

You can always turn to Jesus

Jesus could help a sick man who couldn’t walk, and today He...

I can make others happy

Everyone can join in making other people happy and then we get...

I can learn to say sorry

Saying sorry for something wrong we have done gives us a clean...

I become so happy when I give

It can be tempting to keep all the good things I have...

Jesus and the unpopular Zacchaeus

Zacchaeus was actually quite a lonely man. He had almost no friends,...

The kingdom of God belongs to the children

Jesus is especially fond of children and He has said that the...

Jesus healed people

Jesus could really help the people he met. He healed the sick,...

Whats it like to have Jesus as a friend?

Jesus is not here on earth anymore, so how can he be...

Jesus grows up in Nazareth

Although Jesus was the son of God, he grew up as an...

Why Jesus came to earth

Do you know why Jesus came to earth? Jesus was in heaven...