Rain: Storytime Lesson Plan for Preschoolers

"God Made the Rain (Jesus Calms the Storm)"

Matthew 8:27

I. Introduction: Show the children a rain stick. If you do not have a rain stick, you may be able to borrow one from a local preschool or elementary school. Talk about how rain sounds, and how it makes the children feel.

II. Story: The Storm, by Kathy Henderson. (Play a natural sounds recording of storms to help set the mood for the story. Recordings of storms and other natural sounds are easy to find in discount stores.) After the story, talk briefly with the children about storms, and their experiences with storms.

III. Song: (Tune: "Frere Jacques") -Leave the "Storms" recording playing in the background-
"I hear thunder, I hear thunder
Don't you too? Don't you too?
Pitter Patter raindrops
Pitter Patter raindrops
I'm wet through...So are you!"
(optional second verse:
"I see blue skies, I see blue skies
Way up high, way up high
Hurry up sunshine, hurry up sunshine
I'll soon dry, I'll soon dry!")

IV. Make a Storm:
Sit in a circle, and choose some children to clap,
some to snap,
others to rub their hands together,
some to stomp their feet,
some to slap their legs,
and the leader will use a sheet of poster board or other similar material to simulate rumbling thunder.
Combine the sounds, one at a time, until the group simulates the effect of a thunderstorm coming nearer, booming overhead, then retreating.

V. Story: Jesus Calms the Storm, by Jean Thor Cook. Discuss the story briefly with the children.

VI. Bible Verse Bracelets:
(Print out, on a brightly-colored sheet of paper, today's verse repeated down the page. Cut between each verse so that you have 10-15 strips, each with the verse printed on it. Ask the children to form a line, and using tape to stick the ends together, wrap a "Bible Verse Bracelet" round each little wrist. Some children do not want to wear it; in that case, hand it to them and tell them to use the verse as a bookmark. The children love these, and come to expect them at each session! The verses also find their way home to parents and siblings, and help to spread the news about the storytime topic.)

Matthew 8:27 "So the men marveled, saying, 'Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?'"

VII. Song: "Peter, James, and John in a Sailboat," from "Bible Songs" recording by Cedarmont Kids

VIII. Prayer: "Dear Jesus, thank You that You are so strong that even the wind and the sea obey You! Thank You that, even though sometimes we are afraid or in trouble, You are with us to calm us and take care of us. Amen."

IX. Art: Make Rain sticks:
Use paper towel tubes and fill partially with plastic mesh (the kind you might use as a gutter guard, sold at home improvement stores.) Pour in rice and small dried beans (such as lentils.) Seal the ends with tape and decorate as you wish. You have rain sticks!