Storytime Lesson Plan for Preschoolers: My Body

"God Made All Our Parts"

Psalm 139:13-14

This series of lesson plans was developed and used in NSW, Australia. Some books and/or songs may not be available in your area. Please adapt these suggestions to suit your resources.

I. Introduction: Enter wearing a white lab coat, carrying a bandaged-up doll or teddy bear. Show pictures from library books or other resources of doctor's offices, tools, and patients. Play song (or recite nursery rhyme), "Miss Polly Had a Dolly:"

Miss Polly had a dolly
who was sick, sick, sick.
So she called for the doctor
to be quick, quick, quick.
The doctor came in
with his bag and his hat,
and he knocked at the door
with a rat tat tat.

He looked at the dolly
and he shook his head.
And said "Miss Polly,
put her straight to bed."
He wrote out a paper
for a pill, pill, pill.
"I'll be back in the morning
With the bill, bill, bill."

II. Story: Help! I'm Falling Apart! by Tedd Arnold.
Discuss various concerns children might have regarding their health and their bodies. Use this opportunity to talk about how God designed us.

III. Fingerplay: "5 Fingers on This Hand:"

5 fingers on this hand,
5 fingers on that.
A dear little nose,
a mouth like a rose,
two cheeks so tiny and fat.
Two eyes, two ears,
and ten little toes -
that's the way the baby grows!

IV. 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 that day's storytime.

Psalm 139:13-14a: "For You did form my inward parts; You did weave me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

V. Song: "My God is So Big," from "Bible Songs" recording by Cedarmont Kids.

VI. Action Song: "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes"

VII. Story: From Head to Toe, by Eric Carle.

VIII. Game: "Body Parts." Say...

"Body parts, body parts
we've got more than a few.
We even have a few that I bet you never knew!
You can touch the ceiling, or even touch your shoe.
Now, ________, show us something that we can try to do!" (Fill in the blank with each child's name in turn.)

IX. Prayer: "Thank you God, that you did such an awesome job making us! You are so big and mighty!"

X. Art: Make "doctor bags:"

Give each child a colored pocket folder (the kind you might buy at an office supply store.) Ideally, these will have a large closeable flap on the front. Cut out (beforehand!) black construction-paper "handles," and give one to each child. Glue these on the top of the "bag." Let each child decorate the outside of the bags with glitter glue, confetti, stickers, markers, feathers, and anything else you might have on hand. Place a label on each child's bag reading "Dr, Ashley," or "Dr. Ethan," or whatever the child's name is. When the children are finished decorating the bags, help them fill the bags with plastic bandages, cotton balls, gauze, empty plastic syringes (the type one might use to dose medicine with,) and all types of things the children might use to play doctor. Ask parents who are doctors and nurses to contribute items. These items can also be purchased quite cheaply at medical supply stores.

Note: Always play relevant music in the background while children make their art. For this lesson, I played Colin Buchanan's "Made By God 4 God Alone" from his "Follow the Saviour" CD. Colin Buchanan has an amazing selection of Christian songs for kids. He's not widely known in the U.S., but is immensely popular in Australia. To learn more about him and his ministry, see http://www.colinbuchanan.com.au/.

Happy Storytime!!!!