I had a hard time choosing an object lesson topic from Mindy Baker’s new picture book, Mouse’s Christmas Gift. This heartfelt story had abundant themes to draw from including: hope, selflessness, rich traditions, building community, and the essence of Christmas. Ultimately, however, I decided on “little acts of service can grow.” In a culture obsessed with big ideas, big accomplishments, and big fame, it is often the small ways of loving our neighbor that matter most. And our kids need to know that their little, attainable acts of kindness are valuable….and can multiply in the hands of a big God.
The children’s ministry lesson plan overview, below, is in JPEG format. You can access the PDF format with clickable links to the craft idea here. Excluding the book cover, the lesson plan and corresponding picture resources within this post were created by me and may be used without attribution.
Be sure to scroll to the bottom and enter the giveaway for a chance to win a copy of this beautiful book!
When I discovered the DIY acorn ornaments, I thought they were darling and perfect for representing both Christmas and “growing big.” However, when I found out the acorn tops were drilled, I was skeptical…until I pulled out the Dremel and tried it. I had 10 tops done in under two minutes. You can find a supply list and directions here, or by clicking the link in the lesson plan pdf.
You can access the pdf for the service coupons by clicking here, or you can click the link within the lesson plan overview.
If you have projection capabilities, the following two slides are proportioned for PowerPoint.
And if you’re reading this post for possible use in children’s ministry…thank you. In the hands of a big God, your gifts of service to his little ones will multiply.
Be sure and enter the giveaway*, below, for your chance to win a copy of Mouse’s Christmas Gift. For fun, the giveaway requests a “Christmassy” comment, but it is not required. I look forward to your responses!
***GIVEAWAY UPDATE: Congratulations to Carolyn F! She was randomly selected by Rafflecopter as the giveaway winner.
There are more stops and chances to win Mouse’s Christmas Gift on Mindy Baker’s blog tour. The next stop is Laura Sassi’s blog on October 22.
*United States residents only.
Denette, I don’t need to be entered in the giveaway (I already have a treasured copy of Mouse’s Christmas Gift) but I just wanted to say that this is an adorable post and I love, love, love the acorn ornament craft as well as the service project coupons…just lovely!
Thank you, Glenys. I have additional tops drilled to make more of the acorn ornaments. They are a bit addicting…
What a beautiful post full of wonderful ideas to teach children. Thank you for taking the time to put this all together! I pray that many children will be impacted by these ideas.
Thank you, Mindy! Like I said, your story was rich with themes that could have been explored.
Would love to have this book for our Christmas book library!
Yes! It is a beautiful book. Thank you for commenting, Shawn!
Looks like a book for a new Christmas tradition.
I think it is a great book for the season and family discussions. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Thank you, Amy!
I always enjoyed decorating the tree with my family and having hot chocolate, and have started to continue the tradition with my young children.
I love that this is a tradition you are “passing down” to your children–great memories for them, and it connects them to your childhood and their grandparents. 🙂
What a fun event. As a former teacher of children at church, I love your lesson plan. We memorized Matt. 2 with the aid of a holly wreath of felt. No need to enter the drawing. I have the book.
Thanks for the encouragement, Vicki! I like the holly wreath idea!
My kids would love this! My favorite Christmas ornaments are the ones made by my kids. 🙂
My kids made free-standing snowmen to “hide” and count and gingerbread houses–but only a couple of ornaments. I wish I had more!
I love Christmas picture books. An old one I treasure is “Little Tree and His Wish.” Mindy’s book sounds like a Christmas gem.
I don’t know that book…I will have to look it up!
Thank you so much, Cheli!
Love all the Mouse books would
Love to add to our collection!
Thank you, April!
When my kids were growing up, we would read, listen or watch a Max Lucado Christmas story each year.
BTW, Christmas is misspelled Chrismas in your blog title.
I love Max Lucado. And thanks for the spelling catch. I can’t believe I missed it! UGH!
Christmas has always been a difficult time of year for me because I never had the pleasure of having children of my own. But after doing foster care for several years, God has opened the door for me to write for children. It is an honor and great responsibility – even though I’ve only published a few articles in magazines so far. I would love to include your book on my bookshelves. I think my favorite Christmas-ish story has always been the story of the Three Trees. So precious and always reminds me of what God has done for me!
Thank you for entering, Carolyn…and thank you for foster parenting. It is a hard job that is SO needed.
Every year my family likes to take a silly family picture. Last year we all wore plaid pajama pants and red shirts. I cherish every picture we have taken.
We take a picture of our kids each year. I have put each year’s picture in a Christmas card frame and then painters’ tape my collection to the wall in the shape of a Christmas tree. It is my favorite decoration…bittersweet as they are now young adults, but fun to see the age progression. I LOVE your “silly family” idea; what great memories!
What an adorable an meaningful faith-focused object lesson to accompany Mindy’s delightful Mouse’s Christmas Gift! I love both!
Thank you, Laura!