Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

I love teaching the Bible in ways where children experience the lesson. This month we will be learning about sharing in the story Jesus Feeds Five Thousand. Today was our first lesson where I act out the story as I tell it with my basket of loaves and two fish.

Supplies: bag of rolls, basket, 3 dish towels, and cutout of two fish (I found clipart with my Microsoft program)

Process: Before the lesson starts line a dish towel at the bottom of the basket. Place several rolls on top of the dish towel. Place another dish towel on top of the rolls. Then, place five rolls and the fish cut outs in the basket. Put another towel  over it all to keep it fresh until the lesson. As you tell the story, make sure you show the children the five rolls and fish. Count them out loud. When you get to the part of Jesus passing out the food, begin to pass out the rolls from the bottom layer of your basket. If you have a large class tear the rolls in half or thirds. At the end, you should still have some left on top to show the children that there were leftovers! While the children eat, talk about how the little boy shared his lunch... how can we share with our friends?

Teach Well: Remember to look for allergies when using food in your lessons. If a child doesn't want to take a piece of bread just have them say, "No thank you" and move on. Some preschoolers are unsure when you begin a story with food. As they see the other children enjoying it, they may want to try it after all. So remember to ask them again at the end of the lesson to see if the child changes their mind.