Aim to know that we are God’s children and He gave us a heart, so we can love like God

Aims
* To know that we are God’s children and He gave us a heart, so we can love like God
* To know the difference between animals and people

Materials
*“I’m Glad I’m Not a Turtle,” from The Toddler’s Bedtime Storybook by Gilbert Beers
*Outline picture of a boy and girl
*Heart-shaped stickers to cut
*animal pictures to cut and paste

Lesson Outline
1. Introduction
2. Story & Discussion
3. Activities – move as different animals, make a picture
4. Review aims of lesson
5. Prayer

1) Introduction
Talk about animals and human beings. God made lots of different animals. How many animals can you think of? Which animals do you like? Would you like to be an animal instead of a boy or girl? Why? Why not?

2) Story and Discussion
Read “I’m Glad I’m Not a Turtle.”
* What animals are in the story?
– turtle, frog, puppy, dog, elephant, kangaroo, rabbit, goat

*What do they have that we don’t have
– shell, fur, a tail, long trunk, long legs

*What can they do that we can’t do? 
– jump high, eat grass, live in water, run on four legs, drink through their nose

*What can we do that animals can’t do?
– speak, write, read, sing, play music, drive cars, build houses.

*How are we different from animals? What did God give us that he didn’t give to  animals?

– God is our Heavenly Father and we are His children. We can talk to God and He can talk to us. We are the most intelligent of all God’s creations. He gave us a heart to love and a spirit that lives forever.

4) Activities
* Move as different animals: turtle, frog, puppy, giant hairy dog, elephant, kangaroo, bunny rabbit, nanny goat, etc… 
* Make a picture. Take the outline of a boy or girl. Paste a heart sticker to show how we are different from animals. Draw eyes, ears, mouth, etc…and colour the picture Cut out animal shapes. Paste them around the boy or girl.

5) Review the aims of the lesson
* To know that we are God’s children and He gave us a heart, so we can love like God
* To know the difference between animals and people

6) Prayer
Say a prayer to thank God for making so many different animals and for making us to be the most special of all of God’s creations