Unit 1: Lesson 7 JOSEPH

1) Welcome

2) Songs: Start the Story Hour with the learning our names song. Go around the circle or table and introduce each child.

(sing to the tune of “The More we get together”)
Thank you God for (name)
For (name), for (name)
Thank you God for (name)
We’re glad (s) he is here!

3) Prayer... Thank God that he is in control of everything. Thank him for guiding our way.

4) Theme: Remind the children of the theme of the unit, that God works among his covenant people to prepare the world for the Savior. Hebrews 12:1&2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us… look to Jesus.” Tell them that they are going to hear a Bible Story again today that shows that theme. Joseph’s brothers were doing wrong to Joseph by selling him into slavery, but God had a plan to save all the Israelite from the famine using Joseph in Egypt.

5) Bible Story: Today’s Story is about Joseph based on Genesis 37-45. Read pages 65-76 from the Read and Learn Bible (Scholastic).

6) Text: Today’s Text is: Genesis 45:8 “So it was not you who sent me here, but God.”

7) Craft:

• Joseph’s Many Colored Coat… cut out the shape of a coat from construction paper. Give the children crayons/markers and colored paper scraps, scissors and glue and encourage them to decorate Joseph’s coat in many colors. They may glue the finished coat onto a sheet of white paper with the text on the bottom or you can simple write the text on the back of the coat. Materials Required: construction paper, bag of colored scraps. white paper, crayons, markers, glue. Alternatively, provide them with a coloring page of Joseph and have them decorate this coat with all the colored scraps.
This picture is good for smaller kids at the coat already has lots of pattern. This removes the pressure to cover the whole coat with colors! A simpler picture may work better if your group has more older children who might like to make up their own patterned coats.
• Joseph's Coat (painting)... if you have invested in paint dabbers (see tip on "Noah"), then this would be a great time to bring them out. Let the children fill in the coat with lots of dabs of paint in many different colors. Kids can easily get carried away with paint dabbers, so emphasize that the paint is supposed to go ONLY on his coat!
The COAT on the left is just squares of construction paper. If you have fabric scraps, that can look really good too. The COAT on the right is painted with paint dabbers - by my 3 year old... I did the coloring, though :-)
• Joseph’s Dreams… draw a line down the center of a piece of construction paper to divide the paper into two. Cut out the shapes: a person for Joseph, sheaves of wheat, the sun, moons and stars. Allow the children to choose and glue the shapes to show Joseph’s two dreams. You may want to prepare a sample for them to copy. If you can find them, use start stickers instead of paper cut outs. Older children may want to draw Joseph rather than glue on the paper person. Materials Required: construction paper, Joseph cut out shapes, star stickers, sun and moon cut out shapes, glue, crayons, markers (photos coming soon)

8) Closing Prayer: say the Lord's Prayer together with the children.

9) Going Home: Sing the closing together. Then, check to see if all the children have collected their crafts and coloring sheets before they go home. Say goodbye and tell them that you enjoyed learning about God together and were happy to have them today! You were, weren’t you?
(sung to the tune of The More we Get Together,
just like the opening song)
We love to learn together,
Together, together
We love to learn together
And give thanks to God.
Also can be sung with: “sing” or “pray” or “work”