Virtue: Month: I.

JOY / Christmas December

Objectives: At the end of the activity, the kids are expected to: 1. Discover the real meaning of joy and that it can only be found in Jesus 2. Know what Christmas is all about 3. Share joy with others in the spirit of Christmas.

II. Memory Bible verse: Always be joyful in the Lord! Phil. 4:4 III. Schedule: 5 mins Checking of Attendance 10 mins Gathering Songs / Teaching of song/s: 10 mins Opening Prayer / Kid Praise 10 mins Game: Whats in my Christmas List 15 mins Intro / Storytelling 15 mins Activity: My Impossible Joy! / Processing 15 mins Activity: MY own Christmas wish list 10mins Closing Prayer / Announcements Note: The closing prayer should include The Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be IV. Program: GAME: WHATS IN MY CHRISTMAS LIST? 1. Divide the kids into smaller groups with equal number of members. 2. The facilitator will describe an object from his Christmas list. Only 3 descriptions will be given for each object. 3. Each group should guess what the object is. They should send a representative to say their answer when the facilitator says so. 4. My Christmas list: Parol: sinasabit. Maraming kulay. Pwedeng may ilaw o wala. Sabsaban: gawa sa dayami. matatagpuan sa farm. Lugar kung saan ipinanganak si Jesus. Tatlong hari: mga kilalang tao. May dalang regalo. di na bumalik sa kanilang pinanggalingan. Angel: may pakpak. Mensahero. Taga-bantay. Regalo: gusting-gustong matanggap pag Pasko. Nakabalot sa ibat-ibang kulay na papel. Maari ring mtanggap pag birthday. Kandila: sinisindihan. ginagamit para alalahanin ang adbyento. Nagbibigay liwanag. Bells: tumutunog. Gumigising sa atin sa umaga para mag-simbang gabi. Simbang gabi: 9 na araw na nobena. Nag-aalay tayo ng special na dasal kapag umaattend nito. Puto bumbong: pagkain. Gawa sa malagkit na kanin. Kulay violet at yellow ito. Noche Buena: maraming pagkain. Salu-salo ng pamilya para salubungin ang Pasko. Handaan. Jesus: anak ng Diyos. Pinanganak sa sabsaban. ang star ng Pasko. WHAT IS JOY? Joy is part of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. According to Pope Benedict XVI, in the Gospel of Annunciation (where the Angel greeted Mary) which means be joyful the New Testament begins. We could say that the first word in the New Testament is be joyful, be happy, in other words, joy. This is the true meaning of Christmas: God is near us, so near that He became a child. The Holy Father (Pope John Paul II) then highlighted "we realized that todays world, where God is absent, is dominated by fear, by uncertainty." Nonetheless, "the words be joyful because God is with you and with us, truly open a new time."

Joy is the true gift of Christmas, it is not found in material things and money. We can communicate joy simply: with a smile, a kind gesture, a little help, forgiveness. And the joy we give will certainly come back to us... Let us pray that this presence of the liberating joy of God shines forth in our lives." STORYTELLING: THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST (ppt) Processing: The Joy of Christmas is not in material things such as new clothes, toys, foods, Christmas lanterns, etc., but it can be found when Mama Mary gave birth to our Lord Jesus Christ, this is the true essence of the season, the coming of Jesus to the world became the real Joy of Christmas. We experience joy not just in celebrating Christmas but of knowing and realizing that God loves us so much. God is near us through His son Jesus whom He gave us and became a child of Man. Jesus Is The Reason For The Season! And so we rejoice in Him! ACTIVITY: My impossible Joy! 1. There will be pictures that will be shown to the group. 2. The group should identify if the picture is something that we can do or only God can do. 3. If the picture is something that we can do, the kids should do push-ups. If the picture is something only God can do, the kids should do jumping jacks. Processing Making it snow is something that would be impossible for us to dowithout a snow machine. But God gave us creative brains and good strong muscles, so we CAN build snowmen out of the snow that God creates. Its impossible for us to make a tree grow, but we CAN plant and water seeds because God gave us seeds and bodies that move. God can do the impossible, [Apply] so we can have joy because He can do anything. Remember these (do air quotes) impossible things when youre not feeling very joyful. And remember that [Impress] you can have joy because anything is possible with God. [Personalize] Tell kids about something God does that brings you joy when youre down. Talk about how thinking about this impossible thing brings you joy because it reminds you that God can can do anything. ACTIVITY: MY OWN CHRISTMAS WISH LIST 1. The kids are asked to divide their paper into 4 columns. Each column will be named as follows: their name, family, friends, and others 2. They are asked to name at least 3 major wish for each for this Christmas. 3. Ask them to share it in the group. Processing Christmas is not only about asking Jesus to grant our wishes for our own self, but it is more about giving of ones self to others to give and receive Joy. Just like our Heavenly Father did when he sent His only Son; He gave Jesus to us to save us so that we will be in eternal Joy with Him, and that when we experienced that eternal Joy, we bring back Joy to Him by living a life pleasing to Him. If you noticed, the Christmas wish lists that we did, is not only our own wish list for ourselves, but we included our wishes for our families, friends and others. And that Jesus, who is the star of our Christmas would also hear our wishes for them and in faith, we hope that He will grant these wishes and these will be our best Christmas gift to our loved ones! For when we share our joy to others, it doubles the joy that we feel and experience! And when we share Jesus to others, who is the real source of Joy, not only we are happy, but we make others happy as well! Closing Prayer Invite the kids to pray-over their wish list and that they may be empowered to share the real source of Joy this Christmas, Jesus Christ.