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Itchy, Smelly Bedby Len

Children create the manger scene, but first they must find all the parts.

Materials:

A small nativity with characters and

plenty of barn animals

3 kings (wise men, magi) with gifts

Duration:

Approximately 15 minutes

Topics:

Birth of Christ, Christmas

Target Audience:

Ages 4-6

Preparation:Place the stable structure without the characters on top of the table so the children will see that it is empty. Hide

the other figures, animals, etc. in different areas of the room where the children will not see them immediately, but

can be found easily. Put the three kings with gifts in a separate place to search last, or have the children close

their eyes after finding the other items, and then hide them. If no nativity set is available, picture cut-outs can work

just as well.

What you will do:

Have the children find the different nativity items hidden in the room, and complete the nativity scene. Adding

Mary, Joseph and Jesus first, then the animals, and last the wise men as you tell the story of the birth of Jesus.

What you will say:

"Before Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph traveled many days to the town of Bethlehem. But when they arrived,the city was so full with travelers it was hard to find a place to stay. Someone suggested that they stay in a

certain place. What kind of place was it? (A stable or barn like the one on the table.)

Our stable is empty. What may have been in the stable on that special night? (The children will probably mention

a manger and certain animals.)

I think when Jesus was born there were special people and animals that visited to celebrate His birth. Lets go find

them and help them find their way to our barn. Of course, Mary, Joseph and Jesus should be inside first. Then we

will add the rest. (Allow time for the children to find the hidden items.)

Great! Let's put Mary and Joseph here first. Next baby Jesus. What did baby Jesus sleep on? Right, a manger

filled with hay. That would be an itchy, smelly bed, don't you think? What else was in the stable? Right, animals.Let's add some animals.Next there were visitors, like shepherds. Let's add them too."

After you help arrange the figures, tell the children that three kings (wise men, magi) also visited Jesus.

"What do you think the wise men brought? (Presents.) We need to find the wise men." Explain where the children

should look for the wise men, and add them to the scene as they are discovered.

Note: The Biblical account of the birth of Jesus does not specifically mention the type of structure where the

manger was found. Neither the common nativity scenes often seen today nor the use of one in this activity should

suggest what was actually used at the time of Jesus' birth.

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