Family, Faith and Fun Challenge Day 4

If you’ve missed previous challenges, you can go to our website and find them. (www.parentinglikehannah.com)

Wednesday, December 23, Day 4

Bible Reading: Luke 3:1-22

Memory Verse: “John said many other things to warn the people. He also announced the good news to them.” Luke 3:18

Thoughts to Share: God sent John the Baptist to prepare the people to listen to Jesus. He reminded them of their sins and their need to repent. The people who listened well repented of their sins and were baptized in the Jordan River. They were ready to listen to Jesus when he began preaching and teaching. We have the things God wants us to know in our Bible. God wants us to listen to those words carefully and read them for ourselves when we are old enough. More importantly, God wants us to worship, obey and serve Him.

Family Fun Activity. Today, you will do an activity to see how well you listen. Someone will read the instructions below. You are each to draw exactly what the person tells you to draw. You will get points for everything you drew that followed the instructions. When you are finished, think about if you could listen more carefully than you did. If you want to try again, there is another set of instructions for a different drawing. See if you can listen carefully and follow those instructions. If you really enjoy this activity, you can take turns making up your own instructions and seeing if others can listen to them carefully and follow them well. If you have older children, you may also want to talk about the messages body language can give. You can also play Christmas Charades to show how you can use your body to communicate and how well you listen to body language.

Parenting Tips: Here, you will find tips for helping your kids be better listeners. With a lot of practice, they should be able to listen carefully. As they have more practice and get older, they will also be able to remember and follow more instructions when they hear them. Until then, help them practice with the attached tips.

Listening Games

Each person needs a sheet of paper and some crayons or markers. An adult reads each line of instructions, giving the others a few seconds to follow directions. If players struggle with listening skills, you may choose to repeat each instruction once. To make the game more difficult do not repeat each instruction.

Christmas Listening Game

  • Draw Santa’s sleigh in the middle of your picture
  • Draw a tree to the left of the sleigh
  • Draw snowflakes
  • Draw ornaments on the tree
  • Draw Santa standing to the right of his sleigh
  • Draw a bag of presents in the sleigh
  • Draw stars and a moon in the sky
  • Draw reindeer pulling the sleigh
  • Draw a house with a chimney 
  • Decorate the outside of the house with lights

Look at the finished drawings. How well did everyone follow instructions? Finish coloring the drawings and display them somewhere.

Bible Listening Game

  • Draw rocky hills and desert sand
  • Draw the Jordan River along the bottom of your drawing
  • Draw John the Baptist wearing clothes made out of camel’s hair
  • Draw the people listening to John the Baptist
  • Draw a sun and clouds in the sky
  • Draw a beehive and a locust/grasshopper/cricket to the right of John the Baptist
  • Draw a camel and a donkey to the left of John the Baptist
  • Draw fish in the Jordan River
  • Draw birds in the sky

Look at the finished drawings. How well did everyone follow instructions? Take turns making up your own instructions for drawings and see how well everyone follows those directions. 

Published by

Thereasa Winnett

Thereasa Winnett is the founder of Teach One Reach One and blogger at Parenting Like Hannah. She holds a BA in education from the College of William and Mary. She has served in all areas of ministry to children and teens for more than thirty years and regularly leads workshops for ministries and churches. She has conducted numerous workshops, including sessions at Points of Light’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the National Urban Ministry Conference, Pepperdine Bible Lectures, and Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration. Thereasa lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Greg, where she enjoys reading, knitting, traveling and cooking.

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