Ask a preschooler what they know about Christmas and you are bound to get a variety of answers in and out of church:

“Santa!”

“Toys!”

“Christmas tree!”

“Jesus!”

Some children may have memorized some beginning biblical details. For others, their ideas about Christmas are more likely to be associated with toys, gifts, and decorations.

No matter what children know at any moment in time, enjoy sharing this gift of a story with them in ways they learn best – through play – and Frolic has a new way to put the story of baby Jesus in preschoolers' hands and hearts.

Teach them the meaning in their hearts

Children view the Christmas story as special in part because they sense the excitement in their parents, families, teachers, and caregivers. It’s in our hearts! Christmas is a time of joy and celebration. When we celebrate Christmas, we are celebrating the birthday of baby Jesus.

When children hear the Christmas story, they are learning a story that is central to the Christian faith. When children handle and play with a nativity set, they discover how the story of baby Jesus relates to them. When they learn about the star, they learn that stars are a symbol in the Christian faith.

Help little ones remember and share the story of Jesus’ birth at church and at home! During what can be an especially crazy time of year for parents and caregivers, give them easy tools to confidently share the story as they guide their children in taking little steps toward their big faith!

Give preschoolers a hands-on experience 

Start with the Bible! Let kids hold it, hear the words, and see the pictures. The Frolic Preschool Bible features easy-to-read text and friendly, colorful illustrations. As you read the words, point to the pictures of the people, places, and things in the story. 

Then invite kids to do the pointing as you read the story again and again.

Where is the star? The baby? Mary? Joseph? Soon they will be telling you the story in their own way using the illustrations as their visual prompts.

To extend their storytelling and engage their playful hands, create and give preschoolers their own Frolic Mini Manger using our free downloadable instructions and reproducible template. It features the same artwork from the Frolic Bible with both full-color and coloring book-style options included.

The Frolic Mini Manger is created from a simple, 52mm x 35mm craft slide matchbox – the perfect size for preschoolers' hands. You will need to purchase the boxes, or you could use a small envelope. Cut out the pieces from the reproducible template, color if desired, and glue the image of baby Jesus inside the box and the sky pieces around the exterior.

Tell the story again with their mini mangers! Invite kids to point to the star in the sky over the place where the shepherds found Jesus. Open the box and find baby Jesus in the manger – where Mary and Joseph laid him. 

Download your FREE Frolic Mini Manger instructions and reproducibles here! Feel free to share on social media or in your church’s communication channels too