⭐a new star🐪camels🏰Herod's palace🏠a little house🎁three gifts
The wise men's journey.
The big ideaThe Bible tells us wise men followed a star and gave the child three gifts.
How it works
The Bible tells us wise men came from the east, over the desert. Every night they studied the stars, and one night they saw a new star.
They packed food, water and gifts, loaded their camels and followed the star to Jerusalem. A king named Herod lived there in a great big palace. He told them to find the child and come back, but he was not being honest.
The star stopped over a little house. The wise men saw the child with Mary, knelt down, and gave three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
In a dream they were warned not to go back to Herod, so they went home another way.
The story in a row.
💰gold: shiny and bright🕯️frankincense: a sweet perfume🏺myrrh: a sweet oil
The three gifts.
Example 1: Follow the star
Hide a paper star somewhere in the room.
Take turns to follow it, slowly, plod, plod, plod, like camels.
The wise men followed the star day after day, until it stopped over a little house.
Example 2: Three gifts
Make three little gifts from paper.
Name them: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
In those days frankincense and myrrh were costly gifts, made from the sap of trees.
Example 3: A gift shows love
Draw a picture for someone you love.
A gift shows love, even one that costs very little.
The wise men gave their best gifts.
Words to know
wise men
People who studied the stars, and came from far away.
frankincense
A sweet perfume made from tree sap.
myrrh
A sweet oil made from tree sap.
Herod
The king who lived in a great big palace in Jerusalem.
camel
An animal that carried the wise men over the sand.
Watch out
The star led them to a little house, not a palace.
The wise men came from far away, in the east.
King Herod was not honest, so the wise men went home another way.
A gift can be small. It shows love, not that you are rich.
Try it
What did the wise men follow?
How many gifts did they give?
Where did the star stop?
How did the wise men go home?
Answers: 1. A bright star · 2. Three: gold, frankincense and myrrh · 3. Over a little house · 4. Another way
Try at homeWith a grown-up, make three little gifts from paper, and give one to someone you love.
For grown-upsMake a paper star and three paper gifts, and let your child lead the walk to the little house. Then ask what they would give to someone they love.
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