Mission Friends Kickoff Event: Around the World
To kick off the new year of Mission Friends, invite preschoolers and their families to take a trip around the world!
Preparation
- Use logos from the Mission Friends Digital Package to create Mission Friends T-shirts or baseball caps!
- Fold sheets of blue construction paper in half to form pretend passports. Print “PASSPORT” on the front cover of each (one per preschooler).
- Arrange for volunteers to decorate and host the tables, “stamp” passports with stickers, and interact with preschoolers and their families.
- Print copies of the “Mission Friends Enrollment Form” and the ”Allergy Alert Chart” which are available for download at wmu.com/preschool under Free Downloads. List food items preschoolers may taste on the allergy alert chart.
- Purchase and print a copy of Around the World.
- Print greetings (see below) from each continent on card stock and place them on the matching tables so volunteers may easily refer to the greetings as they visit with preschoolers.
- Select and gather food and clothing items for each of the seven continents. See below for suggestions.
- Gather several blue towels.
- Prepare to lead the songs “I Love Jesus” (p. 16) and “Missionaries Go” (p. 34) in Sing to the Tune.
Room Setup
- Display a world globe on an entry table. Set out a clipboard, paper, and pens so parents can fill in the “Mission Friends Enrollment Form.”
- Display the allergy alert chart near the entrance.
- Arrange seven tables in a large circle. Label each table with the name of a continent (North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Antarctica).
- On each table, place food samples and clothes for a culture associated with that table’s continent (see below).
- Place a stack of blue towels on the floor in the middle of the tables.
- Position volunteers at each table to “stamp” passports with stickers and teach preschoolers to say “hello” in a language from each specific continent.
“Continent” Table Setup
North America
Food: chocolate sandwich cookies
Clothes: sunglasses (one per child)
Saying hello: Hi
South America
Food: tortilla pieces
Clothes: ponchos (fabric with center holes for the head)
Saying hello: Hola [OH-lah] (Spanish)
Asia
Food: fortune cookies
Clothes: kimonos (bathrobes)
Saying hello: Nǐhǎo [NEE-how] (Chinese)
Europe
Food: cheese sticks
Clothes: aprons
Saying hello: Bonjour [BONE-zhur] (French)
Africa
Food: puff-puffs (cinnamon donut holes)
Clothes: brightly colored shirts
Saying hello: Hujambo [HU-jambo] (Swahili)
Australia
Food: banana slices
Clothes: beach shorts
Saying hello: G-Day!
Antarctica
Food: sledging biscuits (substitute teething biscuits)
Clothes: mittens
Saying hello: Privet [PREVE-yet] (Russian)
Welcome Preschoolers and Families to a Trip Around the World
- As preschoolers and families arrive, give each preschooler a passport and a Mission Friends T-shirt or baseball cap.
- Guide preschoolers and their families to visit each continent (table). Encourage preschoolers to sample the foods, try on the clothes, and receive their passport stickers. Teach them how to say “hello” in a language for each continent.
- After preschoolers have gone “around the world,” lead them to the pretend ocean in the center. Distribute blue towels, help spread them on the floor, and ask preschoolers to sit down on the towels. Read Around the World to the preschoolers. Lead preschoolers in singing “I Love Jesus” (p. 16) and “Missionaries Go” (p. 34) in Sing to the Tune.
- Say: Today we pretended to travel around the world to visit other places. At Mission Friends, we learn about missionaries who travel around the world to tell other people about Jesus.
- Open the Bible and read: Jesus loves you (see John 15:12).
- Pray a simple prayer. Thank families for coming and invite parents to fill out a “Mission Friends Enrollment Form.”
- Welcome new preschoolers to join your Mission Friends class!
by Suzanne Krein
