Activity

1. Prepare a booklet for each child by printing them out double-sided and folding, or you may also make just one for yourself to hold up as you read.
2. Hold up the first pages and read aloud the words on the page.
3. Ask the class what they see on the page. Point to the father bird, and the mother bird, and ask if they know what is in the egg. A baby bird.
4. Continue to read aloud, asking the class what they see on each page. On pages 3-4, point out that just like the baby bird was the same bird after he hatched, each one of us is the same person we were when we were inside our mother's womb.
5. After reading them aloud, hold up pages 5-6 and ask what are some things in God's creation they can see. Accept all answers.
6. Emphasize that Joe and Marie in this story, and their family, and all people everywhere, are part of God's creation! We are part of creation, and God loves us!
7. Ask if anyone has ever played dress-up, and invite students to share. Affirm that when they pretend to be someone else, or dress up as someone else, they remain the person they are.
8. After reading pages 7-8 aloud, hold up the pictures and ask which is the girl, and which is the boy.
9. Explain that God makes every person a girl or a boy.
10. Finish reading the story, and again point out that even though Joe pretends to be a superhero, and a bear, or anything else, he remains the boy that he is. He will always be a boy—and that's a wonderful thing! Explain that God makes each of us a boy or a girl, and that never changes, just like His love for us never changes!
11. Emphasize that God loves each one of us as He made us. Whether we are a boy or a girl is a gift from God. When we receive a gift with love, we show love to the person who gave it to us!
12. Invite students to paste a picture of themselves in the blank on page 11, and draw a picture where noted on page 12. Encourage them to take their booklets home and share them with their parents.