Directions:
Place construction paper and dot stickers on the table. Write a child’s name across the paper with a marker making the first letter large. Encourage the child to outline the first letter of their name by placing dot stickers over the letters.

Say:
Names are very special. Families choose names for their children. Hosea married Gomer, and they had three children with special names. Their names were Jezreel which means trouble, No Mercy because God would punish the people of Israel, and Not My People because the people were not obeying God. These names were a message from God. Hosea told the people of Israel to turn back to God, who still loved them and would take care of them after they were punished. God is loving and faithful. Even when we do not love God as we should, He still loves us. God showed His love by sending Jesus to save us.

Directions:
Show the kids how to use the duplo blocks as “stamps” to stamp their heart. (You will have plenty of baby wipes to clean up the kids and table with. Just throw the dirty blocks in the ziplock bag when you are done, I will wash them).

Say:
These hearts are so colorful and beautiful! Seeing these beautiful hearts reminds me God is loving and faithful. Even though we do not love God with our whole hearts, He still loves us. God showed His love for us by sending His Son, Jesus, to die and come back to life to save us from sin.

Directions:
You will be given 3 puzzles. Have the kids help you put each one together, one at a time. Exclaim at the end of each, “Oh no! We are missing a piece! Now we can’t finish this puzzle!” Then move on to the next one. “Let’s try THIS puzzle” Repeat for the 3 puzzles.  Then pull out the bag and say “maybe we can find the missing puzzle pieces in this bag” and have a child pick ONE piece out and try to find the puzzle it goes with.

Say:
Whew! I thought we would never be able to finish this puzzle. Thank you for finding the missing puzzle pieces. This reminds me of Hosea going out to find Gomer after she ran away. Hosea trusted God because God is loving and faithful. Hosea told the people to turn back to God, who still loved them and would take care of them. Even though we do not love God with all our hearts, He still loves us. God showed us His love by sending Jesus to save us from our sin.

Directions:
This would be an outdoor game. Lay out a rope to make a starting line and have the kids line up in a row facing forward. Explain that when you say GO they have to WALK forward, but when you say “TURN BACK!” they have to turn around and run back to the starting place.

Say:
What a fun game! You had to turn back and run to the starting line. Hosea told the Israelites to turn back to God. We turn away from God when choose to sin or disobey God. Even though we turn away from God when we sin, God still loves us. God showed His love for us by sending His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross and come back to life so we can be forgiven of our sin. God is loving and faithful.

Directions:
Printouts of Gomer will be taped up around the classroom. Have the preschoolers find her.

Say: 
God told Hosea to marry a woman named Gomer, but Gomer would not love Hosea completely. She did not stay with Hosea. She went away, just like how the people of Israel went away from God. But Hosea went to find Gomer, and he brought her back home. God is loving and faithful. Even when we do not love God as we should, He still loves us. God showed His love by sending Jesus to save us.

Directions:
Tell the kids that you have something inside the bag that reminds you of a part of the story we read.  Have the kids take turns feeling the object while it is in the bag but not pulling it out. Have them try to guess what they feel. Be sure this is a happy experience, please do not do anything that would frighten the children or make them afraid to put their hands in the bag. (NOTE - It's totally ok if the kids are not able to guess the object. The point isn't the guessing, the point is an interactive way to introduce a point from the story)

Say:
There is something in this bag that reminds me of our Bible lesson today. Feel what is inside. Can you guess what it is? It is a heart. Hearts remind me of love. In our lesson, God told Hosea to marry a woman named Gomer, but Gomer would love other people instead. Hosea loved Gomer even though she had made him sad. Even when we do not love God as we should, He still loves us. God is loving and faithful.

Directions:
For Go & Serve Saturday we planted flowers outside the Early Childhood classroom. There are mini watering cans you can use to take the kids outside and water the flowers. This is an ongoing activity for the season. There is a hose outside by the flowers you can use to fill up the cans. (It’s also nice to do this ahead of time if you want.)