The Growing Seed Preschool Sunday School Lesson (Free, Ages 3–6)
Preschool lesson (ages 3–6, 20 minutes)
1. Welcome (3 min)
Sit in a circle, greet every child by name and show one thing from the story to touch.
2. The little story (5 min)
Teach the refrain first: “Night and day, the seed grows and grows.”
Jesus sat in a boat by the lake. Many, many people stood on the shore to listen. Jesus taught them with stories about God’s Kingdom – where God is King. Here is one of them.
Long ago, farmers had no big machines. They planted seeds by hand. They threw the seeds over the ground, handful by handful. In Jesus’ land, farmers planted wheat and barley. Have you ever planted a seed?
Listen to what Jesus said. “God’s Kingdom is as if a man should cast seed on the earth.” Cast means throw. So a man threw seeds on the ground. Scatter, scatter! Can you throw seeds with your hand?
The seeds lay in the brown earth. They were very small. You could hardly see them. Would anything happen? Let’s wait and see.
Then night came. The stars came out. The man went to sleep. Can you put your hands under your cheek and sleep? Then morning came. The sun came up. The man got up. Stretch up high!
Night came again, and he slept. Day came again, and he got up. Night, day, night, day, night, day. Night and day, the seed grows and grows.
And down in the earth, something was happening. Little roots went down into the soil. The seed sprang up! It grew! Did the man make the seed grow? No! He did not even know how it grew.
Jesus said, “The earth bears fruit by itself.” The man could not make it grow. God sends the sun and the rain, and the plant grows.
First a tiny green blade came up. A blade is a thin leaf, like grass. Then came the ear. The ear is the top part, where the grains grow. Then the full grain in the ear. Night and day, the seed grows and grows.
Let’s grow like the seed! Crouch down very small. Now you are a little blade. Come up a bit. Now you are the ear. Stand up! Now you are the full grain. Stretch up tall!
Many nights and many days went by. Night and day, the seed grows and grows.
At last the grain was ripe – ready to pick. The man came with his sickle. A sickle is a curved knife for cutting grain. Swish, swish, swish! The harvest had come. Harvest is the time to gather in the crops. Now there would be grain for bread!
Jesus told many stories like this. He told them in a way the people could understand. Later, when he was alone with his friends, he explained everything to them.
God makes things grow, even while we sleep. Tonight, while you sleep, God is still at work. Night and day, the seed grows and grows.
3. Talk together (3 min)
- What do you think the seed was doing while the man was sleeping?
- What have you seen grow, in a garden or in a pot?
4. Move (3 min)
Refrain Freeze: move around the room; when you say the refrain, everyone freezes and says it together.
5. Make (4 min)
Draw the seed growing: first a little blade, then the ear, then the full grain.
6. Verse and prayer (2 min)
“First the blade, then the ear, then the full grain” — Mark 4:28 (first the blade → hold one finger up near the floor; then the ear → raise your hand to your chest; the full grain → stretch both arms up high)
Dear God, thank you that you make things grow, night and day. Amen.
Lesson for older kids (ages 6–10)
Big idea: God Grows Good Things
Memory verse: “For the earth bears fruit by itself: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.” — Mark 4:28 · WEB
The Bible story
A farmer scatters tiny seeds, then sleeps and wakes as they grow in secret — discover the gentle story Jesus told about how God quietly grows His kingdom!
Talk about it
- Where was Jesus teaching when He told this story? — By the lake
- What kind of little story did Jesus like to tell? — A parable
- What did the farmer do out in his field? — Scattered tiny seeds
- What did the farmer do after planting the seeds? — Went home and slept
- While the farmer slept and woke, what happened to the seeds? — They quietly grew
- Did the farmer know how the seed grew? — No, he did not know how
Where is Jesus in this story?
Jesus once said that a grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die before it can grow into many seeds (John 12:24). He was talking about himself. Jesus was buried like a seed, and on the third day he rose to new life. Now, quietly, his life keeps growing in people all over the world, and it can grow in you, too.
What God wants to tell us
God's kingdom is like that little seed. We may not see God working, but He never stops. When you say a kind word, share your snack, or whisper a prayer, you are planting good seeds. You do not have to make them grow — that is God's gentle, wonderful job. All you need to do is trust Him, be patient, and watch with joy as He turns small beginnings into something beautiful.
Prayer
Thank You, God, for growing good things, even when I cannot see them. Help me to plant seeds of kindness and to trust You while I wait. Thank You for being patient and loving with me, and for always keeping Your promises. Amen.
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