The Sower and the Seeds Preschool Lesson
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: “The farmer scattered his seeds.”
One day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. So many people came to him that he got into a boat. He sat in the boat. So many people! All the people stood on the beach. Then Jesus told them stories. They were stories with a hidden meaning. They are called parables.
Jesus told a story about a farmer. A farmer went out to sow. To sow means to plant seeds. In those days, farmers carried a bag of seeds. They threw the seeds out over the field with their hands. Can you throw seeds like the farmer? The farmer scattered his seeds.
Some seeds fell by the roadside, on the hard path. The birds came. Peck, peck, peck! They ate them all up. Those seeds never had a chance to grow.
The farmer scattered his seeds. Some seeds fell on rocky ground. There was not much soil there. There was just a little dirt on top of the rocks. The seeds sprang up fast.
But then the hot sun came up. The little plants were scorched. Scorched means burned by the sun. They had no root, so they dried up. A root is the part of a plant under the ground. It drinks water for the plant.
Some seeds fell among thorns – prickly weeds. Ouch! Thorns are sharp. The thorns grew up too. They choked the little plants. Choked means squeezed so they could not grow.
But some seeds fell on good soil. They grew and grew! Can you be a little seed? Curl up small. Now grow up tall!
The seeds on good soil gave lots of grain. Some gave one hundred times as much! Some gave sixty, and some gave thirty. So much grain from little seeds! The farmer scattered his seeds.
Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Can you touch your ears? That means: listen well!
Later Jesus’ friends came to him. They asked Jesus why he told stories. Jesus answered them with many words. He also said, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.” Blessed means very happy with God.
Then Jesus told his friends what the story means. The seed is “the word of the Kingdom.” That is God’s good news. And people are like the different kinds of ground.
Some people hear God’s word but do not understand it. Then it is taken away, like the seeds the birds ate.
Some people hear it with joy, but they have no root. When hard times come, they give up. For some people, worries and wanting lots of money are like thorns. They choke the word.
Then Jesus spoke about the good soil. “This is he who hears the word and understands it.” God’s word grows and grows in that person. It gives good fruit for God, just like the good soil.
God’s word is like a little seed that grows and grows in a heart. The farmer scattered his seeds.
3. Talk together (3 min)
- What does a little seed need to grow big?
- Which seeds do you think made the farmer happiest?
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 seeds growing tall in the good soil.
6. Verse and prayer (2 min)
“Others fell on good soil and yielded fruit” — Matthew 13:8 (Others fell → wiggle your fingers down like falling seeds; on good soil → pat the ground; and yielded fruit → grow up tall and open your arms wide)
Dear God, thank you for your good word. Please let it grow in my heart like a little seed. Amen.
Lesson for older kids (ages 6–10)
Big idea: Grow a Good-Soil Heart
Memory verse: “Those in the good ground, these are those who with an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and produce fruit with perseverance.” — Luke 8:15 · WEB
The Bible story
A kind farmer scatters his seeds far and wide, and Jesus shows us why some grow strong and tall while others sadly fade away.
Talk about it
- Where did Jesus sit to tell His story to the big crowd? — In a boat on the lake
- What was the farmer doing in Jesus' story? — Sowing seed
- How did the farmer plant his seeds? — He scattered them
- What happened to the seeds that fell on the hard path? — Birds ate them up
- Why did the seeds on the rocky ground wither? — They had no deep roots
- What happened to the seeds among the thorns? — The thorns choked them
Where is Jesus in this story?
In this story the seed is God's word (Luke 8:11), and Jesus himself was like the sower, scattering God's word in towns and fields everywhere he went. The Bible even calls Jesus “the Word” who became a man (John 1:14). So when you listen to Jesus and keep his words in your heart, his good seed grows in you.
What God wants to tell us
Jesus tells us that God is always sharing His good words with everyone, just like the farmer scattering seeds. But those words grow best in a heart that truly listens and holds them tight. When we make room for God, forgive the worries and busyness that crowd us, and let His love sink down deep, wonderful things grow inside us: kindness, joy, and faith that keeps on growing. God is so happy when our hearts become soft, good soil for Him.
Prayer
Father God, thank You for sharing Your good words with me like a farmer planting seeds. Please help my heart become soft, good soil that listens and grows. Help Your love grow tall and strong inside me so I can share it with others. Amen.
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