A Movement-Based Nativity for Preschoolers and Older Kids

Follow the Star, Little Shepherds is a 20-minute, movement-based nativity play designed especially for preschoolers, with simple speaking roles for older children. This gentle, interactive script helps even the youngest kids participate in the Christmas story by following a big star across the room all the way to the manger where baby Jesus lies.

Along the way, the little shepherds meet friendly Field Reporters (older kids) who explain what’s happening in short, simple phrases. The children practice different “star-following” movements (tiptoeing, giant steps, sneaky steps), hear the angels’ good news, walk through a “busy marketplace,” and finally arrive at the stable to worship baby Jesus.

The script is purposely simple, repetitive, and call-and-response based, making it ideal for:

• Preschool church programs

• Christmas Eve family services

• Preschool / kindergarten chapels

• Multi-age children’s ministry Christmas events

Key Features

• Length: ~20 minutes

• Cast Size: 8–12 preschoolers as shepherds/sheep, plus 5–10 older children as narrators, field reporters, angels, Mary, and Joseph

• Skill Level: Perfect for non-readers—lines for little ones are echoed, repeated, or spoken as a group

• Style: Gentle, warm, and interactive with light humor and lots of movement

• Focus: Helping young children understand, “We follow the star to find Jesus, God’s special gift of love.”

Why Leaders Love It

• Movement keeps preschoolers engaged – children are rarely just standing still

• Built-in prompts for leaders to coach lines and actions (no memorization required for little ones)

• Flexible casting – you can easily add more shepherds, sheep, angels, or marketplace characters

• Includes natural song moments where your children’s choir or congregation can sing a carol (e.g., “Away in a Manger,” “Silent Night”)

• Scales to your space – can be performed on a small platform, in a fellowship hall, or right in the sanctuary aisle

What You Need

• A star on a stick (battery lights or glitter are a bonus)

• Simple sheep headbands or paper ears

• Soft angel wings and basic robes/scarves

• A simple manger with a baby doll

• A few props for a “marketplace” and an “inn” (optional but fun)

Perfect For

Churches and schools that want a fresh, easy-to-stage preschool nativity where kids are moving, participating, and truly part of the story, not just standing still in costumes.

With Follow the Star, Little Shepherds, your youngest children don’t just watch Christmas happen—they walk the path themselves, discovering that Jesus came for them too.

Follow the Star, Little Shepherds

A Movement-Based Nativity for Preschoolers (with Older Kids Helping)

Length: ~20 minutes

Cast:

• 8–12 Preschoolers as Little Shepherds (and Sheep)

• 2–4 Older Children as Field Reporters

• 1–2 Older Children as Narrator(s)

• Optional: Mary, Joseph, 1–3 Angels (older kids or gentle grade-schoolers)

Simple Props & Costumes:

• A big star on a stick (STAR LEADER carries it)

• Sheep headbands or simple paper ears for preschoolers

• Soft angel wings & simple white shirts for angels

• Simple shawls or robes for Mary, Joseph, reporters

• A manger with a doll as baby Jesus

• A few hay bales or brown cloth for the “stable”

• Floor tape or stars on the ground to mark “path” stops
  

STAGE LAYOUT (Simple Version)

• Left side: “Shepherds’ field” (blanket or green rug, maybe cardboard sheep)

• Center: “Path” – a winding line of taped stars or paper stars on the floor

• Right side / upstage: “Stable” with manger, Mary, Joseph, angels

Little shepherds begin seated or kneeling in the “field.”

Field Reporters and Narrator stand off to the side with microphones (real or toy).

OPENING

(Lights up softly. Gentle instrumental Christmas music playing, then fades.)

NARRATOR (older child)

Welcome, everyone, to Follow the Star, Little Shepherds.

Tonight, our little shepherds will walk, tiptoe, and wander all the way

to the place where baby Jesus lies in a manger.

They will follow a bright star,

meet some friendly helpers,

and discover that Jesus came for everyone —

even tiny shepherds with wiggly feet!

Grown-ups, you’re invited to join in by smiling big, clapping softly,

and singing along with the songs you know.

Now, shhh…

Let’s visit a quiet field outside the town of Bethlehem.

(Music fades. Lights focus on the shepherds’ field.)