From A to Z: Letter I

Letter I is about how we are made in God's image. As an adult, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this one! Yet, I think it's a core truth to know and remember--especially when teaching our little ones about respecting and valuing themselves and others. 

Our favorite part about this lesson was making homemade play dough. I've tried a lot of play dough recipes, but this one is my favorite. I've tweaked it and tried it many times--and I hope you like it as much as we do. My biggest loved watching the play dough form in the pan--going from a liquid to a sticky ball. It gave us a chance to talk about how God formed Adam and Eve and how He made them like him. After the dough had cooled, I brought out some peg dolls, rocks, and a plastic snake. Without prompting, Luke was making the "bad" tree, telling me bits about the story of Adam and Eve, and adding lots of interesting details ;)

Letter I also includes reading the story of Adam and Eve, playing "mirror," and making a leaf-filled letter I. It's not part of the lesson, but drawing a self-portrait would be a fun activity this week too :) 

Here are some other resources you may enjoy (ps. some of these are affiliate links)

• Read God's Very Good Idea. We love this book! Not only is the story wonderful, but the illustrations are delightful! Plus, it shares the gospel and how we are made to love God and love others.
• Or pick up When God Made You (such a sweet book!)
• Maybe instead of a fairy garden, you could make your own Garden of Eden. How fun would that be?

Have a good one!

--Nicole

From A to Z: Letter H

Going through letter H has been a fun one! Not only that--it's a Bible truth that I can always use a reminder of: God is our Helper

As a momma of two young boys, I often find myself whispering this prayer "God, I need your help. I can't do this alone." And you know what? God meets me there and helps me--just like He helped David defeat Goliath. This is also an encouraging truth for our kids when they feel unsure or afraid of doing something new--we can remind them that God helps us. 

The letter H lesson includes grabbing your helper and baking some yummy rock cakes (they remind a little of a cookies and muffins combined), reading the story of David and Goliath, and stamping with rocks. 

Some other fun resources for this lesson to try (ps. some of these are affiliate links):

• Watch Dave and the Giant Pickle
• Draw your own giant Goliath
• Make your own stick slingshot

Have a good one!

Nicole

From A to Z: Letter G

A few days ago, I walked into our back room and found my oldest son lining up 8 or so glasses on the floor with murky brown water. I calmly asked him what he was doing (since I couldn't figure out why the water was brown) and he bashfully told me he was making sugar pop. I looked over at the couch and discovered that he had opened up the brown sugar on the couch--and there was a huge mess of brown sugar, water, measuring cups, and spoons.

I could tell he was nervous about getting into big trouble, and to be honest, I was far from thrilled that there was brown sugar all over the couch. I also knew (because I was like him as a kid) that he was simply trying to experiment and play--not damage the couch. 

I decided to give him grace instead of harsh consequences in this moment. We still chatted about how the couch was not the best place to mix water and brown sugar, and I knew by his honest nodding and humble attitude that he understood that it wasn't the best idea. But I think he was also surprised that he didn't get into trouble.

Where I gave my son a tiny glimpse of grace (grace simply means that he didn't get what he deserved), God gives us unmeasurable and unmatchable grace. 

The letter G is all about how God Give us Grace. 

In this lesson, we read how Saul became Paul, do a simple experiment to demonstrate how grace covers sin, and talk about what grace means. 

My hope is that this lesson provides a launching point to share the gospel with your little ones and all the good news it brings! 

Have a good one!

Nicole

From A to Z: Letter F

There are many stories in the Bible that are just a little weird: a burning bush, a big ark full of animals, and a guy being swallowed by a big fish. As strange as some of these stories are, they always have something important to tell us about God. Mainly, they remind us that God is God. And His ways usually don't look like our ways. 

Letter F is about Following God's ways--not because we should follow the rules but because God knows what's best and we can trust Him.

Ps. Make your own Jonah peg doll to act out the story. Ours might have gotten a bit dramatic ;) 

The letter F pack includes a simple science experiment (we had a "blast!"), learning about Jonah and the big Fish, and playing Simon Says. 

Here are some other resources you may enjoy (ps. some of these are affiliate links):

• Read 1000 Things Under the Sea--we've had this book for a while and LOVE it! So many cool sea creatures!
• Pick up One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish from the library--so fun!
• If making peg dolls isn't your thing this Jonah play mat or Bible Story in a Bag are both adorable options!

Have a good one!

--Nicole

Project: Bible Character Peg Dolls

Ps. This post includes a few affiliate links. You can learn more about what that means over here.

Did you know that Noah's ark has boosters? Or that Jericho may have been build with magnetic tiles? Or that Jesus' disciples were sleeping in a giant heap on the night Jesus was arrested?

According to my four-year-old, these were all viable possibilities as he played and imagined with our set of Bible character peg dolls we had painted.

I wanted to create something we could use to play and act-out the Bible stories that we are learning. So, I picked up some peg dolls from Michaels (although these ones are actually much cheaper), grabbed some brushes, and picked out some paint (we used acrylic, but you could use tempura too). 

We kept the clothes pretty simple and didn't create any specific characters apart from Jesus. Luke and I painted their "outfits," and I finished off their hair and faces. It was actually a much simpler project than I anticipated. It only took about an hour to finish them up and start playing. However, I quickly realized that painting peg dolls will definitely not be my next side hustle. Ha!

After they had dried and got their faces on, we had fun setting up some Bible scenes. 

We made Noah's ark, the walls of Jericho, Jonah and the big fish, and Jesus teaching to the crowd. It was fun to watch him create, build, and imagine the stories he knew with everyday objects like magnetic tiles, duplos, rocks, plants, and plastic animals. You could also use wooden blocks, play dough, legos, Lincoln logs--so many possibilities! 

So, if you are looking for a simple project that you can use for playing and teaching, try making your own set of Bible character peg dolls.  You can also purchase some pretty adorable sets like this one or this one if making your own isn't your thing :) 

Have a good one!

Nicole