From A to Z: Letter J

I always feel like explaining the gospel to my kids should be easy, but honestly, I often find myself stumbling through it, over-explaining, and then feeling like simplicity and beauty of gospel (that we are separated from God because of our sin. YET! God loves us so much that He rescued and redeemed us!) gets lost in all my blubbering.

So, this lesson was a good one for me. It helped me walk through the gospel with my oldest in a visual and hands-on way. Of course, as a very literal child, he explained that our hearts are actually still red, not white...so, that brought up the concept of our spirit vs our actual heart. 

Letter J is about how Jesus came to the world for you

The craft in this lesson, although so simple, has been one of my favorites. It was fun to gather materials and make a Gospel color book (plus, it makes a great resource to go back and review what we learned). My hope is that as you read about Jesus' death and resurrection, make your book, and paint your letter J, you'll have many opportunities to share the gospel with your little ones.

If you want to add a good book to read during this lesson, I'd recommend The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross. You can read our review over here.

Have a good one!

Nicole

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