Teaching toddlers and preschoolers who God is can feel overwhelming at first. How do you explain such a big truth to such little hearts? If you’re like me, you want your children to come to know who God is, but maybe have wondered how to do this in age appropriate ways.
The good news is that young children are wonderfully capable of learning about who God is through simple, repeated, everyday moments. Toddlers and preschoolers may not understand deep theology yet, but they can begin learning foundational truths.
Turning Bible stories into big truths
In raising our little ones, I’ve noticed how engaged our children are when we read them the stories of the Bible. Daniel and the Lions Den, Jonah and the Big Fish, Creation… all of these capture the attention of our toddlers and preschoolers. The great thing about these popular bible stories is they aren’t just for entertainment, but they actually tell us the story of who God is. Through Daniel and the lion’s den, we see that God is our rescuer. Daniel is thrown into a den of lions, intending to face his death, but God showed up and protected him and rescued him from danger.
In the story of Jonah, we see a prophet who tried to run from God and deliberately disobeyed Him. Yet, when he’s swallowed by a big fish, God shows him mercy. He saves him, even when he may not have deserved it, and he gives him another chance.
The stories we read to our little ones are great opportunities to pull out the characteristics of God and to apply it to our own stories.
From the truths of the Bible to the play of little hands
It’s one thing to read the stories and to talk with your little ones about these big ideas, but I’ve come to learn that these things really stick once my children have had the opportunity to play, engage, and interact with the ideas in hands on ways. When talking about the Ten Commandments, I could list off each and every one myself… or I could print them out and have my toddler help lay them down on a “stone tablet.” Switching to simple hands on activities not only helps with retention, but with excitement as well.
Physically moving animal pictures onto Noah’s Ark while talking about God’s faithfulness is one way to keep those little hands busy. As your toddlers get older they can move from these animal sound activities and work on fine motor skills, to cut out pieces of paper and create a rainbow to remember the promise that God made to his people. So, from the earliest of ages and beyond, we can use Bible stories and interactive lessons to teach big truths about God.
Who is God? Toddler and Preschool Curriculum
Whether you’re teaching in a homeschool setting, preschool classroom, or Sunday school, simple Bible activities can help young children build strong faith foundations. Through repetition, storytelling, crafts, and play, toddlers and preschoolers can begin learning who God is in meaningful and memorable ways.
Our Big Truths Toddler curriculum has a unit specifically designed to help you teach your little ones about who God is. Each lesson includes
- a Bible story
- an activity
- a craft
- a take away to help you teach the little ones in your care
I know that we could never fully explain who God is by 7 lesson plans, so we’ve just chosen to focus on these:
1️⃣ Overview: God is Good, Faithful, Holy, Rescuer, Merciful, and Love
2️⃣ God is Good — The Story of Creation
3️⃣ God is Faithful — Noah’s Ark
4️⃣ God is Holy — The Ten Commandments
5️⃣ God is our Rescuer — Daniel in the Lion’s Den
6️⃣ God is Merciful — Jonah and the Big Fish
7️⃣ God is Love — Love One Another
We hope that the easy to print format and minimal prep helps you feel equipped to begin talking with your children about these attributes of God. Check it out here!
