Love

When my daughter was born, my parents gave her a Keepsake Box that included various things, like a special container for the hair from her first hair cut, a container for the wristband from the hospital when she was born, etc.  One of the things included was a round box in which there were 9 stones.  On each stone was one of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit, listed in Galatians - love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. 

These are things that are difficult to teach, because they are ultimately, well, fruit of the indwelling of God's Spirit in a person.  There is the element of example - she will see our lives and the lives of the saints and ultimately the life of Jesus to know what all these things look like in a person's decisions.  But there is also the element of giftedness to them.  Ultimately, as a Christian, I believe God gives peace.  We can choose to live in it or not, but it isn't something you learn like you learn how to wash the dishes.  I started thinking about this, and I decided that maybe the best thing to do at this point in her little life is to lay the foundation of knowing that these are characteristics of God.  Then, building on that, we can talk about how, if we want to have these things, too, we go to God for them.

So today I showed her the box.  She was enthralled with it.  I focused on the love stone, and we did activities surrounding the love of God.  I put the word "God" on a piece of paper and taped it really high on the ceiling where she could never reach it.  I told her to go get it, and she tried and tried (very cleverly), but it was too high.  I told her that God is so far away because people are so often very naughty.  I referenced how yesterday a little girl had made my daughter sad by being mean to her and different things that she could identify with.  BUT, then I took the piece of paper down and said that God loves us so, so, so much that he doesn't want to be so far away.  He wants to be close to us.  And so when say we are sorry (we did the ASL sign for 'sorry'), God forgives us and we can be close to him.  She was so excited by this.  It just killed me, as someone trained in theology, to leave it at that, but it seemed to be as much as she could take in today.  

She took the love stone to her dad, because she wanted him to have it, too.  I prompted her to tell him what it means, and she told him all about how God was high up on the wall and we couldn't reach him, but then mommy took the paper down and this means that God loves her.  She went around giving the love to everyone - me, the dog, her teddy bear, etc. - because she  seemed to want everyone to have something so wonderful.

Then we sang simple songs about God's love (O, How I love Jesus because he first loved me; God loves me; Jesus loves me).  

We did this impromptu litany in which I would tell her something was a gift from God - her bear, her Elmo, our dog, mommy, daddy, EVERYTHING - and then we'd say and sign together, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, God!!!"

Learning to Pray

My heart just swelled the first time I heard my daughter say a prayer.  I had been working on it with her, but it still came as a startle when she actually did it.  I keep her with me in the worship service on Sunday, and during the prayer time I whisper a really, really quiet prayer in her ear (while stuffing her mouth with Cheerios or a sippy cup on some of the tougher Sundays).  When the pastor is praying, I repeat the prayer with/for her in her ear.  During times of silent prayer I just make up a prayer in her ear to give her an idea of the general type of focus that the silence is for.  We also say prayers before each meal and before bed.  Well, shortly after we moved here she was fussy during bedtime prayers, and so I asked, do you want to thank God for the ocean?  (we had been at the beach that day).  To my surprise, she folded her hands and whispered, "Thank you for the ocean..."

Hand Fun

These are some of our favorite sing-song rhymes that occupy our hands and work on fine motor skills:

Open, Shut Them: (hands follow the instructions in the rhyme)

Open, shut them; open, shut them.

Give a little clap!

Open, shut them; open, shut them.

Put them in you lap!

Creep them, creep them, slowly creep them

Right up to your cheek!

Cover up your little eyes 

And through your fingers peak!

This is the Church:

This is the church, (fold the hands "church", with fingers linked together pointing down and thumbs facing you)

This is the steeple, (point the pinkies "steeple" straight up)

Open the door, (open the thumb "doors" in front)

And here are the people! (turn hand upside down and wiggle the finger "people")

We do others, too, but I'm drawing a blank.  I'd love to hear what others do!

Fun Christian Education Songs with Motions

Growing up I learned a ton of Christian songs (my dad was a pastor, and he liked to sing).  I didn't always get the words at the time, but we sang them so much that I learned the words really well, and they became a part of who I became.  So I like to sing songs with my daughter to give her that gift.  These are some of our favorites:

I like this one so much, because when I revisited it as an adult it said so well the truth of what had happened in my life:

I thank you, Lord, your word is sown 

into my life, and there its grown.

The roots are deep where living waters are known.

The Lord has a will, and I have a need

To follow that will, 

To humbly be still,

To rest in it, nest in it, 

Fully be blessed in it

Following my Father's will.

This one is a fun energy-burner.  

I'm gonna sing when the Spirit says sing.

I'm gonna sing when the Spirit says sing.

I'm gonna sing when the Spirit says sing,

And obey the Spirit of the Lord.

I'm gonna run when the Spirit says run....

I'm gonna dance when the Spirit says dance....

I'm gonna jump when the Spirit says jump....

I'm gonna spin when the Spirit says spin...

I'm gonna march when the Spirit says march...

Then to calm things down:

I'm gonna sit when the Spirit says sit...

I'm gonna yawn when the Spirit says yawn...

I'm gonna lie down when the Spirit says lie down...

Etc.

The one teaches the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians (to the tune of the Kermit the Frog's Rainbow Song).  We sign the words using American Sign Language:

Love and joy and peace

Patience, kindness, goodness

Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control

These are the fruit, these are the fruit.

The fruit of the Spirit of God.

These are the fruit, its the fruit.

Of Jesus Christ.

We start out slowly with this one, and sing it over and over getting faster and faster until it is so fast we can't do it anymore:

I am a C

I am a C-h

I am a C-h-r-i-s-t-i-a-n.

And I have C-h-r-i-s-t in my H-e-a-r-t

And I will L-i-v-e E-t-e-r-n-a-l-l-y.

This one is about prayer.  We do hand motions for knock, talk, and stop:

I keep knock-knock-knocking on heaven's door

I keep talk-talk-talking cause you answer, Lord

Won't be stop-stop-stopping, so be listening for me

I'm knocking-knock-knocking on heaven's door 

An old classic.  We do this one with hand motions, too.

I am the church (point to me)

You are the church (point to you)

We are the church together. (use hand to gesture like there are lots of people)

All who follow Jesus all around the world.

Yes, we're the church together. (hand gestures like there are lots of people)

The church is not a building.

The church is not a steeple.

The church is not a resting place.

The church is the people.

Bible Chapter Counting

As my daughter was waking up from her nap today, she noticed my Bible.  We opened it and she immediately pointed to the large number 2 marking a chapter number in Isaiah.  She exclaimed, "Two!"  That started our Bible chapter counting.  We went back to chapter 1 and counted along with the big numbers that marked the chapters (the little numbers that marked the verses were apparently too tiny to catch her interest).   It had never occurred to me to do this before, but it ended up being a really great activity.  We got to practiced counting, recognizing numbers, and we got to familiarize her with a little piece of the way the Bible works.

Warmth of God

I want my daughter to know the warmth of God.  One of the ways I try to help her experience this is through our cuddle time after her nap.  When she wakes up, she almost always wants to just cuddle and nurse.  As we cuddle and she nurses, in a quiet, warm voice I tell her about what I read in the Bible that day.  Sometimes, if I can think of a song to go with it, I'll sing the song, too.  She almost always asks for "more" when I'm done, and so I know she likes it.  And it is helpful with keeping me accountable to reading the Bible each day, as well.  Sometimes, if I skip my prayer time, I try to tell her a story from memory (and I know lots and lots of texts), but the warmth of the Holy Spirit flows through me best when I've been basking in it myself that day.

"I'm Gonna Thank the Lord" Song

On our walk today, as we came across flowers and trees and grass and roots and dirt, I sang (to the tune of "I'm Gonna Sing when the Spirit says Sing..."):

I'm gonna thank the Lord for the _Tulips_

I'm gonna thank the Lord for the _Tulips_

I'm gonna thank the Lord for the _Tulips_

And praise Him everyday! 

We replaced "Tulips" with the other things we saw as we saw them.  She loved the song, and it helped her learn to notice, care about, and identify the various parts of nature that we encountered along the way.

Sanctuary Play

I'm convinced that the primary way my toddler familiarizes herself with places and objects is through play.  One place I want her to feel really at home in, a special place she can go to for the rest of her life, no matter where she is, to find the peace of familiarity and home, is a church sanctuary.  AND since I'm always on the lookout for places I can take her, not only do we go to church every Sunday (and I keep her with me in the service- more work for me, but the benefits far outweigh the cost in my mind - especially since children learn what they live), but we also sometimes will go to the sanctuary just to be there during the week.  (I check first to make sure there isn't a funeral or something).  I let her wander around and explore the pulpit, the alter, the baptismal font, the kneeling rails, etc.  We climb the steps to the balcony and look around.  She walks across the kneeling rails like a balance beam, she checks out the details of the furniture, she walks up and down and up and down the stairs to the front of the church...