Ideas for teaching toddlers about God via nature, etc

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Larry1700

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I have two granddaughters, ages 1 and 3. I’m looking for ideas about weaving simple Catholic concepts into everyday life.

I’m not much of a creative person, so even my example isn’t very good, but I’m just trying to get the ball rolling on this topic, so here goes:

I’m looking for things such as:
“See this pecan, and this pecan tree? In this pecan, God placed everything it needs to become a big, beautiful tree, which provides shade, pecans and beauty for us to enjoy. The pecan is nourished through the water and soil which He provides. In the same way, God placed everything in you that you need to grow up and serve other people and help others be happy. You are nourished through the family and food which He provides.”

(Blecchh! See? Obviously, I could use some help.)

I’m not limiting this to a particular method (using nature). Just looking for things which will help them know and love God, and to someday remember some wise words that their grandfather told them (not realizing that those words were plagiarized!).

Any and all Ideas are welcomed.
 
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Larry1700 said:
“See this pecan, and this pecan tree? In this pecan, God placed everything it needs to become a big, beautiful tree, which provides shade, pecans and beauty for us to enjoy. The pecan is nourished through the water and soil which He provides. In the same way, God placed everything in you that you need to grow up and serve other people and help others be happy. You are nourished through the family and food which He provides.”
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This is actually pretty good. Have you read “the Legend of the Three Trees?”


There is even a YouTube video of the story


Your example sort of reminded me of it.

ETA: the book is better for smaller children, especially if you find the board book. It’s very sturdy. We have a copy that has withstood 8 kids plus friends. The video is more for older kids.
 
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We have a botanical garden in our community that has free admission on Wednesday and Saturday mornings. I generally take the kids for a walk there once a week and we often have discussion about God. Seeing how everything in nature is patterned and interconnected causes both kids and adults to ponder intelligent design. I don’t remember what plant it was, but I was explaining how some amazing feature of a plant helps it to survive and my daughter said, “Wow! God thinks of everything!”
 
What I find helpful is asking the child to pray for people when their needs come up. (Uncle has a headache. Let’s ask Jesus to help him get better.) Also if I’m driving and a fire engine or ambulance goes by, I might pray aloud for them.
 
I like that suggestion. It will open their eyes (and mine, too) to the needs of those around them.

Larry
 
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