Have you ever tried to teach really difficult concepts to children? I'm talking about concepts that even adults struggle to understand. When it comes to things of faith, however, children just get it. They have a greater understanding of faith, believing in something we can't see, than most adults. This is because they haven't been jaded by life yet. They haven't been corrupted by society yet. They kind of already live by faith. There are so many things that they do on a daily basis that they don't understand but they go with it simply because someone they trust tells them to.
So how do you explain the Easter Story to a preschooler or toddler? How do you answer the question "Why did Jesus die for us?"
Simple answer is because He loves us so much He wanted to wash away our sins.
Check out the video below of how we demonstrated that to our preschoolers at Little Builder's Preschool at YWAM San Diego/Baja this week as we prepare for Easter Celebrations.
So how do you explain the Easter Story to a preschooler or toddler? How do you answer the question "Why did Jesus die for us?"
Simple answer is because He loves us so much He wanted to wash away our sins.
Check out the video below of how we demonstrated that to our preschoolers at Little Builder's Preschool at YWAM San Diego/Baja this week as we prepare for Easter Celebrations.
{When we first did this experiment, we used food coloring instead. I've since found that IODINE is the BEST option to use as it quickly disappears with the bleach.}
To recreate this experiment you will need the following:
2 clear cups
water
bleach
iodine * very important
To start, add a small amount of water in 1 clear cup (I filled mine about 1/4 of the way). In the other cup, fill almost to the top with bleach, leaving room for mixing the water & bleach together. (I filled mine about 3/4 full of bleach).
Talk to your kids about how when we are born, our hearts are clean & clear like the water. But as we get older we sometimes make bad decisions (we call them sad face choices). We may hit a friend or family member, we may tell a lie, we may say something really mean, etc. (talk about some of the bad choices they may have made, let them voice some as well).
With each bad choice you talk about, add a drop of iodine.
Then talk about how the Bible says that the wages of sin is death, which means that if we do something bad, we are supposed to die for that choice. But when Jesus died on the cross, He made a way for us to wash away that bad choice. (It's important to remind them that their actions still have consequences and those consequences may affect other people but we are forgiven).
Now, the only way we can have those sins or bad choices washed away (cause we can't separate the dirty water from the clean anymore) is to invite Jesus into our hearts. We tell Him we are sorry and ask Him to forgive us.
As you talk about forgiveness, pour the bleach into the "dirty" water and pour back & forth between the cups to mix up the solution. You will begin to see that the color will disappear.
Talk about how just like the color disappeared, Jesus washes away all of the yucky dirty bad things in our hearts when we ask Him to forgive us. When we ask, He ALWAYS forgives us.
I also added a couple more drops of iodine to the bleach water to reiterate that Jesus still forgives us even if we make bad choices after giving our lives over to Him.
To recreate this experiment you will need the following:
2 clear cups
water
bleach
iodine * very important
To start, add a small amount of water in 1 clear cup (I filled mine about 1/4 of the way). In the other cup, fill almost to the top with bleach, leaving room for mixing the water & bleach together. (I filled mine about 3/4 full of bleach).
Talk to your kids about how when we are born, our hearts are clean & clear like the water. But as we get older we sometimes make bad decisions (we call them sad face choices). We may hit a friend or family member, we may tell a lie, we may say something really mean, etc. (talk about some of the bad choices they may have made, let them voice some as well).
With each bad choice you talk about, add a drop of iodine.
Then talk about how the Bible says that the wages of sin is death, which means that if we do something bad, we are supposed to die for that choice. But when Jesus died on the cross, He made a way for us to wash away that bad choice. (It's important to remind them that their actions still have consequences and those consequences may affect other people but we are forgiven).
Now, the only way we can have those sins or bad choices washed away (cause we can't separate the dirty water from the clean anymore) is to invite Jesus into our hearts. We tell Him we are sorry and ask Him to forgive us.
As you talk about forgiveness, pour the bleach into the "dirty" water and pour back & forth between the cups to mix up the solution. You will begin to see that the color will disappear.
Talk about how just like the color disappeared, Jesus washes away all of the yucky dirty bad things in our hearts when we ask Him to forgive us. When we ask, He ALWAYS forgives us.
I also added a couple more drops of iodine to the bleach water to reiterate that Jesus still forgives us even if we make bad choices after giving our lives over to Him.
Let me know if you have any questions and if you do this experiment, let me know how it turned out. Leave a comment below with some other ideas that you have to teach children these complex concepts. We'd love to hear from you!
Love it? Share it! While you're at it, stick around and hang with us a while. Here are a few stories you might like!
Love it? Share it! While you're at it, stick around and hang with us a while. Here are a few stories you might like!
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