Creative Stories for Two-year-olds

 

CREATIVE STORIES FOR TWO-YEAR-OLDS

“I like to ask myself—what if I were hearing this Bible story for the first time ever?”

Chris Allen, who writes curriculum for Eagle Brook Church, has been given the responsibility of writing stories for two-year-olds. For the next fifty-five weeks those stories will be shared with children too young to read, but not too young to learn. “I truly believe that a child’s perspective on God, faith, and the church is often formed by this age,” says Allen. “By telling these stories in ways that kids remember and understand, we are communicating to them that God is reaching out to them in this amazing story.”

In order to tell Bible stories in a way which a two-year-old will remember, a variety of approaches are used. The account is read to them in words they understand. A graphics department creates large pictures which appeal to their eye-gate. Sound effects are often incorporated into the storytelling. Acting out the story may follow as a group activity. As he writes, Chris asks himself what a two-year-old will understand about that story and what that child will gain from hearing the story. He reminds himself that everything they will be hearing is fresh and every story is a surprise.

“I love the way these stories can summarize parts of the Bible often deemed inaccessible to this age group,” writes Chris. The books of the prophets can be summarized in a lesson which shows why God sent prophets. Background of non-narrative portions like the Psalms provide even small children with the ability to see the Bible as a book with a cohesive purpose rather than just a random collection of interesting incidents.

A year-long curriculum, walking through the entire Bible, holding the hands of those who have never encountered David or Daniel, Jesus or Paul: it’s a lofty goal, but as Chris says, “we want them to know that God can talk to them as well.”