Jonah and the Whale

As a child, I learned many stories from the Bible including David and Goliath, Noah's Ark, and Joseph and the Colored Coat to name a few.  When my daughter turned 2, I decided it's time for her to learn the stories as well.  It's been many years since I have heard the stories and read about them in the Bible so I had to do my research first.  Wow, it's a huge difference reading and hearing the stories as an adult compared to a kid.  I started with Jonah and the Whale.  You can find Jonah in the old testament of the Bible.  I thought it would be a great story to teach her about listening to God and that you can't run away from the things God has asked you to do (good lesson for all of us).  Plus, what 2 year old wouldn't want to pretend a whale is eating you?!

I used old cereal boxes, a paper towel tube, and a boat from the bath.  This is how I told the story to my daughter, then she eventually learned it as well. 
Long ago, God asked Jonah to go to Ninevah to preach about God.

But Jonah didn't listen. So he got on a boat to hide from God.

God wanted to get Jonah's attention so he sent a big storm.  The men on the boat were scared so they threw Jonah overboard.

 

 

 

 

God sent a whale to swallow Jonah.

Inside the whale, Jonah prayed and prayed and asked God to forgive him.

God had the whale spit out Jonah and now Jonah knows to always listen to God. 

This is my daughter pretending to be Jonah inside the whale.  So glad I got a picture of this...melts my heart.