Raising Little Disciples: Jonah and the Whale

Several weeks ago, I taught Jonah and the whale using paper towel roll and cereal box. My daughter has been learning the story in her Sunday School class as well. I wanted to extend the lesson and create another whale. I found a whale on http://familyfun.go.com

These are the recycled bottles I used. Be creative and look through your recycling bin. You never know what you could come up with.

This is Jonah. I put 2 different faces for him with a permanent marker. A scared face for when he's inside the whale and then a happy face for when he decided to listen to God.

I used a juice bottle for the boat. I cut the top out with a box cutter.

This is Jonah inside the boat. The little disciples had a great time causing a storm to get Jonah's attention and I had a great time cleaning up the water on the bathroom floor:)

I cut the bottom of the milk jug with a box cutter knife, traced the outside with a permanent marker, and drew eyes. Easy, easy.

I am not a fan of posting pictures of my kids in the bath and sharing them to everyone. But, yes they had a great time playing with these. I even made another set when I cleaned the other bath toys.

Before nap time the following day, my disciples and I cuddled on the couch and watched some YouTube videos of Jonah and the Whale.
This movie is great for older kids and adults. It's the one I found that is most similar to the story in the Bible.

This move is perfect for little kids. However, I was disappointed that it didn't have Jonah praying in the whale. That was a big part of the story in the Bible.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

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.