Proverbs 2 activity

Proverbs 2 says:

3and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,

⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,

⁵ then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.

I want my daughter to think of God's words of insight and understanding to be as valuable as silver and treasures! So--for today--a treasure hunt!

I got out a little basket and a handful of nickels (because they are silver....you could use quarters, pieces of paper colored silver, plastic lids spray-painted silver, whatever!)

I went outside and "hid" the coins. (For a 19-month old that means pretty much laying them down in plain sight....so hide them according to the ability of your child).

I brought her outside and simply explained that God wants us to think of his words as very, very important, like treasures we search everywhere for! I asked her if she wanted to look for treasures, and of course she did! I gave her the little basket and helped her find the first coin, then encouraged her to find more on her own.

You can decide whether the child/ren will keep the treasure or simply play the game, and then return them to the basket to play again later. I think it's important to return to the game whenever you can to keep reinforcing the concept of God's word as a treasure he wants us to search for.

With older kids, you can talk about some ways we can "Search."

Now, the honest part....Q did great finding the first couple coins. Then she figured out it was fun to drop them through the holes in the little table. Then it was even more fun to put them on the dog's back and watch her shake them off. Then, it would really get Mommy worked up if she put them in her mouth, little stinker.

Well, I started the game way too close to bedtime and she was not in a cooperative mood....so I tried redirecting her a couple of times. When that failed, I joined in dropping the coins through the table holes, and then some holes in our patio chair. When the coins went in her mouth, it was time to stop. So I was a little frustrated that the game didn't go exactly how I'd planned, but we'll give it a try again soon. This is life with a toddler...or any age child, for that matter....But the basket of nickels is sitting on our counter, waiting for another go-round at a treasure hunt!

Proverbs 1

My church is reading through the book of Proverbs, 1 chapter a day, in a quest to grow in wisdom. I love this endeavor, and the teacher in me couldn't resist the challenge of coming up with a quick lesson from each chapter for my little one's participation.

Proverbs was actually written for the young, so it has fabulous truths that I want my daughter to impress upon her heart. Many of these won't be applicable for several more years, but I've been encouraged to pray some specific prayers for her as I read through the chapters. I'll share a few of these as I post each chapter's lesson.

Chapter 1 has a great verse that says:

⁸ Listen, my son, to your father's instruction
and do not forsake your mother's teaching.

⁹ They will be a crown to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.

So today's lesson--talk about what these verses mean, at a level my little one understands. For my 19 month-old this means simply explaining that God wants us to listen to the words of Mommy and Daddy and obey them. God says these words are as important as a crown. Obviously older children can go more into depth with the comparision between parental obedience and a crown.

After chatting, it's time to make a crown! We used pink paper, glued on jewels (I put the glue dots and kiddos applied the jewels), a construction paper oval (found in my embellishment box), and some pearl strands sticking off the top that I happened to have on hand. We just went through my craft things and chose items that would be pretty on a crown.

We wrote the verse (in simplified form) at the bottom of the crown:
"I listen to my Mommy and Daddy's words. They are a crown on my head!"

We had a friend over today that made a crown with us, and here's her creation:



Another extension would be to string beads on a string to make a "chain around the neck" to also fit with the verse.