David and Goliath: A Toddler Devotion on Doing Big Things

David was a little guy who did big things for God. So his story is a natural fit for teaching our littles that they can do big things too. From learning about opposites, to playing with rocks, we had lots of fun this week. Here’s what we did.

Read: David and Goliath

We read the story everyday and I made a point to say “David was small, Goliath was big.” Then I’d ask her who was small and who was big. By the end of the week she got it every time.

Sensory: Rock Washing

David used a small rock to kill Goliath. So we played with rocks. We have a lot of rocks outside of our house, so we went out side and collected some in a bag. Then we brought them back in and did some sensory rock cleaning. I put the rocks in a metal tray with some water and cleaning tools (dish brush, slotted spoon, paint brush, etc…) and then put the tray and baby in the bath tub where she could clean to her hearts content. We did this on “clean the bathtub” day to avoid more work for Mama.

Skills: Opposites

We worked on identifying opposites, mainly big and small. We identitied who was big and who was small in our Bible story. Then we identified other things that are big and small. Mama is big. The baby is small. Grapefruits and big. Blueberries are small. We also identified hot and cold. Tea (our favorite drink) is hot, but ice cream is cold. We recited this finger play we learned at the Southdale Library baby story time:

Grande Is Big

Grande is big, big, big (spread arms out wide)

Pequeño is small, small, small (bring arms together)

Alto is tall, tall, tall (reach hands over head)

Corto is short, short, short (reach hands to the floor)

Rapido is fast, fast, fast (roll hands fast)

And linto is slow, slow, slow (roll hands slowly)

Sí is yes, yes, yes (shake head yes)

And nada is no, no, no (shake head no)

Another skills idea for this lesson is to have your child practice throwing. Take a big cardboard box and draw a Target on it. Then take a few foam, nerf, or other soft balls and have them do some target practice. We did not do this, because we don’t really have the space for it in our current home and I didn’t feel like taking a toddler and newborn out in the Minnesota Tundra. If we revisit this lesson in the summer, we will totally be going outside and doing this.

Arts and Crafts: Rock “Painting”

More rock play! We took the rocks we washed earlier and dried them off. Then I dried the pan, placed a paper towel in on the bottom and arranged the rocks in the pan. Then I took a cup of water and a paint brush and let her “paint.” The water turned the rocks colors (they were wet) and she loved it. The great thing about this craft is you can do it again and again with little-to-no effort. I placed the rock tray and and a shallow cup of water on our counter, in front of her learning tower and this became the boredom-buster of the week. Anytime I needed to feed the baby, make dinner, or something else that required the toddler to self-entertain, she would hop up on her learning tower and paint away. Let the rocks dry for an hour and they were ready to go again. This activity was pure magic. 10 out of 10 would recommend.

Media

Again we turned to our friends Veggie Tale’s and watched Dave and the Giant Pickle. This is the story of David and the whole theme is “little guys can do big things too.”

We also listened to Pequeño Heroes El Guerrero David. This video technically tells the story of David defeating the bear. However, the song talks about how David was a shepherd boy who God grew to be a warrior.

Finally, Daniel Tiger’s Fruit Picking Day (Season 2, Episode 2), because it talks about how “everyone is big enough to do something.”

If you saw something you liked or were able to better adapt to your family, let me know. Comment below.