Can you imagine being fed to lions because of your faith? That is exactly what happen to Daniel. But God made a way and saved not only Daniel, but a whole nation, because of Daniel’s prayers. This is how we explored the story of Daniel and the Lions Den.
Read: Daniel and the Lions’ Den
We pulled out our baby Bible and read the story of Daniel and the Lions’ Den” every single day. I had baby girl point to the lions, we counted the lions, and we also practiced our lion “ROAR!” She loved that part the most.
Sensory: Lions Den
Have you heard of Play Through the Bible? We attempted a sensory bin from this big, beautiful book of activities. We used oatmeal as a base, then just threw in a few toys to represent Daniel, the lion, and the angel.
Alphabet Practice
This was the perfect chance for use to work on some letter recognition. IKEA has these awesomeletter cookies. I picked out the “L”s and the “D”s and put them in a bowl. Then I had Vale sort the letters. D for Daniel, L for Lion. I wrote the letters on a piece of paper to help guide her sorting. She was a rockstar, and sorted them withoutproblems. Then, of course, she got to eat the cookies.
Craft: Lion Painting
I found this sweet craft at The Chirping Moms. It’s supposed to be a lion and the toddler paints the mane on with a fork. Ours definitely looks like a toddler did this project, but it engaged her and she had fun practicing her lion “roar” as she painted the mane.
We also played with our Melissa and Doug Reusable Sticker Pad, because there are lions on the safari page. Also gave us some opportunity to identify what is a lion and what is not a lion.
Snack: Lion Waffle
Baby girl loves waffles. She would eat them l day everyday if I let her. So we had some food art fun and turned her breakfast into a lion with 2 blueberry eyes, a strawberry nose, and a clementine mane. Obviously any waffle recipe works, but if you’re needing a good healthy waffle recipe, Real Mom Nutrition has a great recipe.
Media
This week we listened to The Donut Man Daniel and the Lions. This song tells the story of “Daniel and the Lions Den” and gives toddlers lots of opportunity to practice their “Roar!”
We also watched Veggie Tale’s “Where’s God When I’m Scared” because the veggies act out the story in song and dance.
Adventure: Zoo
Sadly, we did not get to do this, because we live in Minnesota where it snows in April. And, frankly, dragging 2 pint-sized humans out into a blizzard just to see some lions does not sound like my idea of fun. However, the Como Zoo in St. Paul is free and does have lions. So you believe once the snow clears we will be heading to the zoo to see some lions.
Prayer
Finally, we really focused on prayer this week. Daniel prayed to God, and because of that almost ended up as lion lunch, but God saved him. Daniel didn’t know God would save him when he disobeyed the kings orders. In fact, he disobeyed knowing he probably would be fed to the lions. However, he was more interested in being apart of God’s plan than playing safe. He knew that God’s plan was bigger than any circumstance. And in the end he was apart of God’s plan. God saved Daniel, that amazed the king, and a whole country was drawn to devote themselves to God.
Instead of being afraid, Daniel prayed.
And isn’t that why we’re doing Baby Devos? So that we would grow kids that have hearts like Daniel. When hard things come, instead of fearing they would turn their faces to God and say “your plans are bigger.”
We can pray this for our kiddos. And we can teach our kiddos how to pray.
When we noticed our baby girl accumulating a decent sized vocabulary, and noticed her being able to repeat words, we started teach her how to pray. We modeled how to fold our hands, close our eyes, and then would have her repeat the world “Jesus, thank you for…” And then we’d think of things to be thankful for, and end with an “Amen.”
We usually pray at meal times and right before bed. These are natural breaks in our day so we sieze the opportunity. Also, we focus on what we’re thankful for a couple reasons. First of all, it’s a pretty easy prayer that she can do with help. Second, a lot of what makes prayer a way to align ourselves with God’s will is when we thank him. We recognize how he has already provided for us, and it actively builds trust in us that he will continue to provide.
Ok, now I know that is super deep for a 1 year old, and I know she doesn’t comprehend all that. But that is what we’re modelling, and it’s building a discipline in her that can be built on later.
So has it been working? Well, I can’t sit down to eat without praying, because our 22 month-old will remind us. She also makes her stuffed animals pray before a tea party. And the other night while I was tucking her in she grabbed all her stuffed animals close to her and thanked Jesus for them by name. “Jesus, Gracias for Anna, Elsa, and Sven, Amen.” So I want to say yes. They are simple prayers, but Jesus hears them.
For more ideas on how to introduce prayer to toddlers, check out How A 2 Year-old Prays by Freshly Messy. She has a really practical devotional for toddlers that I’m planning to revisit when we’re ready to take our prayers a little deeper.
What have you done to teach your kiddos how to pray or about Daniel and the Lions Den? Comment Below.
Baby Devotions 