toddler school | the fall

Toddler School has continued!  Since we learned about the creation last time, we've moved onto the Fall.  This is a big topic for such a little girl, but it's so foundational to the faith that I decided that we just had to talk about it.  We focused on the biblical truth that God Is Just and talked a lot about how God's word is true and all we need.

Our letter for the unit was "B", and we put together a box full of all of our favorite "B" things - box, boat, bear, blanket, brush, banana, bee, butterfly, ball, balloon, baby, backpack, bubbles, and Bible!

We focused on the number 1 - after all, it only takes 1 sin to separate us from God.

On our musical play list (they all have a theme of obedience and God's word):

• How Firm a Foundation
• Oh Be Careful Little Eyes
• God Said It
• What a Mighty God We Serve
• Hallelujah, Your Love Is Amazing
• Thy Word
• Wagner's Ring Cycle

We also learned a few ASL signs: sin, snake, garden, and fruit.

Outings:

We went to a local nursery to look at all of the plants!  We talked about the Garden of Eden and what it might have looked like.  We also talked about how it was Adam's job to take care of the plants.  

Rebekah got to pick out one special plant to take home.  We potted it together, watered it, and learned how to take care of it.  She continues to be the one to water it (when we remember!).

We went to the supermarket to check out all of the different types of fruit.  We don't know what kind of fruit it was that Adam and Eve ate, so we just learned about as many as we could!  She got to feel them and smell them.  It was a great field trip!

Finally, we took a nature walk to explore the gardens in our neighborhood.  We collected leaves on our walk to use in a craft at home (see below).

At-home Activities:

We grabbed a variety of fruit when we were at the supermarket to try at home.  I have to admit, this wasn't the biggest success.  Even though she just loved feeling and smelling them, she wasn't so sure about tasting them.  She wrinkled her nose...she cried...but then she decided that kiwi was actually pretty delicious and has been eating it ever since!

Crafts:

We talked a lot about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, so we used it as our inspiration for two art projects.  For the first, we took all of those leaves we collected on our nature walk to make our own versions of the tree!  I got us started by coloring the trunk of a tree onto pieces of paper.  Then, I put glue where the leaves needed to go.  Rebekah knew what to do from there.

These trees ended up being a great illustration every time we talked about the Fall, and they are still hanging up in our living room.  Rebekah is very proud of them.

We also took advantage of a pretty day to make a sidewalk chalk version of the tree in the garden.

Our last craft was probably Rebekah's favorite!  She was fascinated with the "sneaky snake" that tempted Eve to eat from the tree.  We made our own sneaky snake out of construction paper and tape.  I might need to start getting worried about how much she loves it, but that sneaky snake has a special place in her favorite chair and is admired by all of her friends who come and visit.  It's one of Rebekah's prized possessions.

Haha, I love her "sneaky" impersonation above.  She's so funny.

Anyway, that was how we learned about the Fall.  And I think she got it!  When we read the story in her Bible, she can identify Adam and Eve, and she knows that they disobeyed God.  According to her, they got a "time out."  :)