Today, I would like to share a simple Bible activity to teach toddlers about Faith! I did this with our parish’s mommy and me group with ages 1.5 – 5, and they all loved participating.

We Receive the Gifts of Faith, Hope, and Love at our Baptism

Start by reviewing (or teaching) about the Sacrament of Baptism. Tell the children that when they are baptized, they become children of God. God also gives us 3 special gifts at our baptism: faith, hope, and love. These gifts are very special and we must take special care of them and help them grow – just like a little seed.

The Parable of the Sower

I based this simple activity off of the Parable of the Sower. Be sure to familiarize yourself with the parable, and meditate on God’s words. Here is the parable from the New American Bible off of the USCCB website:

Matthew 13:1-9

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.

Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore.

And he spoke to them at length in parables,^* saying: “A sower went out to sow.

And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up.

Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,

and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots.

Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.

But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

Whoever has ears ought to hear.

The Activity

1. Explain that Jesus taught his followers by telling them stories called parables.
2. Tell the children that you are going to tell them one of these stories, and that we are all going to be “sowers.” Explain that a sower is someone who plants seeds (like a farmer).
3. Have the children stand. You are now going to act out planting seeds in the various locations in the parable. I paraphrased the scripture during this activity. You just have to memorize the 4 locations (path with birds, rocks, thorns, and good soil) to role play acting as sowers and explain as you go.
4. Pretend to take some seeds out of your pocket. Tell the children, “I have my carrot seeds!” or whatever plant you want to grow. Tell the children to “find” seeds in their pockets. Ask them each what kind of seeds they have.
5. Pretend to walk and search for a good place to plant your seeds. Suggest that we just scatter them on the path (like in the parable). Say “Oh no! Here come some birds to eat our seeds!” and pretend to be birds eating the seeds. Say, “That path wasn’t a good place to plant seeds.”
6. Pretend to take more seeds from your pocket. Then, pretend to walk, and suggest planting your seeds in some imaginary rocks. Pretend that the seeds grow but then die, and say again, “The rocks weren’t a very good place to plant our seeds.”
   
7. Pretend to take more seeds from your pocket, and suggest planting them among imaginary thorns. Uh oh, say again, “These thorns aren’t a very good place to plant our seeds.”
8. Say, “Ok, we really have to be more careful. We can’t keep wasting our precious seeds like this.” Ask the children what seeds need to grow: rich soil, water, and sunlight/warmth. 
9. All sit on the floor. Suggest that we get a nice pot (act this out), and act out carefully adding rich soil. Act out digging a hole, carefully planting the seed, covering it with soil, and watering it. Then, pretend that the plant grows. You can even act out sharing the good fruit with each other.

Wrap Up

Tell the children that the seeds are like our Faith that God gives us at our Baptism. Faith is our belief in God and all that the Church teaches. Like the seed, we need rich soil, water, and sunlight to help our Faith grow. Instead of soil, water, and sunlight, however, we need prayer, Scripture, and the Sacraments. These are the tools that help us grow in our Faith! Like the fruit from the trees, we can share our Faith with others to help them know about God.

Feel free to make this lesson your own, and emphasize whatever points that you wish. Really get into the acting, and t they will have fun using their imaginations too! Props aren’t necessary, but it made be fun to use real seeds and soil and then let them take the plant home to care for.

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