Under 5s: inviting awe and wonder

By Catherine Ward

Under Fives: inviting awe and wonder

“When through the woods and forest glades I wander,

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,

And when I climb to lofty mountain grandeur,

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze,

Then sings my soul, my saviour God to Thee,

How great though art, how great though art”

Lyrics ~ Carl Boberg, 1859 - 1940

English Translation ~ Stuart K. Hine, 1899 - 1989

What is it about the work of our creator that takes your breath away?  Like the Rev Boberg I like to be outside looking at the amazing work of his hand. I’m sure the same is true for many people, and sometimes through our awe of creation we get a better sense of the creator. I wonder why it is then, that church groups for the under-fives, and particularly those for the under threes, are so full with plastic toys. They’re cheap and durable yes, but I’m not sure they help give any real context for children to understand our talk about our creator God. We don’t have a garden at our church centre so we have a sand and water table in our crèche, we’ve been collecting pine cones, teasel and pebbles to use with our under-fives and I’ll be using some tree blocks (yes they are just bits of tree). I want to tell the children about my amazing yet invisible God; Look at what he made.