The Trinity is a mystery and teaching it to young children can be quite challenging. The Lenten season is a great time to meditate on the mystery of God and learn about the Trinity.
While the word Trinity never appears in the Bible, the idea of the three-part or triune God is all over both the Old Testament and New Testament. The Hebrew word for God, the plural form Elohim (The plural form of El, meaning “Strong One.”) appears approximately 2,570 times in the Tanakh or Old Testament writings.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17
Other Trinity Bible verses: John 14:26, 1 John 5:7-8, John 14:16-17, 1 Corinthians 8:5-6, 1 Peter 1:2
I love this book about the mystery of the Trinity:
Teaching the Trinity Three Ways:
Teaching the Trinity with Shamrocks
St. Patrick’s Day is a great time to use shamrocks to teach the Trinity (even if the story of St. Patrick using it as a teaching tool is just a legend and has little evidence).
Three leaves on one stem. Each heart-shaped leaf represents an aspect of God: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. It’s a great visual!
We sing this song (to the tune of Frère Jacques):
Praise the Father. Praise the Father.
Praise the Son. Praise the Son.
Praise the Holy Spirit. Praise the Holy Spirit.
Three in one. Three in one.
Teaching the Trinity with Apples
I love how this book guides children through the Trinity with parts of an apple.
The three parts of an apple represent the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Here’s even a video of the book!
Teaching the Trinity with Eggs
A fun science-y way to learn about the Trinity with a hard-boiled egg. Similar to the apple: the parts of the egg represent Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
A great Sunday school or Easter craft lesson – especially if kids don’t like to eat those pretty dyed eggs they made!
BONUS:
Teach the Trinity with the three phases of water!
liquid: water, solid: ice, gas: steam or vapor.
This is also a great lesson time to teach and/or memorize the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed.
A family study about the Nicene Creed:
And this one about the Apostle’s Creed:
Sing and learn hymns about the Trinity.
The Doxology:
Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Happy Spring! He is risen indeed.
Thank you for posting this and your great ideas for teaching the Trinity to kids! Have a blessed week!
I personally love the shamrock idea! Am going to try it out this week with my 3-year-old. And I’d never heard of the Three in One song, that is so perfect! Thanks for sharing! ❤
We love the Three in One book, and there are some other great ideas here.
I’m stopping by from Mommy Monday. :-)
The Trinity is indeed a hard concept to teach adults, not to mention kids. But thanks for sharing these resources. I’m sure they’d help many of us adults too. :) I’ve been wanting to read Richard Rohr’s latest book on the trinity, Divine Dance.
Thanks! I’ll add that book to my reading to-do list!
Thank you for these suggestions. This can be a difficult thing to teach to kids (and adults!) so I appreciate these resources. Thank you for sharing them with us at Encouraging Word Wednesday this week!
Thanks for these suggestions — they get kids (and grown ups) thinking in the right direction and open the conversation to the Romans 11 truth that God is unsearchable and his ways “past finding out.” We honor Him greatly when we try to understand and then come to the end of our explanations and say, “Wow.”
I love these ideas. My kids are older, but there are so many concepts in Christianity that can be taught with relatable images like this! And isn’t it just what Jesus did? Think about the mustard seed …
I hadn’t thought of using apples as an example, but I like the idea. Water in steam, liquid and ice is another one. Thank you for your entry!
Oh, I like the water in 3 phases!
I love the shamrock idea the best. This is a great post and reminder about the importance of this season. Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty
Thank you for sharing your wonderful post at #OverTheMoon. I look forward to what you will share next week! Like someone in person today! We hope you’ll come back again next Sunday when we open our doors at 6:00 PM EST. Pinned and tweeted!
I’ll have to remember these for my grandson! Thank you! I’m your neighbor over at Mary’s today :).
Thanks for this. I have 5 grandchildren ages 4 and under. What a neat way to share. Love the shamrock one.
Hi Jennifer,
It is a difficult truth to teach, but some very creative ways to get the truth across!
You are welcome to drop by for a cup if inspiration.
Jennifer
Great post. My daughter goes to a catholic school and is learning all about the Trinity. We can have some fun with your ideas. Thanks.
#FortheLoveofBLOG
Jennifer,
I wish blogging was around when I was raising my kids! I tried to be creative in teaching them theology and more importantly the love of God. You have such great advice and a list of books to help. What a great blog! I was here today via the #chasingcommunity linkup. Praying God continues to bless your writing and extend your reach of influence to inspire mommas to teach their children well.
Much love,
~Sherry Stahl
xoxo
Thank you so much!
I have the apple book in my classroom! I use in in our Bible lesson. #thoughtfulthursdays
Thanks for sharing these ideas and teaching tools! Definitely a tricky topic, and I’d only heard the apple method.
Thank you so much for this! What a wonderful resource!
Thanks for linking up at #LiveLifeWell
Blessings,
Amy