God’s Green Acres
About this series
A child’s mind is like a jell-o fruit salad. The whole idea is to get the good stuff in before the jell-o sets.
When children are young, their hearts and minds are still soft. What we plant in those early years often stays with them for life. The world is working hard to fill those hearts with its own stories. We want to get the good stuff in first — Scripture, soil, and a story worth keeping.
These lessons use simple gardening and the wonder of creation to show children:
- God is the One who makes things grow.
- He designed every living thing with purpose and pattern.
- They themselves are fearfully and wonderfully made in His image.
The sunflower becomes a living classroom that runs through the early lessons. Children plant a seed, watch it grow, and learn that we plant… but only God makes it grow. The goal is not a big program. It is quiet faithfulness while the heart is still soft.
How to use this package
- Start with Lesson 1. The sunflower becomes a living classroom that runs through the early lessons.
- Use the Take-Home Sheets so parents can continue the noticing at home.
- The animal tracks handout pairs beautifully with the animal lesson.
- Adapt the length or activities for the children in front of you.
- Mark a lesson “taught” and keep private notes on this device as you go.
Two paths, one farm
Planting Seeds in Young Hearts is the short children’s series — a sunflower that becomes a living classroom.
The One-Year Family Nature Science Forum is for whole families, month by month, with Jesus as the close friend walking in creation. Parents stay. Take-homes come back to the table.
Both rest on the Safety Covenant: physical, emotional, and spiritual. We will not invent numbers or claim what is not yet true.
For the teacher
Pictures and posture teach children what God is like before they can read. Keep Jesus near.
- Slow down. Smile with your eyes. Get low to talk to children.
- Celebrate every observation. Never shame a “wrong” answer.
- When in doubt, point to Jesus and creation and say, “Let’s look together.”
- Show Jesus beside the family — not floating above, not a harsh judge, never in a hurry.
- Light is warm. Faces are not shamed. The dirt is a gift.
The look stays farm-warm: greens, golds, browns, and quiet Scripture. We plant. God makes it grow.
A note to a pastor or friend
Dear Pastor / Friend,
I have a heart for reaching children with the truth of God’s Word before the world has a chance to shape their thinking. Years ago I saw a simple sign that said a child’s mind is like a fruit Jell-O mold — we need to get the good things in before it sets. That message has stayed with me ever since.
I’ve prepared a short, hands-on series called “Planting Seeds in Young Hearts” that teaches children about God through the wonder of His creation. The materials are designed to be engaging for ages 5–12, easy to teach, and firmly grounded in Scripture. They fit naturally into a family evening, a small group, or a short series with children.
With quiet faith,
God’s Green Acres
Weatherford, Texas
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. — Proverbs 22:6