As we welcomed back our preschoolers to Sunday School this September, we began with a four-part series on the Season of Creation. When we asked the children, “Does God Play?,” we got head shakes and a couple of tentative nods, but the preschoolers had a hard time picturing God frolicking, exploring, and experimenting with His vast creation. Yet this is exactly how God is described in our series of Psalms, and our youngest children are the greatest teachers of this lesson.

Creation’s wisdom is alive in our children. We can try and see through their eyes and be willing to hear, taste, smell, and touch the treasures of God’s Earth. Young children are so much better than we at living in the wildness and freedom of creation, and we can see through their profound curiosity, wonder, and joyful spirit that God does, indeed, play.

While exploring creation in our own backyard, our preschoolers reenacted God’s joyous creativity. Their wisdom as they worked: “Trees need leaves.” “The dogs are with the mountain goats on the mountain.” “Birds are chirping.“ “Some flowers smell like bees.” “This is a farm.” “I can slip and slide on ice. I jump from snow to ice.” (from wiggle walk to the concrete circle) “Bees are on the flowers!” “Forest, river, tallest mountain …” “The elephants are eating the coconuts (flannel-graph desert scene).”  “I found a pine cone!”