Prayer For A Child {BFIAR}

Follow along as we “row” classic children’s literature with Before Five in a Row. Learn more about BFIAR here.

Book Summary

“Prayer For a Child” is a child’s bedtime prayer giving thanks for some of the important things in a little one’s life: food, toys, family and friends.

Notes & Thoughts

This classic book published in 1944 has stood the test of time and is just as relevant for today’s children as it was in the 40s. Gabriella (almost 4 years old) enjoyed this as a bedtime book, but it was not one that she would pick out to read herself nor did it become a favorite as many of the other BFIAR have.

I used the book as an opportunity to discuss prayer, blessings and thankfulness and we also explored the themes of stars and space (the little girl in the book stargazes out her window) and children around the world.

Activities

• We did memory work with The Lord’s Prayer using this YouTube video and this book from the library. By the end of the week, she almost had it down!

• We read Eric Carle’s “Papa, please get the moon for me” which is a beautifully illustrated story and shows how the moon waxes and wanes. We also enjoyed the CD We recreated the pictures from the story by mixing paint with flour to create a 3-D moon. Gabriella added the marshmallow moon rocks all on her own accord. :)

• We read The Little Red Hen and talked about helping each other and teamwork. We talked about wheat and the process of harvesting wheat and processing it to make flour. We also discussed how some of us are allergic to wheat and then made gluten-free bread.

• We played with a sensory bin of glow-in-the-dark stars, glitter pom poms and foam stars and hearts (from the Target dollar bins).

• We painted wooden figurines which we spotted on the little girl’s shelves in the story. We talked about Hummel figurines and looked at pictures of them online.
  
• These were our favorite books to go along with the star theme. We had a good mix of non-fiction, informational books and ones with great stories.
  
• We worked on making different shapes and counting by making constellations with mini marshmallows and toothpicks (and had a few for a snack!). 
• We made a list of the blessings in our life we were thankful for. Gabriella’s list included marshmallows, daddy, Preston, chairs and pajamas. Pretty good list!

• We studied our star chart and discussed how the sky looks different in each season and why. We tried to stay up late on several nights to look at the stars, but it was so cloudy! We finally saw some stars one night, which was pretty exciting. 
• We used the book “Children Around the World” to learn about children in different cultures. Gabriella was fascinated by this book and asked to read it often. She especially loved seeing all of the different outfits children wear in other countries.

• We wrote letters to the children we sponsor through Compassion International. We have children in the Dominican Republic, India and Uganda and spent time talking about each country.

• We did the Compassion International homeschool lesson on Burkina Faso and created a toy ball out of recycled materials. The kids played with the ball for several weeks before I finally threw it away!

At first glance, I didn’t think this book would be very engaging, but we really enjoyed reading it and the opportunities for additional studies. I’d love to hear from you about your Before Five in a Row adventures!