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Out of the Mouths of Babes
by Kate Ristow

Not long ago, I sat behind two young parents with a preschooler in tow at Mass. The little girl stayed busy with her coloring book and doll throughout the liturgy, seemingly unaware of all that was happening around her. As customary, just before the Communion Rite, the children who were not yet old enough to receive the Body and Blood of Christ were invited to come to the sanctuary to receive a blessing from the priest and deacon. Without prompting, the girl streaked from her pew and joined the other little ones racing to the altar from different parts of the church. It’s a wonder to behold—our future, eager to actively participate in “their” part of the Mass. I lost sight of the little girl until she came back to the pew to rejoin her folks. She sat down on the bench with a bounce and announced proudly, “I’m blessed!”

The pure joy of her proclamation is typical of young children who are taking their first footsteps in faith. Preschoolers are naturally filled with a sense of wonder and awe. They are curious about what happens around them and eager to participate in the experiences they see and hear about at home, in the neighborhood, and at church. The preschool years are a fertile time for building religion readiness by involving children in a program that actively engages their imaginations, abilities, and innate desire to know and love God.

Preschool religious education today is much more than a convenient way to keep children busy while the adult assembly gathers for Mass. Parishes that equate preschool with “babysitting” miss out on fruitful and meaningful opportunities to help young children begin the journey of faith in exciting and age-appropriate ways.

Through a formal preschool religion readiness program, we can nurture faith in a multitude of ways. Preschoolers’ love for stories enables us to share the stories of our faith and the Scriptures, so that they can come to know about the love of God and God’s Son, Jesus, for them. We can introduce real-life stories about children their age that bring the message of Bible-based stories into focus and help them to connect God’s Word to their daily lives. Activities that engage the whole child—their need for movement, their curiosity, their eagerness to express ideas and feelings, their developing sense of the sacred—enable preschoolers to integrate and celebrate learning. Music, art, media, play, working with others, and completing independent activities related to their learning about God all help to build a sense of Catholic identity. Diverse prayers foster reverence and provide opportunities for young children to begin to talk to and listen to the Lord. All of these elements are what make a preschool religion program a valuable and memorable experience for young children.

Through a preschool religion readiness program, we honor and respond to Jesus’ command: “Let the children come to me” (Mark 10:14). Yet there is another reason to share our faith with preschoolers—they help us to recapture our own sense of awe and wonder at the abundance of God’s love for us. Like the little girl in church who knew she was blessed, preschoolers help us all to recognize anew how graced we are to be God’s children!

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