Children love stories, and the Bible is full of them. Buy a story-based curriculum designed for preschoolers, like “He Established a Testimony” and “He Has Spoken by His Son” from Desiring God ministries, or use pictures or a story Bible to tell the story yourself. Simplify the plot of the stories to one they can understand, but always say that the story teaches about God. For instance, the story of Joshua and the battle of Jericho tells us that God has power to do the impossible.
Children ages 3 to 5 are not too young to understand some of the basic doctrines of Christianity, and those doctrines help to make sense of the stories. In between stories of the Red Sea, Elijah’s ravens and Jesus' walking on water, talk with them about sin and righteousness, of how God punishes and rewards and why Jesus had to die on the cross. Repetition is the key: Explain over and over, and in many ways. If you feel incompetent to do this, try using “The Gospel for Children” by John B. Leuzarder.
Check the Internet for Scripture set to music for children. Sunday school children remember that Zacchaeus was “a wee little man” who “climbed up in a sycamore tree for the Lord he wanted to see.” Songs stick in the mind and are an excellent way to memorize Bible verses, the names of biblical books and story essentials. Furthermore, movement and hand motions let children work out their wiggles before settling down for the lesson.
Accompany your stories and lessons with coloring pages and fun craft projects. Calvary Chapel’s online curriculum has coloring sheets for almost any Bible story. DLTK’s Growing Together website has Bible crafts using toilet paper rolls, paper plates, paint, glue and printable templates. Young children need a lot of supervision to carry out crafts, but they will remember what they made for a long time. Discuss the lesson with them as you color, paint, cut and glue.