I’m holding my newborn baby close to me on a Sunday morning. He squirms gently in my arms, ready for sleep, but too enthralled with the world around him to dare shut his eyes. The gentle and familiar tune, All Creatures of Our God and King fills the chapel. This is a song that I’ve been singing to him the past few weeks when I want to calm him. It’s a song that connects me to nature and fills me with peace. I softly sing along with the worship leaders. When I look down, I see that my baby is sleeping.
Hymns are filled with rich history and beautiful language. They connect us to our past and we’ll continue to pass them on to our children and their children, linking us to our future. Sharing these hymns with our children allows them to see the beauty of God in His creation around us. As we focus on nature during the early years, I imagine filling my children’s hearts with these beautiful words so that when we’re outside watching the birds flit from tree to tree, their hearts sing the lines from All Things Bright and Beautiful:
Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.”
I want to keep these sweet hymns on my tongue so I can share them with my children. These are beautiful hymns for nature study, in the early years and beyond.
Classic Hymns for Nature Study
I’ve linked these hymns to a version that I enjoy, or to their written lyrics.
All Creatures of Our God and King
All Things Bright and Beautiful
All Things Bright and Beautiful
When the Earth is Bright With Dew
God Speaks to us in Bird and Song
A Free Print for You
Spending precious time outdoors with my little ones allows us to appreciate the intricacies of God’s creation. As a reminder of God’s beautiful handiwork, I made this printable, which you can download right here.
(Note- There is no watermark on the downloadable file!)
Thanks for the list. My favorite, “The Hymn of Promise”!
That’s a beautiful one!
Thank you so much! I love these old hymns–especially those that point to the glory of God’s hand through nature. If you should ever like to use a few of my photographs (mostly butterflies) for your website, please don’t hesitate to ask. 🙂
A couple of years ago, I designed a butterfly calendar entitled “This Is My Father’s World”. I showed a printed mock-up to my local Christian Bookstore owner, but he wasn’t at all interested, so I dropped the idea. He told me it wouldn’t sell unless it featured scripture verses (not hymn lyrics). Guess I could have filled it with Bible verses, but I just shook my head and went home discouraged. “What would sell” wasn’t my ultimate goal.
Anyway, thanks again for your website. It brightened my day. 🙂
Butterfly Wishes,
Jay
Thank you very much for that offer, Jay! I know many homeschooling moms who would think your calendar idea was a really good one!
I Love this! Tying hymn study to nature especially for little ones 🙂
Thank you, Samantha! I love the descriptions of nature that so many of these hymns hold 🙂