F3 Piece on the 3 States of Water and...the Holy Trinity??

F3 piece helps teach about 3 states of Water and ...the Holy Trinity?

Yesterday we had a neat little set of 4 cards on the states of matter shared by Michelle.  (Thanks, again.) I wanted to share my F3 piece that was supposed to be a go-along for it.  Upon closer examination, I saw that it was for the 3 states of water.  I know it's not exactly the same, but still quite neat.  I made it awhile ago for my youngest daughter but never got around to cleaning it up and putting on the directions and such.

Now for the Trinity.  The 3 states of water is one of the easiest and clearest ways to teach about the Trinity that I have come across.  I have seen lots of other examples like members of a family, parts of a plant and so forth, but by far this is the easiest and most tangible way to illustrate this most important facet of our faith.  I have successfully used this year after year in my CCD class. 

*I like to incorporate science experiments into the classroom as much as possible.  Since God is the Truth and science seeks to bring about the Truth, I am never afraid to use science as a teaching tool.

A simple illustration of this lesson starts with:

• a water bottle of water,
• a small Ziploc bag filled with ice cubes,
• a small saucepan with a lid,
• a clear glass bowl,
• a hot pad - put your hot pot on so the children can view the changes 
• a stove 

I might begin by asking what is in the bottle.  The kids usually say water or H2O, sometimes.  I take a sip from the bottle to show that it is just water and then I pour the contents into the pot and put it on a burner on high to boil. While the water comes to a boil, I usually talk about the concept of one God in three distinct natures - the three points of the Trinity.  I mention that Trinity is connected to the number 3 from the Latin word trinitas.  I give examples tricycle, triangle, trident etc.  Then I say God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

The next step is that I ask them how can we see or experience water?  They say - ice, snow, liquid.  Almost always someone will forget to say steam.  We talk about how they all have things in common (chemical make-up of H2O) but also how they are different.  At this point, I encourage the children to watch how the water in the pot is changing.  At it's peak boiling point, I take the lid off showing the steam and then I place the bowl over the boiling water to have it condense and fall back out as water again.  Lastly I put the ice cubes in the pot and boil it up before their eyes and follow with more steam catching.  They see how the three states are really connected.

The Trinity is connected as well I tell them.  The steam is like God the Father, we can't see Him but we can feel His presence and see the results of His creation.  God the Son is like ice because we can hold it touch it, see it, it is tangible just like when our Lord was flesh and walked on the earth or is present in the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.  The Holy Spirit is the water of Baptism.  See...3 states of water and the Holy Trinity.  Simple, eh?  It takes about 15 mins to complete and it really helps solidify it in their minds and hearts.  You could even finish out using the F3 piece for science or Trinity review.

To use this resource, simply print out, cut apart, fill-in, and glue.  The instructions are included on the sheet.  This is a one page activity.  You can used the finished product as a stand alone piece, glue it into a science notebook, or add it into an existing project or unit study.

I hope you enjoyed our little lesson. :)  My plan is to convert each week's CCD class lesson into a printable form and share it with you all online complete with printables, F3 Lessons, notes, and experiments.  It will take some doing but I think it will be worth it.  I even thought about doing videos to go with the experiments but we'll see..lol..lol.  Only so many hours in a day, eh?

Click Here to download this F3 piece on the 3 states of water.


Blessings,

Kalei - That Resource Team