Ep. 85: Building Connections Through Movement and Story with Joy Wendling

In this episode of Reimagine Childhood from the Early Childhood Christian Network, host Monica Healer welcomes Joy Wendling—founder of Created to Play, author, podcast host, and ministry resource coordinator—to model how intentional movement and planned "interruptions" can transform Bible storytelling for preschoolers. Joy demonstrates telling "Jesus Calms the Storm" by inviting children to row, rock with waves, show emotions, and breathe into peace, helping them process fear and experience the story in their bodies. They discuss choosing age-appropriate, shorter storybook Bible retellings, the value of oral storytelling, and how movement frees children's brains to focus rather than struggle to sit still. Monica and Joy explore how this approach nurtures faith, helps children imagine Jesus in everyday life, and offers practical ways to handle child-led interruptions with "connection over perfection," plus classroom extension ideas like sink-and-float play and ocean sounds.   00:00 5.4.26- Joy Wendling 00:01 Welcome to Reimagine Childhood 00:50 Meet Joy Wendling 02:30 Interactive Bible Story Demo 13:34 Why Movement Matters 17:01 Conference Season Highlights 18:01 Storytelling That Builds Faith 26:05 Handling Interruptions Gracefully 31:09 Key Takeaways And Sendoff Find all of Joy's resource at https://createdtoplay.com/ Her podcast is Playfully Faithful Parenting - https://createdtoplay.com/podcast/ Follow her on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/createdtoplay Or find some of the toolkits she's created at https://faithandchildren.org/