This Sunday's sermon and music all really helped me. I've often wondered if I'm praying the right way... using the right words... do I pray enough? ... why do I struggle to pray out loud?
And then there's that nagging question in the back of my mind... "am I doing an ok job teaching my children how to pray." Well, now I feel better... more open, less worried, ready to "cast on Him my every care." There's always room for improvement, but after some quality family time this weekend and the message from Sunday, I think it's all ok.
During my boys' Cub Scout camping trip this weekend, I sat with my youngest son for lunch at a picnic table. He asked if we could pray together before our meal... wow. He pressed his hands together and squeezed his little eyes shut so tight. I think it's the most I've ever seen him concentrate! I have no idea what his prayer was about, but my short prayer was one of thanks for this amazing little boy.
Because I would like to offer my boys some guidance during their prayer time, I thought we would make Prayer Calendars.
Each child worked on their own calendar (I wrote the names for my youngest as he told them to me). I asked them to choose someone that they could pray for by name each day... yes, there are a few dogs on their lists. :} It was a good activity to work on together, and I know this will help them begin to understand how important prayer is.
One of our hymns on Sunday was Sweet Hour of Prayer. It's such a beautiful hymn, with powerful words. If you are not familiar with this hymn, a search online will give you oodles of choices. I found several options in iTunes and on YouTube. If you would like to see just one recording I found lovely to the ears, this link will take you to it. Enjoy :}
Samuel says twice in chapter 12 of 1 Samuel that we should serve the Lord with all our hearts. I thought an activity to reinforce this concept for Pre-Schoolers would be fun. So today I have two printables for you.
Print one "Cover Page" and as many copies of the "Inside Page" as you would like. It can certainly be printed onto regular, white printer paper... but if you would like to "bump up" the craftiness, print onto single-sided scrapbook paper. (You can often find 8-1/2 x 11" single-sided scrapbook paper sold in single sheets at your local craft store.) That way the space for your littles to color will be white, but the back of each page will be fancy! :}
When your child is finished, help him / her cut out the hearts. Punch a small hole through each of the little gray circles in the upper-left of each heart, stack your pages together with the cover on top, and hook your booklet together with a brad or small notebook ring.
It would be a good idea to work on this project over several days... weeks... a month? As you know, little bitties have short attention spans. :}
Once finished, this would be a nice, light-weight "time-filler" to carry in your purse. Won't the other mommies think you are clever and smart when they see you pull out your child's sweet little booklet the next time your doctor's office is running behind??? Feel free to share this activity with others! :}
I found the neatest idea in our Pre-School Sunday School guide - giving children "Prayer Partners." I thought it would be a great idea to make into an activity and share with you today.
Arrange ahead of time with the parents of one of your child's friends for the two children to become "Prayer Partners." Then each child will make a special effort to pray for his/ her partner every day.
I even created a simple printable activity for you! After printing the page, cut in half on the dotted line, help the children write each others' names on the solid line, color and decorate as desired, then fold in half to make two little table tents. Place your child's Prayer Partner reminder is a special place, such as on the nightstand in his/ her bedroom.
It might be a good idea to lead your child in the prayer the first few times. A simple example would be, "God, please bless my prayer partner, (child's name), and take care of him/ her today. Amen."
I'd love to hear how this worked for your family if you gave it a try. Feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. :}
If you thought after reading the title of this post that I was going to give you some insightful advice about getting your children to listen to you more... ummmm, sorry??? That's still a... "work in progress" in our house. I will gladly listen to any suggestions you have! :}
Because our Bible verse for September is about listening, I thought it would be nice to incorporate a listening game your little ones can play with you at home.
Now that it's getting cooler outside (it was pretty chilly at the bus stop this morning!), I see that the park near my house is pretty empty in the morning, with the pre-school crowd showing up on sunny afternoons. So I thought I'd share a song / activity that would be fun for morning playtime inside.
First, find some animals - you will need two of each. Animals that make noises are easier to use for this activity. You can use stuffed animals, little plastic toy animals, and images cut from magazines and coloring books. Then, find a container or tub to use as an "ark."
Before you are ready to sing and play, hide one of each animal in your
play area. As you sing each verse, hold up an animal. Challenge your
pre-schooler to find the matching animal before you finish the verse. After the pair of animals has been found, place them into the "ark" together.
If you would like to extend this activity to a real-life experience, visit the zoo one afternoon, and photograph each animal you see. If there's a male and female in the enclosure, photograph them separately. When you get home, print the pics of the animals. Print two copies of the animals that were bachelor(ette)s or find another image, from a magazine or online, so that you have two images of each animal. Then play the game the next day - E I E I O!
Each month our little remARKable friends are introduced to a new Bible verse, which we practice in our Nursery and Pre-School classrooms. Throughout the month of September, we are working on 1 Samuel 3:9.
Feel free to print out this scripture and hang it on your fridge. This scripture has been a good reminder for me to spend more time listening and being open to opportunities.
Yesterday we celebrated Grandparents Day. After the church service, we had a cute craft project available for grandkids and grandparents... a "hug" that can be kept forever. Wouldn't this be the best mail to open???
I think this would be a great project to create with your little bitties, just to brighten someone's day. Be sure to include a nice note! :}
It's almost Grandparents Day (this coming Sunday), so how about a simple craft your littles can do with Grandma and Grandpa?!
Supplies you will need: the printed puzzle, construction paper, scissors, glue stick, markers.
Optional supplies to embellish your picture: stickers, cut-out magazine pictures, etc.
HAVE FUN!! :}
Over the years, I haven't met too many kids who don't like playing "dress up." Both of my boys still like to play it now and then... today they put on their old Halloween costumes and kept the house safe from scurvy pirates and knight-eating dragons.
To help little bitties understand more about Labor Day (or just for fun on any day!), why not play "dress up" with make-shift costumes and pretend to be a mail carrier, firefighter, nurse, dentist, pastry chef, minister, teacher, waitress, soldier, bus driver........
Some jobs -- especially the ones you don't have a costume for ;) -- would be fun to act out in a game of Charades. Make your actions easy enough for your child to guess what your job is. For example, use some play money from a board game and pretend to be a bank teller - don't forget the sucker! When your child has the hang of it, let him/ her choose a job to act out. Have fun guessing!
Here's a short prayer to wrap up your play-time:
