BIZZY
For years I've been lobbying for our church to have busy bags for the children. You know, bags of stuff to keep kids quiet and occupied during the parts of worship that are downright boring to them?
There are 2 schools of thought about busy bags. One school says that children should be able to sit and listen at worship, and put their full attention on God and our worship of Him. The second school says that kids are kids and need to be engaged with all of their senses to open up the learning. While I love the theory of the first school, years of parenting have taught me that practical is not always pretty. And kids are not always quiet. So we might as well keep them occupied, and maybe just maybe they will learn something about God and our worship in the meantime!
So I decided to take it upon myself to sew up some busy bags. Folks from church donated the fabric and a few donations, and I took the dive (with our--gasp!--credit card) and purchased Bible-related coloring books and twistable crayons. I dug into the church and our family's craft stash and enlisted the help of my little girls, who kept wondering "Do we get to keep these?" and "I can't WAIT to use the busy bags!"
As of now, each busy bag contains one hardcover Christian-themed book, one softcover book, one lacing card, one I-spy bag with accompanying photo (my newest sewing/craft fix), 6 pipe cleaners, one Bible coloring book, twistable crayons, oh- and 2 packs of Post-it notes (donated since this picture was taken)!
The girls call the pipe cleaners "Bendaroos". Wynne has found a new way to practice her writing, and you should have seen how the older kids took to those things, designing what-nots during the sermon on Sunday. (Sorry Pastor Dale, I promise they were still "getting" the message!)
Mark is now in the process of making a little wooden bag rack for the narthex. All in all, a satisfying project and hopefully one that will be appreciated and used by our church families for years to come!
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.--Psalm 119:11
There are 2 schools of thought about busy bags. One school says that children should be able to sit and listen at worship, and put their full attention on God and our worship of Him. The second school says that kids are kids and need to be engaged with all of their senses to open up the learning. While I love the theory of the first school, years of parenting have taught me that practical is not always pretty. And kids are not always quiet. So we might as well keep them occupied, and maybe just maybe they will learn something about God and our worship in the meantime!
So I decided to take it upon myself to sew up some busy bags. Folks from church donated the fabric and a few donations, and I took the dive (with our--gasp!--credit card) and purchased Bible-related coloring books and twistable crayons. I dug into the church and our family's craft stash and enlisted the help of my little girls, who kept wondering "Do we get to keep these?" and "I can't WAIT to use the busy bags!"
As of now, each busy bag contains one hardcover Christian-themed book, one softcover book, one lacing card, one I-spy bag with accompanying photo (my newest sewing/craft fix), 6 pipe cleaners, one Bible coloring book, twistable crayons, oh- and 2 packs of Post-it notes (donated since this picture was taken)!
The girls call the pipe cleaners "Bendaroos". Wynne has found a new way to practice her writing, and you should have seen how the older kids took to those things, designing what-nots during the sermon on Sunday. (Sorry Pastor Dale, I promise they were still "getting" the message!)
Mark is now in the process of making a little wooden bag rack for the narthex. All in all, a satisfying project and hopefully one that will be appreciated and used by our church families for years to come!
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.--Psalm 119:11
posted by Amy Siegert | 6:24 AM
1 Comments:
Brilliant!
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