Quiet Activities for Preschoolers to Do During Sacrament Meeting

Church is a weekly uplift that we all really need. When you have preschoolers, planning activities to keep them busy during sacrament meeting can be such a great help. The goal is to bring out items to help them listen quietly. But let’s be honest, sometimes the goal changes to simply making it through the hour. My family tries to wait until after the sacrament portion to open up the church bag to help stretch the time and reward reverent behavior. We have discovered that a few intentionally chosen items to pack can be far more rewarding than throwing a lot of random toys into the church bag. We also choose to not bring snacks as we found they were more distracting than helpful. Find our ideas below:

Materials put out by the church:

They are low cost and so helpful to keep kids in a worship mindset.

1. The church’s coloring books. Have you seen these? They are just over a dollar and fabulous! At the time of this publication, they have 6 to choose from. 
2. The Friend magazine. Even though our preschoolers are not reading, they enjoy looking at the pictures. Paying for a physical copy is totally worth it.
3. Gospel Art Book. This spiral bound book contains 137 pictures from the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Church History, Gospel in Action, and Latter-Day Prophets. My kids loved looking through these pictures and asking me about the stories they showed. It is just $3.50 at the time of this publication. 
4. Print off things on the children’s page on the church’s website such as this hidden picture sheet. You can also laminate the sheets or place them in sheet protectors in a binder. Pair them with a dry erase marker and you have an easy reusable activity. 

Quiet toys we love:

Self-contained magnetic play sets like this one. Why we like it: It is self-contained and provides a lot of opportunity for imaginative play. This one is a huge bonus because they can recall the Bible story of Noah. 

Lacing cards like this Book of Mormon one. Why we like it: Great for fine motor skills, and keeps their hands busy, but allows them to still listen. We especially like this one because it will remind the kids of scripture stories. 

 Seek and Find books like this one. Why we like it: While the kids are busy looking for the items, they can still listen to the speaker. 

A Jeliku Toy like this one. Why we like it: Kids love moving it all around. Heather’s kids love it so much she has recently purchased extras so that each of her kids can have one to play with during sacrament meeting.

A peg toy like this one. Why we like it: It is great for fine motor skills, color recognition, and hand-eye coordination. It builds imagination too if you skip the pattern cards and make your own patterns. It is another one that will keep the hands busy, but allow them to still listen. A word of caution: this may not be ideal for you if you are worried that your child will drop the little pieces everywhere and leave you with a big mess. If they are good at keeping little pieces together it is a great sacrament toy.  

For those, “Whoops I brought nothing” days:

1. Eye-spy color. Whisper for him to find everyone in the room wearing a blue tie or dress. Go through all of the colors.
2. Hand puppet. Make a literal hand puppet by drawing an eyes and mouth on his hand. Remember to wash it off before sending them to primary! Note: If drawing on yourself is against your values just move onto the next suggestion.
3. Hymn hide: Take turns hiding a piece of the program in the hymn book.
4. Library save: Swing by the library for some pictures for them to look at.
5. Speaker pictures: Have your child listen for one word in the speaker’s talk that they want you to draw, then let them have a go at the same word. They will have fun trying to pick something funny or hard. Repeat.

My LDS Preschool Materials:

Many of the teaching printables and materials can be reused from our curriculum as quiet activities. As you prepare your materials, instead of filing them away when you are done, throw them in your church bag to reuse them. Here are just a few ideas:

Slip the scripture posters into sheet protectors and put them in a binder to be looked at. Pictured is N is for Nephi.

Let them play with the characters from one of the scripture stories. Pictured is N is for Nephi.

Slide the letter writing practice sheets into a sheet protector. Put them in a binder and pair it with a dry erase marker. They can practice their writing while listening to the speaker.

Use any one of the other printables. This Math printable on the letter M is a search and find super spy. The children find and count how many of each type of picture there are.

If all else fails, know that you are in the right place. 🙂 Wishing you calm and happy sacrament meetings. 

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