Young Kids Edition: Totally Home-Centered Church Survival Guide

How to keep the Sabbath spiritual and sane!

P.S. If you have teenagers, check out THESE TIPS – or read my entire general Survival Guide HERE!

Solidarity to all of you who have had the thought, “No more nursery?!” or “No more primary?!” cross their minds recently. 

I’m a young mom with a 2-year-old and a 2-month-old, and I also have my degree in Elementary Education. I’ve run the @comefollowmestudy social media accounts since January of 2019, and also have my own site with all of my study thoughts each week. I know a fair amount about kids’ development, how to appropriately teach at each age level, and I have a huge passion for studying the scriptures.

And still, this is no walk in the park. 

But here are some tips that I have for making your new completely home-centered Sundays run as smoothly as possible. Some of these ideas come from my own experiences, and others have been crowd-sourced from my amazing followers on Instagram. Please, if you have anything else to add, comment below on this post, or head over to @comefollowmestudy and join the conversation!

Flexible Routine, NOT Rigid Schedule

Two super important words for young kids! 

First, make a routine. I recommend creating “blocks” of time. For example, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. we are doing “arts and crafts”, even though the hour might look like coloring for 5 minutes, drawing with chalk for 20, coloring a picture for 10 again, building a temple out of blocks for 15 minutes… you get the picture. Routines help little minds know what to expect, and they also give you as the adult some structure to work with. 

And second, be flexible. If “song time” is going great and your kids are rocking out to all of the Article of Faith songs over and over, then keep it going. If next week, “song time” runs its course in 10 minutes, don’t stress. You’ll lose their attention fast if you are trying to force something that they aren’t interested in right now. 

Make it Fun!

In my undergrad classes at BYU, I was taught that during the first week of school, I needed to have my students leave my classroom thinking, “That was such a fun class!” If I could get them to leave thinking that for the first few days, then I could throw in all the hard work and rigor I wanted to later, and they would buy into it because my class was “fun”. 

So find ways to make the Sabbath fun! Sundays do not have to be boring days. You might not want your kids watching the same shows or playing the same games they do on weekdays, so what can you offer to make the day more special instead of seeming like a chore?

Some ideas to make the day fun in appropriate ways:

• Church videos on YouTube or on the Church’s website
• Listen to Primary songs
• Listen to other Church songs on YouTube by current popular artists
• Delete their normal game apps for the day so they aren’t as tempting of an option
• Pull out board games or card games that might not be used as often
• Get some outdoor activities for your backyard that you don’t usually use or have time for
• Get new church-related or uplifting books

If “fun” is a theme of the day, then it’s a lot easier to get real “learning” in!

Let Them Help Plan!

Kids LOVE getting buy-in. During the week (or even on Sunday morning), ask them what they would like to do as Sunday-appropriate activities. You might be surprised at the good ideas they come up with! If they have some ideas that you don’t want to pursue on the Sabbath, keep it positive by telling them it’s a great idea for a Wednesday, and put it on your calendar if possible. This helps keep them feeling like their contribution is meaningful! 

For super young kids, giving them two choices is a fun way to still create buy-in (“Would you like to take a walk around the neighborhood, or read a picture book?”)

Give Them Jobs!

Along with getting their buy-in in the planning phase, get their help executing the plan, too! This can look completely different based on the ages of your kids, but can be really effective in keeping them engaged. 

For the older kids, have them help plan part of an activity. They can: 

• Cut out olive trees to use for a reenactment
• Learn how to read a few verses so they can read it out loud to the family
• Color visual aids
• Think of a personal story to share
• Come up with a fun game for the family to play in the backyard

For the younger kids, give them jobs during the activity to keep their interest. They can:

• Bring you supplies when needed
• Hold visual aids or props
• Act stories out
• Dress up for a story
• Repeat simple phrases over and over

Spread it Out!

Kids are usually most attentive in the morning to mid-morning. Consider:

• Activities or lessons that require more focus earlier on in the day
• Nap time or “quiet time” in the early afternoon
• More active plans for the later afternoon
• A church or uplifting movie for the evening 

Don’t feel like you need to cram all of the day’s activities into a two-hour block, just like church. 

Take the Wins, Ignore the Losses, and Don’t Stress

A million things will go “wrong”. Because that’s what happens when you try to work with little, developing personalities and maturities. 

But Jesus loved the little children, temper tantrums and all. Reframe the Sabbath as a way to just shower your kids with love while teaching them correct principles, and you can’t go wrong. Get them in the scriptures if you can. Bear your testimony in small and simple ways. Share personal stories that they can connect with. 

Make it a process that YOU enjoy, because this is your Sabbath day, too. 

Find time to reconnect with your spouse. To dive into the scriptures by yourself. Put that oxygen mask on yourself before helping others. 

I know, easier said than done with little ones. 

But when you make Christ a priority in YOUR life, it will naturally spill over into the way you interact with and teach your kids. This was my complete motivation behind starting @comefollowmestudy and it is what keeps me going. We’ve got to fill our own buckets first and feast upon the words of Christ. 

Have any more ideas for working with young kids on the Sabbath? Drop them in the comments below or head over to Instagram and share there! We are in this together.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black