Playing "School"

One of the best things we've incorporated in our weekday activities is playing "school." I have a 3-year-old and an almost 2-year-old and we spend about 5-minutes each day doing a lesson out of the Primary 1 manual. (This is the book they use at church for Nursery and Sunbeams.) Sometimes, we'll spend several days on the same lesson or we may do a quick lesson on a different topic everyday. I try to find out what they talked about in Beck's class on Sunday so we can review that lesson during the week and talk about the upcoming lesson, as well. The kids LOVE this little activity and actually remind me to do it! We sing songs and look at the pictures relating to the lesson and I think it's brought a wonderful spirit into our home.

You can order just the manual from the Church website, but I recommend springing for the picture packet and CD. Click here for the link. The picture packet has illustrations that go along with all of the lessons. The book, in addition to the lessons, has lots of ideas for activities and games that go along with the topics. The CD includes some really fun stuff, like different kinds of music and an imaginary "Trip to the Zoo" where a narrator instructs the kids to "drive" to the zoo and then spend time walking around and acting like the various animals they would see there. My kids absolutely love this and ask me to play it for them often -- and they really ham it up and get some wiggles out. So, $11.50 sounds a little steep for the whole package, but I think it's completely worth it!

Some of the benefits: I feel like my kids are learning how to be reverent, how to sit in a chair for a lesson and LISTEN, and I am learning more about them and how much they really understand through the questions I ask. And THAT has been rewarding for me.