“The wheels on the bus go round and round…”

“It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring…”

“Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb…”

Do your toddlers walking around singing these nursery rhymes or songs?  I am amazed sometimes by what I hear my daughter singing!  I didn’t realize that she had a song memorized until I hear her singing it while she is playing.

Imagine if it were that way with Bible verses!

It can be!  Toddlers have an amazing memory and an amazing capacity with which to remember and memorize just about anything.  How often has your toddler told you about something they enjoyed or did that happened months ago, leaving you stunned and thinking, “I can’t believe you remember that!” Have you yet begun to take advantage of this by helping them hide the Word of God in their little heart?  If not, I want to encourage you to consider beginning today!  If your child can talk, he or she is capable of memorizing Scripture!

There is no right way to do it, and there are many methods out there.  I use two methods: music and simple practice.  I love, love, love Steve Green’s Hide ‘Em in Your Heart series.  They are catchy and fun.

We have a daily (or bi- or tri-daily) “circle time” in which we review a memory verse.  Tara catches on very quickly.  I usually choose a verse that is applicable to struggles she is having that will instruct her in the right thing to do.  The very first verse she memorized was, “Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1).  When she has mastered a verse, we move on to another one.  There is no set amount of time that I spend on each verse that I am helping her hide in her heart.  Some verses take longer than others for her to remember.  But once she has it, I don’t delay to move on and we continue to review the verses that she has already memorized.  Usually, the review comes when we have a real life situation in which I am seeking to apply the verse to, like when she snatches a toy from her brother.   So, some verses are learned much more quickly than others. 

My goal is not just rote Scripture memory, though.  I have many reasons why I am seeking to instill a love for God’s Word in my own heart and in my children’s hearts which you can read about here tomorrow.  I’m not prescribing you follow my method, but I hope that you’ll consider the benefits of Scripture memory and pray about implementing this spiritual discipline in your life and the life of your children!  If you decide to do it, you can try different methods to see what works the best for you and your family!

Are you in search of ideas for fun activities for preschoolers for times when you need them to occupy themselves?  Whether I’m nursing Brant, putting him down for a nap, or working on chores that smaller hands aren’t quite ready for yet, it has been a tremendous help to have fun indoor activities ready to pull out for Tara to do.  For the past several months, I’ve been building a supply of fun activities to do inside at the kitchen table and others to do while we are outside.  The great thing is that many of these are also great learning activities that don’t necessarily require me there to teach a skill.

Now that it’s warming up, we are spending more time out outdoors.  Most of these outdoor activities require me to be with Tara, but I thought I’d include them since it’s warming up all around the country.  You might be in search of some good, fun activities for preschoolers ideas!  Sometimes going to the playground gets boring, so I’ve come up with a number of other fun activities to do near our house.

Indoor Activities

Tara will often sit in her chair at the kitchen table while I’m doing the dishes or preparing dinner (when she isn’t helping!).  Not all of these are table activities though.  A few of her favorite things to do include:

- Coloring with crayons or markers on plain paper or in coloring books

- Using child safety scissors to cut paper

- Putting stickers on paper

- Play dough with cookie cutters, mini rolling pin, children’s knife, a bowl…

- Partially fill a bathroom sink and let her “wash” toys or other items (Tara will stay entertained for a long time with this one, and she’s gotten much better about keeping the mess to a minimum!)

- Lace & Trace Pets (Amazon carries them here)

- Memory Card games

- Library books

- Puzzles.  I keep all of Tara’s puzzle pieces in a plastic box with a lid (to prevent losing them!).  When she’s ready to put puzzles together, she dumps the box out and works on all of them at one time.

Outdoor Activities

We do not have a fenced in back yard (…yet!  When we move we will, yay!) so I don’t feel comfortable letting Tara go outside to play unless I am right there with her.  There is one exception though:  her box of corn is on the back porch.  When I am working in the kitchen or on the main level from room to room, I will let her play in this because I can keep an eye on her while I work.

- Bubbles.  A toddler favorite!  It is easy to make your own, too!

- Sidewalk chalk

- Corn box.  My mother-in-law came up with this great idea!  She filled a baby pool with corn from her local feed supply store and gave Tara measuring cups, buckets, and other fun items.  We decided to take an old storage box and do the same.  You can find corn pretty inexpensively at a local supply store.  Over time, more “tools” have ended up in Tara’s corn box.  She loves doing this and it is a great way for her to enjoy being outside.  Plus, I can work in the kitchen at the same time.  A huge benefit of the corn box is that, unlike a sandbox, it is very easy to clean up!

- Themed walks.  Take a “listening” walk.  Listen for different animals and see if your child can name them.  Also listen for different types of cars and trucks.  Take a “color” walk.  Pick a specific color to look for and have your child identify different objects of that color.  The list is endless to what types of walks you can take!

- We live right around the corner from a fire station.  Daily, we take walks to “look for fire trucks.”  This is currently Tara’s favorite activity!  We have also had the opportunity to get on and in a fire truck.  All we had to do was ask!

- A baby or kids’ pool is always a favorite during the warmer months.

- Paint with water on the sidewalk or a driveway.  Squirt guns or spray bottles with adjustable nozzles are great for this.

- Have a picnic outside.

- We are within walking distance to the library so we go every few weeks and get a new batch of toddler books.

Think outside the box when looking for fun activities for preschoolers and toddlers.  I have found that Tara enjoys playing with everyday items such as kitchen utensils and gadgets, too.  Have fun with it, and your children probably will too!

Do you have an arsenal of fun activities for toddlers?  If so, share below!