Shabbat Fun for Our Little Lambs

In addition to ever popular Bible Charades game, wear we gather as a family and act out character and events in the Bible for the others to guess. The kids love to play with their Bible Quest Action Figures and Games. (They have also added swatches of fabric and use Lincoln logs to builds tents and such. These figures are possible and nice toys. However...if you little lambs are real rough on these things...they will break because the joints will snap. We started with something like these, to help fill in the gap between the littlest (rougher) lambs and the one who take more care with the figures. We call them our "Bible little people" they are not possible and can stand up to the rougher play with lesser fine tuned motor skills that the possible parts require. They are safer is you have little chewers in your tribe, because little pieces could be bitten off. They can all still play nicely together.) This allows mom and dad a little more space to go deep into the Scripture together whilst keeping the little lambs focused in a worshipful way they really enjoy. Its a beautiful thing!

We have many resources, but some others we recommend for Littles and Middles are in our Shabbat Tub are:

Creation Memory Match
Armor of God Board Game (5 and up)

Resources for our older lambs or things to do together (Multi-age) :
Uncle Arthur's Books (Some of our favorite read alouds!)
Kingdom Songs Book and CD
Bible Blurt (Board Game)
Walking in Truth or Draw and Learn Bible Series by Notgrass
Outburst Bible Edition (Board Game)
Bible Alive (Book with photos) by Zondervan
Teach Your Feet To Dance (DVD)
Davidicdance.com (DVD)
Take Me to the Holy Land, by Art Scroll (book with photo)
Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation (book and CD)
Daily Life at the Time of Jesus, by Vamosh (book with pictures)
The Victor Journey Through the Bible (book with pictures)
Illustrated Jewish Bible for Children (book with pictures)
Your Story Hour (Audio Stories)

I am assuming the best resource goes with out saying...THE SCRIPTURES!

A "Shabbat Tub" also comes in handy when you go places. You can select the things that would be most appropriate to take when you visit somewhere on Shabbat or any time of the week to help the children occupy themselves if needed. When I take it, if I don't exactly what to expect somewhere, I just leave it in the car. That way I can go get it if I need it...but at the same time...I am not interfering with something else that might already be in place by the host. I like to bring enough to share and make sure they are "quiet things". We always prepare the kids of what is expected of them before we leave the car. This way, our expectations are freshly seeded in their minds, and they have a sense of what to expect and how to conduct themselves. If they forget...a soft reminder of sorts is usually all that is needed.

Or course having shared ALL this stuff...please understand this is an accumulation of things we have used over time. Only a few of these things "come out" on one Shabbat. We don't mean to encourage you to "busy yourself" on your Shabbat...it is very good to learn to be still and also to give the children opportunities to be still too. This is a very important element to Shabbat that should not be forgotten. So we want to encourage you to try to instill a "quiet time" on Shabbat for everyone. We believe this best fills the Father's intent for Shabbat...so that we may be still and know that He is Sovereign. This may be a real challenge at first with little ones. Having Bible story picture books, or soft music and prayer time helps usher this time in. You might also try a blanket on the floor with pillows.

We want everyone in the family, no matter their age to really enjoy and look forward to Shabbat, as a precious time to soak in the presence of YHVH and set it apart from other days.

Shabbat Shalom in Your Precious Home!

p.s. If you have items you would like to share I would love to see it future posts of our Shabbat Linky...or you are welcome to put it in the comments section below to share with others.