Trying to successfully occupy my three small children during General Conference is like trying to hang glide during a hurricane – theoretically, it can be done, but pulling it off in real life is next to impossible. The LDS Bookstores and the Internet both abound with some great kid-friendly activities, but I have a hard time convincing myself to pay full price for things like activity books. I also like the Friend magazines, but once an activity has been completed by one child, the other two don’t have a chance.
Several years ago, I came up with a thrifty solution. My mother-in-law had purchased two coloring books (this was before my third child was born) filled with heros from the scriptures, and my kids enjoyed the new activities. However, their cheap mother (that’s me) just couldn’t rationalize paying $4-5 per book, plus shipping costs. Perhaps, I thought, I can just photocopy the pages. This, in turn, led me to consider scanning them into my computer, thus giving me a permanent copy. From there, I began to wonder – surely someone else had done something similar. Having recently looked for printable kids activities online anyway, I began to wonder if some church members might have had the same thought.
After scouring the net, I found what I felt were two of the best places for printable activities. Don’t hit me, but the first and most obvious is the gospel library on the church website. If you use the search function to find the phrase ‘sharing time’, you will be met with page upon page of sharing time activities, ranging all the way back to the 70s. More than just coloring pages, many of these are activities you can cut, glue, and tape. I left-click on the images and save them to a file in my hard drive, then use a graphics program to assemble a book. Actually, I have no familiarity with most graphics program, so I use Powerpoint. I can create multiple pages in my coloring books, add scriptures, text, or directions, and put more than one picture on a page. I’m sure there are graphic programs that allow you do easily do the same thing, but I can only confess my ignorance and hope someone else will share. Depending on the ages of your children, you can also search ‘fun stuff’ and ‘for little friends’, which will pull up those departments. I also like to browse through those for various months; for instance, while assembling a ‘Christmas’ Sunday book, I checked about 15 years worth of those departments and sharing times in December only. These activities take more time and thought (and energy and attention!) than simple coloring. Make sure you chose age-appropriate activities for your kids, as these activities are geared towards various ages.
The other website I like to use is About.com’s LDS Clipart website. There, images are arranged by type, alphabetically. This can be especially helpful not just for making coloring books, but also for family home evening lessons, or pretty much anything else you want to use for a theme. If you wanted to assemble your own coloring book of the prophets, you could use this to do so. Many of these pictures come from the Friend, but since they are all images, it is easier to locate them. (Thus far, my kids’ favorite image is the second one down, labeled ‘The Armor of God’. This takes you to a paper doll with armor that they can color, cut, and assemble.)
These activity books only buy me about an hour of peace for my five, three, and two year old, but that covers half of one Conference session. Because I can make them so different each time, I can make multiples, including one regular Sunday-book that gives me the option of working on things with them (or just letting them color), and still have ‘special’ ones for Christmas broadcasts and General Conferences.
Trying to keep small children occupied on Sunday can be a challenge. I am grateful to live in an era when so many resources can be so easily accessed. A great tool when used properly, even the Internet can help bring the Spirit into our home – for a few minutes, at least!
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