Waiting! Waiting! Waiting!

Patience is a tough skill to learn, even as an adult.  I know I often find myself praying for more patience, though I don’t exactly want more opportunities to practice my patience skills!  We’ve been talking about patience at church and we’ve been doing some practicing at home too.  If your home needs a little improvement in this area, check out some ideas below for teaching kids patience.

Mail Yourself a Letter!

I loved this patience-building activity idea from Doing Stuff with Kids.  As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we’ve been reading through Seeds! Seeds! Seeds! recently.   At the beginning of the book Buddy Bear receives a package from grandpa and at the end of the book, Buddy returns the favor.  Naturally, now my daughter is really interested in sending mail, so she would love this activity!    Doing Stuff with Kids also suggests mailing a letter to a family member and asking for them to write back.  Building relationships and patience — it’s a win! win!

Pass the Parcel

This idea comes from Children’s Ministry Vault and it gives kids some hands on practice with patience.  In order to prepare for this activity, wrap one piece of a puzzle in some paper (24 piece puzzle or smaller).  Place another piece on top of the wrapped piece and wrap again.  Continue in this way until all the pieces are wrapped.  Gather the kids up and have them unwrap one layer and then pass the parcel to the next child.  Continue in this manner until all the piece are unwrapped and then work together to assemble the puzzle.  Kids will learn patience as they SLOWLY unwrap the package and as they work together to complete the puzzle.

Develop Strategies for Waiting

As Daniel Tiger reminds us, “While you wait, you can sing, think or imagine anything!”  During a recent episode, Daniel had to wait quite frequently, so he came up with some great distractions and built up his patience skills.  You can do the same with your kids by having a “go-to” list of songs or simple word games you can play while you wait.

Timers and Turn-Taking

Patience is especially hard to practice when it means waiting for a coveted toy.  In our house, we set the microwave timer when turn-taking gets especially heated.  When the timer buzzes, it’s time to pass the toy along.  Using a sand timer might  be even more helpful because it would also the  waiting child to see the passing of time in a tangible way.

You could also use a timer in a game like we did in the Hibernation Game from this post.

Song to Sing

When all else fails, having a little ditty goes a long way in producing desirable behavior.  Why not try making the following song a part of your regular routine and see what happens?

“I Am Learning Patience”
(Tune: Ten Little Indians)

I have learned to wait my turn,
I have learned to wait my turn,
I have learned to wait my turn,
I am learning patience!

I have learned to sit and listen,
I have learned to sit and listen,
I have learned to sit and listen,
I am learning patience!

I have learned to stand in line,
I have learned to stand in line,
I have learned to stand in line,
I am learning patience!

BONUS: HANDWRITING PRACTICE

Keep up the learning with this great Handwriting Free Printable of Psalm 27:14

Grab your copy today: Psalm 27.14 Handwriting Practice!!

You can also find more Bible Verse Free Printables here! 

Happy Practicing!

Lindsey Whitney is a mom of two, home day care provider and blogger over at Growing Kids Ministry. You can connect with her via twitter or on facebook.

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