5 Ways to Teach Kids Patience (and free Psalms printable!)
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.
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!
Mail Yourself a Letter!
I love this patience-building activity idea. 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!
We also suggest 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!
Check out these 10 Activities Teaching Children Patience!
Hey Robin, Thanks for stopping by! It’s a constant “thing to work on” around here! 🙂
I can totally relate to praying for patience. I am not a patient person and sometimes lack the tolerance needed for those hectic days. This is a wonderful reminder for us all.