Lately, I have stopped bringing snacks to church for my girls (3 and 22 months). I couldn’t get the younger one to walk in the door without expecting something in her mouth-
so we decided to stop the snacks, (after a nudge from my parents) and she has behaved much better. However, since food isn’t an option anymore, I’ve been trying to revamp the church bag with new and exciting things the girls haven’t seen. You’ve probably seen the Popsicle stick puzzles all over Pinterest. I have a friend who made some with princess pictures, and they were a hit with the 3 year old. So, I figured I could make some for the church bag. They are cheap, and fun for the girls!
I bought 5, 5×7 pictures for $2.50 and cut them a sliver smaller than the jumbo craft sticks. Then I glued them on the stick with mod podge. I was initially going to mod podge over the top too, but I ended up just gluing the bottom, and we’ll see how they hold up.
I love that they don’t take up a lot of room, but should keep them occupied for some time.
Try them! Easy- and fun!
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Those are cool Cal. I think my kids would even like them. Way to go!
Awesome idea! I need to stop bringing snacks for my twin 3 year-olds too. Great idea! I am so glad I stumbled on your blog. I’m a new follower!
What a great idea! Endless possibilities!
This may be a silly question but where did you buy the pictures? I know you can print them but buying them the paper is a bit better.
I’m sure you could get those pictures through Deseret Bookstore.
Yes- I got them at the distribution center that is usually connected with a Deseret Book.
So cool!
My husband was a school teacher and so the only thing my kids played with during church were the paperclips in his coat pocket. It was endless creativity linking them together and making different shapes on the seat. I never gave them food and the less I brought the less they had to fight over! I love your puzzles.
You can get them through the Online Store link at lds.org; currently they don’t charge shipping in the U.S.
What a great idea!!!
Did the mod podge hold up after all or do you wish you had gone over the top too? Great idea! My plan is to cut out pics from old Ensign and Friend magazines. My friend also suggested using colored sticks to prevent the puzzles from getting mixed up.
What size are the craft sticks that you used? I ordered some and they aren’t big enough and I’m having the hardest time finding bigger ones!! Help!
try tongue depressors; maybe you can get them at a craft store or buy some from a medical supply
This is great.
Mine are all grown now, but I didn’t bring food either. (7 children; 6 boys, 1 girl). You can print out tons of photos of each child as well as the smaller prints you can get from Church book stores. Make each one their own book. They love looking through a photo-history of their own life, interspersed with Church history photos and photos of the Prophet and other Church leaders and historical events. For teens you can make up a template with questions about Sacrament Meeting such as, who gave the opening prayer, who was the first speaker and what did they talk about, what did you feel during the Sacrament, etc.
I love this idea! I am a grandma of two little girls and sometimes take them with me to church. Ive always packed cheerios but they end up everywhere and get crunched into the rug, UGH!!! I am going to make some of these puzzles for sure. My youngest is 2 and her big sister is 5.
Loved this idea & thanks for posting it. I featured it on my newest post….Top 25 LDS General Conference Ideas http://www.city2country.com/top-25-conference-ideas-activities/
I’m a kindergarten teacher and use this puzzle idea for all my units – adapting them for the unit. One thing I like to do is put a number on each piece – helps them learn to count, or ABC for abc order. So as they are putting the puzzle in order they see the numbers or abc in order too. During our skip counting unit the puzzle numbers help them learn skip counting 2,4,6, 8….etc. Might as well pack as much learning in as possible 🙂
Catherine