Activities to keep kids quiet at church

You want to bring the whole family to church, but keeping kids entertained throughout Sunday service can be challenging without the right quiet activities.

My Quiet Book

Quiet books are common in church for a reason — they work like a charm! Customized to your kiddo’s liking, you can create your own quiet book by fashioning felt or fabric pages filled with textures, finger puppets, felt activities and even ribbon races. Not sure where to start? Search online for templates to spark your imagination.

String lacing cards

Quiet activities like string lacing cards not only strengthen fine motor skills, but the intricate weaving of the shoe string up and down the holes around familiar shapes keeps kids quiet during Sunday service. Bonus — even if kids accidentally drop these cards they won’t draw attention to your youngster.

Coloring pages

Armed with a travel-sized baby wipes container filled with crayons, you can keep kids quiet during mass while sneaking in some Bible lessons, too. Simply fill a clipboard with coloring pages featuring Bible scenes appropriate for your child’s age and they’ll be happy little church-goers!

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Textured books

Filled with fuzzy textures and shiny shapes, touch-and-feel books are great church activities for kids too young to sit through Sunday service. Be sure to pack a variety of textured books before you head out — an assortment of shapes, animals and interests like baseball will keep kids quiet while getting in some sensory stimulation at the same time.

Seek and find bag

Filled with rice and a variety of small, colorful toys, seek-and-find bags are a quiet activity of “I spy” without the chatter of boredom. As kids move rice around a sealed fabric bag and seek out items through a clear vinyl area, you can pay attention to the pastor while this church activity keeps your kiddo sitting quietly beside you.

Felt board

Quiet and easy to transport, the options for felt board activities are endless, especially when trying to keep kids silently entertained in church. Create your own Mr. Potato Head kit in felt form or simply cut out a couple of doll silhouettes and a pile of shapes that stick easily to a sheet of craft felt and you’re ready to head off to this morning’s service.

Button squares

Fashioned from a long ribbon with large buttons at each end, you can easily craft your own button squares by simply cutting a slot into felt or fabric squares of your own. You can cut felt into simple square shapes or cut and stitch out fun shapes of your choosing like circles, flowers, bears and more, then enjoy the whine-free time in church while your youngster slides shapes over the buttons and onto the ribbon over and over again.

Magnet doodle board

For fun that can be had over and over again, pack up a magnet drawing board before you head to church with your little one. Whether you opt for an old school magic slate pad or a fancy magnet doodle board with magnetic shapes, drawing, erasing and drawing again is a cinch and will keep kids quietly entertained at church.

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Foam puzzles

Puzzles made from foam material are a quiet activity for kids that is light and portable enough for church. Look for puzzles that reinforce learning — like shapes or numbers — and you’ll have a quiet learning toy that keeps kids quiet at the same time!

Fabric marble maze

Whether you pick one up on Etsy or craft your own, a fabric marble maze is tactile fun that entertains your little one — quietly. To make your own, stitch two pieces of fabric together back to back like you’re making a rectangle pillow, turn right-side-out,  run stitches three quarters of a way from alternating sides, drop in a marble and close with a finishing stitch that seals in the marble and guarantees to keep kids quiet in church.

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