This idea originated when my now missionary daughter was a pre-schooler. She wanted (and we wanted her) to participate in family scripture study. Sitting still and listening wasn’t working, and repeating the words we told her to say wasn’t working very well either (although we still did that once each day.) She needed a way to participate that was on her level. She loved to color, so in desperation, I picked up a “floppy copy” and in ball point pen drew a stick figure on the page we were reading that day and handed her the crayons. Both she and her sister “read scriptures” with us that way until they could read with us.
It did require that I read ahead and brainstorm about what picture to draw. When there were two of them, I typically did a week’s worth of pictures on Sunday mornings (late church) or Sunday afternoons. The drawings do not have to be complicated, in fact, they are really a few simple shapes that resemble ideas. Can’t think of a way to visually represent the concepts in that verse? Use some favorite standbys: temple, family, scriptures, pray, missionary
Materials needed: a floppy copy of the Book of Mormon. However, for my son I chose the hardback version of the floppy copy and wrote his name on it with a gold sharpie. A black pen that won’t bleed through the pages. Ball-point works, but over the years it will bleed. Since i already have the Fudeball 1.5 I use that. Crayons. We tried colored pencils, but they tend to tear the pages when littles aren’t careful. Crayons work great. Whatever size your child needs.
One final note: My son LOVES to draw Satan’s influence in the story. Some of his best artwork has been colored over in black (because Satan tried to tempt them). Remember, this isn’t about creating works of art. This is about keeping them focused during scripture study and learning to love studying the scriptures.
