Pray and Play

What do you get when you gather nine families with a total of 32 children in your home on a rainy Monday morning?

TONS OF FUN!

Yes, that's how many people we hosted here for a Pray and Play Date on Monday. Our Little Saints' Club (which is part of our homeschooling group) is gathering for these Pray and Play Dates every Monday for the rest of the Summer.

This week's theme was the story of the two builders - the wise man who built his house on rock and the foolish man who built his house on sand (Luke 6:46-49). I volunteered to host it at my home since we have an awesome giant sandbox in our backyard. Of course it poured rain several times during the weekend and the entire yard was drenched. So we kept everyone inside.

We read the Scripture passage, gave every child a coloring sheet, and sang a song with motions that went with the story. ("The Wise Man Built His House Upon a Rock"). We said the Guardian Angel Prayer together. (At each Pray and Play Date the children receive a prayer card. We pray together and they take the cards home and put them in their pocket-size photo album prayer books.) The big highlight of this play date (besides snacks) was sand art. That's right.... 32 children doing sand art in my kitchen eating area.

It was great! All of the children were very well-behaved. We had a few children at a time at the sand art table. I had toy stations set up all over the main floor, on the screened-in porch, and in the basement. The moms were able to visit. The children played and loved doing a messy, fun art project. The rainy morning flew by quickly.

Unfortunately, I was too busy to get many pictures. Here are a few glimpses from the sand art table:

I loved hosting this play date. It was so fun to see all of the vans lined up out front. (I wonder what the neighbors think is going on here!) The moms helped clean up and Ray even mopped the kitchen floor for me! These are the kinds of experiences I hope my children will treasure and remember. I know I will!

Thank you God for the opportunity to spend time praying and playing.... with so many wonderful friends. I am so thankful to be part of this awesome community of your followers. Amen.

***FYI.... I made TONS of colored sand for very little money. I took regular play sand and mixed in powdered tempera paint (which I had stashed in my basement, left over from my teaching days). The children were able to make a small cross necklace AND fill large pop/water bottles. It was so much fun and not as messy as I had feared.