Our church doesn't have a Sunday school program that runs during mass, so James sits with us. He's behaves well - he doesn't fidget (too much), he's quiet, he joins in on the calisthenics of mass :), and he enjoys the singing. But I can see that James sort of tunes out whenever a reading or the sermon is taking place. I think it all just goes WAY over his head.
So, I put together this "church bag" for him to bring along to mass every Sunday. I found this wonderfully nerdy little tote here. It has a handle and is just the right size for James.
Inside of the bag are various religious items to hold James' attention and more importantly to remind him about *why* we are at church in the first place.
Now, I know there are some who would scoff at my decision to give James something to do during mass (the nuns from my elementary school would demand full attention, whether you "get it" or not). : ) And I'll admit I thought that way for a long time, too, but I decided that - while James is still so young - there's no harm in providing useful and relevant materials.
Here's a sample of what I might include in our bag. Note: not ALL of these things go in the bag each Sunday. I rotate them out and provide just a book or two, a prayer card, his favorite bible, and an activity sheet of some sort. I found the Catholic books at our local thrift shop (imagine my surprise!), the prayer cards on Ebay (they are from the 1940's and are so special, I just love these), and the Early Readers books are from here
So, I put together this "church bag" for him to bring along to mass every Sunday. I found this wonderfully nerdy little tote here. It has a handle and is just the right size for James. 
Inside of the bag are various religious items to hold James' attention and more importantly to remind him about *why* we are at church in the first place.Now, I know there are some who would scoff at my decision to give James something to do during mass (the nuns from my elementary school would demand full attention, whether you "get it" or not). : ) And I'll admit I thought that way for a long time, too, but I decided that - while James is still so young - there's no harm in providing useful and relevant materials.
Here's a sample of what I might include in our bag. Note: not ALL of these things go in the bag each Sunday. I rotate them out and provide just a book or two, a prayer card, his favorite bible, and an activity sheet of some sort. I found the Catholic books at our local thrift shop (imagine my surprise!), the prayer cards on Ebay (they are from the 1940's and are so special, I just love these), and the Early Readers books are from here~Thank you for your comments!~
