Firm Foundations 10:1 - Continuing down the Romans Road

I haven't posted our catechism lessons lately! Sorry about that - the holidays sort of threw my schedule for a loop. Anyway, if you're interested, here's the next lesson for my Firm Foundations series:

Theme: Sin is disobedience to God
"But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness." (Romans 1:18, NLT)

Scripture Memory: The next stop on the Romans Road is Romans 6:23 - "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." There are quite a few options for singing, if you want to learn this verse by song! Check out these Romans 6:23 melodies from Amazon's MP3 store.
We're going to memorize just the first half of Romans 6:23 today. Here are the actions I'm using:

• For the wages (Pretend to be handing out money)
• Of sin is death (Bow head)

Catechism Q&A: For clarity's sake, I've again changed (and condensed) some of the Catechism question and answers. If you'd prefer to use the real wording, this week of lessons is based off The Catechism for Young Children, questions 28-30 & 37.

Q. What is sin? A. Sin is disobedience to God's commands.
Q. What does every sin deserve? A. The anger and curse of God.

Missing the Mark: If your children have grown up regularly attending church and Sunday School, they probably have a general idea of what the word "sin" means. Nevertheless, I felt like it was important to define it clearly for this week of lessons. One of my goals is to help my children see sin as a personal issue - that they'll know THEY are sinners too and not just those "bad guys" out there somewhere!

Play "Simon Says". Increase the speed of the game until your children finally mess up. Explain to them that they lost the game because they didn't obey you perfectly. You told them to do"this" and they did "that".
Sit down with the Bible and read the following commands God gives us. For each command, discuss what "this" God tells us to do and point out what "that" we often do instead. Try to think of recent examples to illustrate how easy it is to disobey God's rules.

• Colossians 3:9 - "Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds."
• Ephesians 6:1-2: "Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do.  'Honor your father and mother.' This is the first commandment with a promise."
• Matthew 5:21-22a: “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.'  But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment!"
• 1 Thess. 5:18: "...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
• 1 Thess 5:15: "Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else."

Notebook: I didn't prepare any notebooking pages or ideas this week. If you've got something, let me know and I'll link to it here!

Book Review: "God Loves Me More Than That"

I recently had the opportunity to review the book, God Loves Me More Than That, by Dandi Daley Mackall. The book was provided for me by Waterbook Press in exchange for blogging my thoughts about it! So here goes:

The book's stated purpose is to "...help your children grasp the great love God through comparisons and descriptions they can easily understand." Did it? I had mixed thoughts. First, let's hear from the other critics.

My review panel included 5yo Happiness and 4yo Sweetness. They were both extremely interested in our new book and eagerly sat down with me to read. Once I finished it, I turned to each of them and asked for opinions.


Happiness: "It's got nice pictures. I like it."


Sweetness: "I like the pictures too, especially the one with the sneezing cat. But I thought it was boring."

As the third member of the review panel, I had to agree with both my budding literary critics. The pictures WERE wonderful!  Lively, engaging illustration perfectly complemented the text. I loved some of the unusual angles at which the artist chose to depict the scenes, such as looking up from deep inside a wishing well as a little boy drops coins down towards you.

As to the text, I had mixed emotions. The author used poetic, gentle cadence to communicate the truth of God's love. Her choice of verbiage is colorful and interesting, ie Wider than a prairie where cowboys ride. God loves me wider than that!

But I found some of the comparisons to be too abstract and strange for my more literal children. Talking about how much the Lord's love weighed or how loud God's care for us is seemed too, well, unclear. I can see how you could use some of these more abstruse thoughts to springboard into a discussion of the "softness" or "heaviness" of God's love, but for just a casual read, I would have preferred more concrete, Biblical terms.

Also, we did find the book a little bit boring, but I think we approached it more with a "storytime" attitude than gearing ourselves for a devotional book. I think this book's perfect usage would be in family devotions with little ones, affording plenty of opportunity to talk more about God's amazing love for us.

Advent Devotions, Lesson 1

Day One: The Advent Calendar

• Memory:Begin memorzing Isa. 9:6
• Read 1 Peter 1:10-12 in NLT
• Talk about how the prophets were eagerly awaiting Jesus’ birth because of how special it was!
• We are eagerly awaiting Christmas too, so we’ll make a Christmas countdown calendar using rings and number!
• Make a Christmas Countdown Chain together!

Firm Foundations 9:4

Theme: Because of sin, we are God's enemies


Scripture Memory: Review Romans 6:23.

Scripture memorization tip from Central Presbyterian: Make flash cards with Scripture on one side and the book, chapter, and verse on the other. If your child is too young to read still use the card to help yourself and for future review. Take the cards with you when you go out so that you can review the verse at different times of the day (in the car while you are at a light, waiting in line at the grocery store, etc.). You can put a sticker on the card when the child has successfully memorized the verse. He/she will be encouraged by the accumulated cards. - Read more tips from Central Presbyterian Church on helping your children memorize the Bible.

Catechism Q&A: Q. What did God require of Adam? A. To obey Him perfectly.


Enemy Combatants: Read Ephesians 2:1-3. Without Christ, we are God's enemies, opposing His will and ruining His creation. Write down a list with some of you and your children's failings.  Next, read Revelation 20:11-15. Someday God will sit as Judge, and will give us what we deserve for our actions. Bring up your list and talk about what kind of punishment should be received for each one. Then point out that the punishment God says we'll receive is to be separated from Him forever in the lake of fire.  But wait! There's someone to rescue you!


Depending on your children's interest level and reaction, this might be a great time to give a simple Gospel presentation, such as the bridge illustration.

Notebook: Use one of the pictures from the bridge illustration to remind your children of how we are separated from God because of our sins.

Firm Foundations 9:3

Theme: We can obey God with confidence, for He always knows what's best
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight." (Prov. 3:5-6)


Scripture Memory: Review Romans 3:23

Catechism Q&A: Q. What did God require Adam to do? To obey the Lord perfectly.

Trust and Obey, part 1: Read Isaiah 40:11-15, 22-26. Before reading, tell your children to listen for: 1)What God measures and 2)Where He sits. This passage gives us a picture of God's awesome knowledge and power.
Take some measuring cups, a scale and a ruler outside. Tell your children that you are going to measure how much dirt is in your yard. After spending some time digging and measuring, tell them the job feels too big. Do they agree? Even though it would take your family a very long time to measure all your dirt, God knows not just the amount of dirt in your yard but also the amount of dirt in the entire world! Emphasize that God knows everything. Tomorrow, we'll talk more about how His omniscience enables us to obey with confidence.

Notebook: Mix some dirt with glue and then smear it onto the scale picture for today's notebooking page

Firm Foundation 9:2

Theme: God gave Adam 1 rule
"And the LORD God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.'" (Gen. 2:16-17)

Scripture Memory: Review Romans 3:23

Catechism Q&A: Q. What covenant did God make with Adam? A. The covenant of works.
Q. What was Adam bound to do by the covenant of works? A. To obey God perfectly.

Making Rules: Do your children understand rules? If they're like mine, they probably have a fuzzy idea but couldn't define the word clearly. Before reading today's Scripture passage, play this fun "make your own rule" ball game.

Gather some balls and baskets or boxes beforehand. When it's time for the game, ask your children what a rule is. Talk about their definitions, then give one of your own: A rule is a command that must be obeyed consistently. What sorts of rules do you have in your house? Name some of the rules. Then tell them that they get to make the rules for this game! They can make rules for the following 4 areas:

1. What is the playing field?
2. How do you move the balls around?
3. When do you get points?
4. Is there anything you CAN'T do during game play?

Spend 10 minutes or so playing their game together! When the game is done, sit down and read Genesis 2:8-17. What was the one rule that God gave Adam? Shouldn't be too hard, should it?

Notebook: Make a mini book using one of these lapbook templates and record some of your family's rules. You can either have your children illustrate the book or find clipart using Google Image.

Firm Foundations 8:2 - Holiness

Theme: Sin ruins happiness
"The Israelites became greedy for food and tested you there in the desert. So you gave them what they wanted, but later you destroyed them with a horrible disease." (Psalm 106:14-15 CEV)

Scripture Memory: Review Psalm 119:9-11. Do you remember all the actions?

Catechism Q&A: Q. In what condition did God make Adam and Eve? A. He made them holy and happy.

The Unfortunate Events: Do your children remember what "holiness" is? Pure goodness, all the way through! Even if they don't remember the word, I'm sure they remember the candy bar...Just as the candy bar was yummy and wonderful, the world that Adam and Eve lived in was wonderful too. That is, until sin entered the world.

Read selections from Psalm 106. Talk about how the Israelites' sin always got them into trouble. It always ended up making them unhappy. Show your kids another candy bar. What they don't know about this one is that you scraped out some of the insides and inserted garlic and onion seasonings instead. Let them take a bite - Ewww! It's pretty disgusting. That's what happened when sin entered the perfect world. It ruined God's wonderful creation, including ruining Adam and Eve.

Do your kids like yelling? What about when a friend is mean? How about when a sibling hits them? All those things make us sad, all those things are sin. Some sin looks good on the outside, just like the candy bar did. But once we get involved in it, it will turn out to be yucky and to hurt us.

Notebook: Smear some of the chocolate from the candy bar on to the square. Have your child draw an unhappy face saying, "Ewwww!"

Firm Foundations 7:1

Theme: God created the first family - Adam & Eve
"And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female..." (Matt. 19:4)


Scripture Memory: Review Psalm 119:9-10. Check out this great post from the North American Mission Board on fun Scripture review games. There's a lot to choose from!

Catechism Q&A: Q.  Who were our first parents? A. Adam and Eve. (Use some of the review ideas from the above link for the Catechism as well)

Thee I do Wed: Marriage's foundations are found in the account of God's creation of Adam and Eve. Read Genesis 2:15-24. Then create a Paper People Chain with your children. Talk about how God created marriage to just one man and just one woman for life. Decorate the paper people in the middle as a man and woman, and cut away the other connected people in the chain. Once we're married, we stay married to that man or that woman and don't get married to anyone else.

Pull out your wedding photos and/or video. Look at them together and talk about how special your wedding day was. Again, emphasize how you are married to your spouse for life.

Notebook: Paste your paper people on day 1 of this week's notebooking page.

Firm Foundations 6:4

Theme: Memorize Scripture so you'll remember what God says!
"Thy word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee." (Psalm 119:11)

Scripture Memory: Review Ps. 119:9. Then begin on verse 10:

• "I seek you (Cup hand over eyes as though searching for something)
• With all my heart (Draw heart with both fingers)
• Do not let me stray (Shake head while doing the ASL sign for "lost")
  
• From your commands (Put hands together in a book shape)."

Catechism Q&A: Review Q&A 14 - Q. Where do you learn how to love and obey God? A. In the Bible alone.

Pass a Message: Read Psalm 1. The psalmist points out several blessings for the person who loves and mediates on God's word. When something is very important to us, we memorize it so we won't forget it.
Play a version of "Telephone" where you whisper a message to one of your children. They must either run to another child and whisper the message, or pass it on to their other parent or a grandparent. Is it hard to remember the messages? If so, have them repeat it back to you several times before delivering it. Talk about how important it is to repeat Scripture over and over in order to memorize it, just like they've been doing with the Bible memory passages.

Read Along: We read this book during the Proverbs Project lessons, but it's such a fun one that we're going to read it again. Don't Forget the Bacon recounts the hiliarious escapades of a boy trying to remember the shopping list his mother verbally gave to him that morning.

Firm Foundations 6:3

Theme: The Bible warns us about dangers
"The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous...By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward". (Psalm 19:9b, 11)


Scripture Memory: Review Psalm 119:9. Tomorrow we'll start on verse 10.

Catechism Q&A: Q. Where do you learn how to love and obey God? A. In the Bible alone.

A"maze"ing Escape: Read Prov. 1:10, 18-19; Prov 4:14-15; Prov. 10:4, 13, 25. Help your children identify the dangers these verses warn against. Share with them how important it is to heed God's word so that they'll avoid the snares of the world, the flesh and the devil. Share a personal account from your life of a time you either obeyed or disobeyed Scripture and the resulting situation.

Have some fun with this lesson by playing "A'maze'ing Escape". This activity requires a good bit of preparation on your part, but it's quite enjoyable so that makes it worth it, right? When your children aren't around, draw a maze with chalk outside. Then put pictures of lions, bees, dragons, bears (anything that would count as "dangerous") underneath bowls that are scattered throughout the maze. But also put a treasure box or castle or something similar under just 1 bowl. Any bowl that's in the path your children have to pick it up and look at the contents. If it's something dangerous, then they lose a point.

Draw a map for your children to follow to make it safely through the maze without encountering any scary creatures. To the extent that they follow the map, they'll be safe. If they decide to go their own way, well, watch out! For added fun, let your children mix up the bowls and then guide YOU through the maze safely.

Notebook: Choose a preschool or kindergarten maze and glue it to day 3's notebook square.

Firm Foundations 6:2

Theme: The Bible is like a map for life!

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your word..." (Psalm 119:9)
Scripture Memory: Review Psalm 119:9a, then learn the second half of the verse.

• By living (ASL sign)
• According to Your word (Put hands together like a book)

Catechism Q&A: Q. Where do you learn how to love and obey God? A. In the Bible alone.

Follow the Map: Hide a treasure box outside, filled with some special treat or cheap toy your children will enjoy. Prepare a page of instructions, ie "walk 5 steps from the front door" and "turn left, then skip till you reach the trash can". The instructions will lead them to the treasure box AND the Bible with today's reading marked. Hand them the instructions in an envelope, stating that it's a message from you. Help them read the message and follow the instructions to the hidden treats.

After recovering the treasure, sit down together and discuss how the instructions helped them successfully find the box. What would have happened if your kids wouldn't obey your message? God's Word also contains instructions for us. When we obey them, we'll successfully live life! Then read Daniel 1. Talk about how obedience to God's Word (and you might have to explain the special diet Jews were instructed to have) helped Daniel be successful in his job. God knows what's best, so you can't lose by obeying Him!

Notebook: Eat some sunflower seeds for a snack, then glue a few into your Notebook page as a reminder of the blessings of hearing and obeying!

Firm Foundations 5:2

Theme: God can control nature, doing whatever He wants
"Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him." (Psalm 115:3)

Scripture Memory: Review Psalm 139:1-3. If the weather is nice, do today's Bible lesson outside and enjoy nature as you learn about God's power over nature.

Catechism Q&A: Q.  Can God do all things? A. Yes; God can do all his holy will.

Solar Power: Read Psalm 115:3 and 135:5-7. The Lord's power is truly great. Tell your children in your own words the story of how Joshua cried out to the Lord during a battle and God stopped the sun from moving. While you tell the story, have them illustrate the battle scene with a sun. When you're done, put the illustration in square #2 of this week's notebook page.

To underscore God's power, read some books about the Sun, such as The Sun is My Favorite Star and The Sun: Our Nearest Star. It's incredible to contemplate how God has such power as to stop a massive star as the sun in its tracks! Only our Creator.

Rocketing: For a fun go-along activity, try making this cool vinegar/baking soda rocket and blasting into, well, upper space!

Firm Foundations 5:1

Theme: God Knows – All of the World’s Knowledge
“Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.” (Psalm 147:5)
Scripture Memory: Time to learn verse 3 of Psalm 139!

• “You discern my going out and my lying down;
  
• You are familiar (ASL Sign) with all my ways (ASL Sign).”

Catechism: Q. 12. Does God know all things? A. Yes; nothing can be hid from God.

Astronomy Unit Study, part 1: There’s nothing like the vastness of space to make us feel very small. The heavens truly do “declare the glory of God…” Throughout the week we’re going to explore some of the amazing aspects of our universe and discover more about the amazing God who created it all.

Read Psalm 147:4-5.God knows all the stars by name! To comprehend how much that is, cover a piece of construction paper with glue (you can use a paintbrush and a glue/water mix to keep the mess manageable). Then allow your children to sprinkle glitter all over the page. Once they’re done, ask them to count the glitter pieces. Can they? There are 200 billion stars just in the Milky Way galaxy. How many more in all of space? God knows EVERYTHING there is to know!

Notebook: Glue the glitter picture on to this week’s notebook page. Before you put it in, you might want to cover it in Saran Wrap so that the glitter doesn’t slowly fall on your floors every time the book is opened!

Read Along: The Magic School Bus Sees Stars or The Sky is Full of Stars

Firm Foundations 1:3

Review: Let your kids put YOUR memory to the test today! They ask you the catechism questions and you provide the answers. Is your memory as good as theirs? Take time to review Colossians 1:16 as well by singing it fast and and then singing it slow.

Creation Lesson 4:

• Read Genesis 1:24-28 and Genesis 2:1-2.
• Discuss how God made each animal according to it’s own kind. What does that mean? Using this animal matching game or your child’s collection of stuffed creatures, sort the animals in various ways, ie, by habitat, characteristics or species. On space #6, make a pocket to hold the animal matching cards.
• Create the art for the final space on this week’s catechism notebook page. Color a picture of the earth, then glue a heart in the middle of it. Talk about how God was pleased with His creation – it was good! Everything God does is good and perfect.
• Close Out this lesson with praise! Have each child think of one aspect of God’s creation they enjoy. Thank God for it together!

Firm Foundations 4:2

Theme: No matter where I go, God is there!
“If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:9, 10)

Scripture Memory: Review Psalm 139:1-2. Look at Lesson 1 in this week’s series for memorization ideas.

Catechism Review: Q.  Where is God? A. God is everywhere.

Wherever I Go: It’s time for some Hide and Seek! First, read again the passage from yesterday, Psalm 139:5-12, in a different Bible version to help your kids hear it in a “new” way. Then start the game! As you play, remind them that even though you aren’t with them as they hide, God is with them. God will be wherever they go – no getting away from Him! They may be able to hide from you, but not from Him.

Notebook: No notebook page today! The lesson is similar enough to yesterday’s that I decided not to bother with it!

Theme: Show God love by telling others about Him
^“I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, for I delight in your commands because I love them.” (Psalm 119:46-47)

Scripture Memory: Review Psalm 100:1-3

Catechism Review: Q.  How can you glorify God? A. By loving him and doing what he commands.

On Mission: Read Psalm 145:3-12. What kinds of things does the Psalmist say we should tell others about? Discuss how we can show God love by telling others about him. Read a missions book or watch a movie about a missionary and discuss how their love for God motivated them to tell many others about Him.

Further Resources: My goal for my children at their current ages (5 & 3) is not to necessarily be out witnessing! Instead, I want to give them a vision for talking about God and then model that for them. To help with the former goal, we’ll read a biography about a Christian hero geared for young children. I’d recommend the Heroes for Young Readers series published by YWAM or Hero Tales by Dave and Neta Jackson. You can also download a pdf book, On African Roads from WMU.  Another fun resource is the Kids on Mission site from the Southern Baptist Mission Board. They’ve got great videos geared towards kids on mission related topics. Finally, check out Wycliffe’s Bright Ideas PreK and elementary curriculum to find some other fun, mission focused activities.

Firm Foundations 3:2

Theme: We show love to God by obeying Him

Scripture Memory: Review Psalm 100:1-2, then focus on memorizing verse 3a:

• Know (Tap on your head with pointer finger)
• that the LORD is God (Lift both hands upwards).
  

Catechism Review: Q.  How can you glorify God? A. By loving him and doing what he commands.
Love to Obey: Read John 14:15, 21. Before you read, tell your children to listen for what Jesus says we will do if we love Him. Illustrate the lesson by telling your children you’re going to draw a picture for them. My girls love princesses, so that’s what I’ll draw (or at least say that I’ll draw) for them. Ask for their input as you create the masterpiece, but DON’T follow their instructions. In fact, as much as possible, do the opposite of what they requested. When you finish, ask if they liked the way you drew for them. Talk about how following Christ’s instructions shows our love for Him.

Catechism Notebook: Glue your “disobedient masterpiece” on week 3′s notebook page. Give it the caption “Show God love by obeying Him”

Firm Foundations 3:1

Theme: We show love to God by seeking to learn more about Him
Scripture Memory: Review Psalm 100:1-2. Then begin memorizing verse 3: “Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” We’ll work on the first half of the verse today with the following actions:

• Know (ASL Sign)
• That the Lord is God (Pretend to put a crown on your head)
• It is He who made us (Use hands to model imaginary clay)
• And we are His. (Point at self, then point upwards)

Catechism Q&A: Q.  How can you glorify God? A. By loving him and doing what he commands.
If you’re memorizing the Q&A, go over it. If not, just ask the question to your children. In this week’s lessons, I’m going to focus on teaching my kids what it means to love God, as least in small part! I’ll probably simplify the wording even more by asking “How do we love God?” The answer for today is “By getting to know Him.”

Getting to Know You: When we love somebody, we care about what they like and dislike. I’m going to have my kids call up a favorite family member or friend and interview them. I’ll write down the answers as they dictate them to me, and we’ll use this interview sheet as part of our Week 3 Notebooking page.

When the interviews are over, I’ll read them Jeremiah 9:23-24. Getting to know God better is more important than being rich or having great strength or even being really smart! We want to know God better, and that’s why we have Bible time together every day. We want to know what God likes, what He dislikes, what’s important to Him and how He is at work in the world. It’s sort of like interviewing Him, just like they did with their friend on the phone. Pray and close out the lesson.

Lesson Add Along: Focus on phone ettiquete. Teach your kids how to properly answer the phone when it rings, what they should say (or not say!) and how to close out a conversation. Do some mock phone calls together. To memorize their phone number, draw it outside in chalk. Have them hop from number to number, saying each number out loud as they jump down the “path”.

Firm Foundations 2:4

Theme: Your purpose is to live for God
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matt. 22:37)

Scripture Memory: Review Psalm 100:1 & 2

Catechism Q&A: Why did God make you and all things? For His glory.
A Purpose to Live By: Provide some fancy stickers, fun paper, glitter, etc. Let your children decorate a card or poster for someone special in their life. When they get done, talk about who their masterpiece was created for.

Next, read Colossians 1:16 together. Who are we created for? Read Matthew 22:34-40. What did Jesus say is the greatest thing we can do with our life? That is our purpose!

Notebooking: Glue two hearts and write "Love God, Love Others" as a reminder of our life purpose!

Firm Foundations 2:1

Theme: Because God created us, He owns us!
Scripture Memory: Over the next several weeks, we're going to memorize a chunk of Psalm 100. We'll start today on verses 1 & 2:

• Shout (Cup hands around mouth and shout!)
  
• for joy to the LORD  (Point upwards)
  
• all the earth (Draw a large circle)

Catechism Q&A: Why did God create you and all things? For His glory.

Scripture: Read Psalm 100 together. Do they recognize the first two verses from today's memorization? Start memorizing verse 3, and draw attention to the phrase "...we are His..." That means God owns us!

Ownership: If your kids are anything  like mine, they mastered the concept of ownership early on. All it took was a sibling wanting to play with one of their toys. Suddenly that item they hardly noticed 5 minutes before became one of their most treasured possessions! While this protective ownership can be highly annoying, it can also help them understand God's ownership of us a little bit more.

Show your kids a selection of items from around the house. Have them sort the items into different piles by owner. Then pick up, say, one of Daddy's shoes and ask, "Can this shoe go to the park whenever it wants to?" Discuss how the object can't do its own thing...it has to obey the owner! Come up with some silly scenarios of toy dolls refusing to play or clothing items wanting to be worn upside down. It's crazy for the possession to make the rules! Instead, the owner makes the rules! In the same way, God makes the rules for our lives because He is the owner. He created us!

Notebook: Play this Preschool Animal Homes matching game. Have your children match each home to its animal owner. Store the game on your Notebook page in an envelope pocket.