General Conference Activities for Toddlers

General Conference weekend can feel long for little ones, so I pulled together every toddler and preschooler activity we have into one big list. These quiet, hands-on activities help your kids stay happily busy (and a little reverent) while you listen. Pick a few that fit your child and rotate them through the sessions.

New to all this? Here is what General Conference is and why we set our kids up with activities for it.

All the activities

Bingo Cards

Help your toddlers stay focused with this General Conference Bingo Activity

I remember watching General Conference as a child and one of my favorite activities to help me stay alert was bingo. Every year we used something different to mark off the spaces. I created a few General Conference Bingo pages for my kids, but you can print your own here!

Here are a couple ideas for ways to play:

Dot Markers

When your child hears a word mentioned, have them use a dot marker in that square. If they hear the word again, they can use a different color and add another dot to the square. See how many dots you can get in each square while trying to get a typical bingo or blackout!

Check out these differenet bingo sheets general conference toddler activities

Money

Maybe this idea is too much bribery, but one year I remember my dad getting out his big jar of coins for us to use on our General Conference bingo pages.

Anytime we heard the word mentioned we’d put a penny on that space. When we got five pennies in one space we got to trade it out for a nickle. When we got 10 we traded it for a dime, and so on.

At the end of the session we also got a quarter for each bingo. We got to keep all of the money we “earned” while watching conference and get a treat for family night the following Monday. Using money as a marker will also help your kids understand the relationship between each of the coins used too!

Check out these awesome bingo sheets general conference toddler activities

Reverse Bingo with a Treat

The idea here is to place some sort of small treat (such as a Froot Loops, Skittles, M&Ms, etc) on each square before the session of conference begins. Then, as your child hears a word, they get to remove the candy and eat it.

Flat Marble Letters

This game will involve a little more thinking, but can still be really fun! Get out your flat marble alphabet. Tell your child that when they hear a word, find the first letter of that word in the marble alphabet and use that to mark the space.

Since the words are written on the page already this shouldn’t involve much input from you and will help them practice their letters!

Check out these perfect bingo sheets general conference toddler activities

Regular General Conference Bingo

You can also use these sheets to play bingo the normal way. This generally involves less bribery :).

To make it a little more exciting, try using something fun to mark off the space such as buttons, cereal, flat marbles, game pieces, colored pieces of paper, stickers, pom poms, foam shapes, pattern block pieces, etc. You could even have them just color each square with markers, crayons or colored pencils as they listen.

Check out these exciting bingo sheets general conference toddler activities

Have fun using these bingo sheets to help your preschooler stay busy and focused during General Conference!

Coloring

Toddlers love coloring, so print off these line art drawings from the LDS Church website for some General Conference fun. Add markers, stickers, stamps, etc. for even more fun.

Check out these coloring pages activity for your toddler to do during general conference

Faces File Folder Game

This activity is an awesome file folder game created by the Church. Your toddler will get to color the pieces for this file folder game after you print them. This is probably the most awesome file folder game I have ever seen. And it’s free!

These are the funny faces you'll see in the LDS General Conference toddler game

You can laminate the pieces for extra durability and/or add magnets to the back of the face pieces and do it on a cookie sheet so that the pieces stay in one place once they are set. No matter how you make it, it’s sure you to keep your child busy for at least one General Conference talk.

More funny faces you'll see in the LDS General Conference toddler game

Illustrate a Song

This activity is a great way to practice the songs your preschooler has been learning in Primary.

Fold some blank paper in half and staple it into a book. Write the lyrics to a primary song (just one phrase at a time) across the bottom of the page. Make sure to leave a large blank space so your child can draw a picture to go along with the words.

Fun activity for your toddlers making illustrations for a song during general conference

Great activity for your toddlers making illustrations for a song during general conference

Exciting activity for your toddlers making illustrations for a song during general conference

Magnet Page

Download the free Alphabet Magnet Pages for your toddler to use. There is one for every letter of the alphabet — each with a tie and a dress, so your child can decorate or color one for each male and female speaker.

So, how can your preschooler use these magnet pages? Use pompom magnets (pompoms with magnets hot glued to the back) or these awesome circle magnets to cover the circles on the page. You’ll want around 30 magnets if you’re doing just one page at a time.

You could also use colored circle stickers for this activity or even markers and crayons to color in the circles.

Magnetic Letter Match

This is a pretty common activity so I don’t think it needs much explanation. Print off some clip art from lds.org and print or write words that describe the image next to it. For more durability, laminate them.

Put the papers one page at a time on a cookie sheet. Use a magnetic alphabet to cover the letters on the page. This is a great way to practice letter recognition!

General Conference magnetic letter match activity with magnetic letters and gospel picture cards spelling PATH and FRUIT on a tray

Toddler General Conference magnetic letter matching activity using magnetic letters and gospel picture cards

Muffin Tin Sorting

A few weeks ago I found this great activity called muffin tin sorting on The Imagination Tree. Go there for complete directions. I love that this activity is fun for my toddler and that it teaches one-to-one correspondence.

If your child is a little older and you want the game to be a bit harder, just cut the rolls into different sizes and turn it into a size sorting game. Or, paint or color the rolls and turn it into a color sorting game.

Use this muffin tin and cardboard rolls for your toddler during general conference

Pattern Block Cards

I made two pattern block cards for you! There is a temple and a mountain. Click the button below to get yours for free.

I highly suggest getting a set of pattern blocks. They are a great learning tool for young children!

To use these fun cards, print them off, laminate them for durability, then use the correct pattern blocks to cover the cards.

Try these awesome activities using ribbons and pattern blocks for toddlers during general conference

Try these awesome activities using ribbons and pattern blocks for your toddlers during general conference

Pipe Cleaner Patterns

Did you know that pipe cleaners are the perfect size and width and strength to fit pony beads? The pipe cleaner is sturdier than a string, but still fits pony beads, which means it is far less frustrating for a preschooler to put beads on a pipe cleaner, than to put beads on a string.

Even though it is easier, it still takes a high level of concentration which makes it the perfect General Conference activity!

Create patterns with pipe cleaners and pony beads for your toddler to play with during General Conference

What You Need

Instructions

If your child is really good at beading, there is an extra element you can add to mix it up and make it a little more challenging for them. This element is patterns! Make a pattern for them to follow. This gives them another thing to learn and practice.

Simply put pony beads onto a pipe cleaner in a simple pattern. Use around 18 beads. After they are on hot glue the end of the pipe cleaner so they don’t come off. This is the guide your child will follow.

How to Play

For General Conference you can put out a few different patterns to follow. Then put the right color and number of beads and the empty pipe cleaners into the bag with the guide pattern pipe cleaners. During Conference, let your child take out whatever pattern they want to do, the bag of beads and an empty pipe cleaner. THen let them recreate the pattern using the beads and the empty pipe cleaner.

Pipe cleaners and beads toddler activity for General Conference

Pipe Cleaners in a Tall Container

Pipe Cleaners in a tall container

Get a tall container with a lid that your toddler can remove. Pringles cans work well, but so do a lot of containers. Use a hole punch to punch holes in the lid all the way around. Now, put the lid on the container and give it to your toddler along with some pipe cleaners. The idea is to push the pipe cleaners through the holes.

Find out about these pipe cleaners and word hunt general conference toddler activities

Two unique activities to help your toddlers listen through general conference using pipe cleaners and word hunt

For more durable pipe cleaners, fold the pipe cleaner in half and twist it all up.

Playdough Mats

Playdough mats

Have you ever heard of playdough mats? They are pretty awesome, especially for a child who has maybe played with playdough a little too much and is now bored with it.

A playdough mat is simply a laminated piece of paper that has an activity to complete with playdough. You can also use contact paper or packing tape to laminate the pages. If you choose to leave it plain you won’t be able to reuse it.

Use these fun playdough mats and straws with pipe cleaners necklaces for your toddlers for general conference

Feel free to play along by printing out these free Playdough mats that I made!

They are both pretty easy! Put “apples” on the apple tree, and put black or yellow play-dough on the pumpkin to make it a Jack-o-Lantern.

I also made this General Conference Ties Playdough Mat that you can download below!

Popsicle Sticks in a Milk Jug

Popsicle sticks in a milk jug

Popsicle sticks in a milk jug: the name pretty much says it all! Get some popsicle sticks and an empty milk jug (or juice bottle) and give them to your toddler. Your toddler will have fun putting the popsicle sticks into the milk jug and dumping them back out again.

For even more fun, have your toddler paint or draw with markers on the popsicle sticks before using them for this game. They will look prettier and keep your toddler busy longer. 🙂