A few more stuffed animals for the rest of the flockHave
A sticky note for a pretend name tagHave
Your phone, for a quick photo before your next outingHave
Where: A few rooms of the house, or a fenced yard away from the street, a pool or any water.
Before you start
Nothing that latches. No hiding in or near dryers, chests, coolers, car trunks or anything with a lid or door that can close on a kid.
Outside, fenced yard only, away from the street, a pool, a pond or a bucket of water.
Hide the toy, not the kid, for ages 3 and 4. Older kids can hide too, within sight of the rooms you agreed on.
Keep the store talk calm. It's a practice, not a scare. Skip the scary stories.
02Steps
Line up the flock and count
TogetherLine up the stuffed animals and count them together. Then have your kid close their eyes while you take one away. "Open your eyes. Count again. Someone's missing. Who's lost?"
Hunt for the lost sheep
KidHide the missing one somewhere easy the first time, in the same room or part of the yard. Give warmer-colder clues as they hunt: "Warmer... warmer... you're hot." When they find it, they carry it back to the flock and everyone cheers.
Swap and let them hide it
TogetherNow they hide the sheep and give you the clues. Take your time finding it. Play four or five rounds, hiding farther away each time, within the rooms or yard you agreed on.
Talk about getting lost in a store
DadSit with the found sheep. "The sheep got lost, and we found it. If you ever can't find me in a store, here's what you do. Stop. Don't go outside or to the parking lot; I'd never leave without you. Find a store worker with a name tag or a security guard, and tell them you lost your dad."
Practice the words
Dad showsKid copiesPut the sticky-note name tag on and play the store worker. Your kid walks up and practices: "I can't find my dad." For ages 5 and up, add your first and last name and your phone number. Sing the number to a tune until they can say it alone.
Set up your next outing
DadNext time you go to a store, park or fair, take a quick phone photo of your kid before you go in so you have what they're wearing. For kids old enough, point out the spot to meet you, like the checkout or an information desk.
03If it stalls
If they can't find it and start to melt down, give a big clue ("It's under something soft") and hide it easier next round.
If the lost-in-a-store talk worries them, go back to the game. Say it once more on the way into the next store.
If siblings fight over who hides, the younger one hides first and the older one gives the clues.
If they want to keep playing, let the sheep get lost in a new room each night this week.
04Variations
Ages 3–4
One room, hide the sheep half in sight, and you give the clues every round. The store part is one sentence: "If you can't see me, tell a worker with a name tag."
Ages 5–6
The full plan. Practice your phone number until they can say it without the tune.
Age 7
Hide the sheep with a three-clue treasure map they draw for you. Pick a meeting spot together the next time you're in a store.
RainPlay inside, one room at a time.
ClearTake it to a fenced backyard and hide the sheep in the grass, the sandbox or a bush.
A field card like this one for the weekend, one quick plan for a weeknight. Nothing else. The first letter hasn't gone out yet. You'll get one email to confirm.
The shepherd and the one lost sheepLuke 15:3–7 · 5 min
Jesus told a story about a shepherd who had one hundred sheep. One day, one of them wandered off and got lost.
"What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?" Luke 15:4 (KJV)
The shepherd looked and looked until he found it. He picked it up, put it on his shoulders and carried it home, so happy. He called his friends and neighbors and said, "Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost" (v. 6). Jesus said heaven is happy like that, too, over one person who comes back to God.
Ask while you hold the found sheep: The shepherd still had ninety-nine. Why did he go looking for one? How do you think the sheep felt when he found it?
Plain-language retelling. Quotes from the King James Version (public domain).
06Sources
Going-out safety: who kids ask, meeting spots, photos. NCMEC's KidSmartz checklist says to teach younger children to look for security officers, store employees or park staff who can help them find you; have older kids go to a set meeting spot and never leave or go to the parking lot to look for you; carry a recent photo, even one taken on your phone just before leaving; remember what they're wearing; and make sure they've memorized your phone number. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Checked Oct 15, 2026
If your child is missing in a store. NCMEC says to notify the store manager or security office if your child can't be found in a store, then immediately call local law enforcement; many stores have a Code Adam plan. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Checked Oct 15, 2026
