Healing Board Prayers

May 25, 2015May 25, 2015Leave a comment

This is an easy and very visual way to help children to pray for healing, for themselves and others.

You will need: A flattened cardboard box or a board, plasters (fabric plasters are best to write on), felt tip pens.

Having talked about Jesus’ healing miracles, we set up a board that the children could use every week to pray for those who need healing. We wrote words from Luke 6:19 about Jesus healing the sick at the top of the board and then encouraged children to write on plasters the names of those they knew who were ill. They then stuck the plasters to the board as a sign of their prayer to God for healing. This is a very popular prayer station!

Easter: Rolling Egg Paintings

May 25, 2015May 25, 2015Leave a comment

Here’s a great activity we did that can help children to engage with the New Life theme of Easter: butterflies painted with rolling eggs! I like the idea of rolling eggs symbolising the stone that rolled away from the tomb at Easter, so that was an added bonus that we could talk about to the children who came along. This was especially popular with boys- maybe something to do with the high activity level!

You will need: A deep sided tray, plastic Easter eggs (that you can put something inside!), marbles, paint, paper butterfly shapes.

Place your paper shape inside the tray.

Put a marble inside each egg you are going to use to paint with. This will give it a little more weight. Add a few spots of paint to the paper (less really is more in this case!). Now shake the tray from side to side so that the eggs roll across the paint and decorate the paper.

The finished painting!

Try to wipe the eggs between paintings.

We also tried some crosses and egg shapes so that we could maintain the ‘New Life’ theme and also speak about Good Friday and the cross leading to a new start for Christians.

Palm Sunday Spinners

May 24, 2015May 24, 2015Leave a comment

This is a great activity for Palm Sunday because somehow the hosanna appears on the palm leaf. The children love watching the trick of the eye happen!

For a printable version click here

It’s very easy to make…

Cut out, colour and fold on the dotted line.

Sellotape a straw to the back of one half and glue the other half on top.

swizzle the straw between your hands and watch what happens!

Prayer Chatterboxes

May 24, 2015May 24, 2015Leave a comment

Children seem to love playing with these origami ‘fortune tellers’ or ‘chatterboxes’ and I started to think about how we could use them for prayer…

We experimented at church and at our school lunctime club and they went down very well!

This activity needs to be done in groups of 2 or 3 and you can print off versions of the prayer chatterbox by clicking below. If you’re not sure how to make them get a child to show you how! When children have chosen their colour and number, their partner lifts the flap to see what they have to pray for: Please, thanks, sorry, friends, family. Sorry prayers can be said silently and finished with a spoken Amen so that we know it’s time to swap turns!

A printable version can be found here. When they’ve tested them out, challenge children to make their own version.

Creche: Jesus calms the storm treasure basket

May 24, 2015May 24, 2015Leave a comment

Sometimes it’s hard to think of how babies can be included in the themes of a story we’re telling at church. I’ve been finding out something about treasure baskets recently. Have a look at this excellent post from Little Acorns to Mighty Oaks that explains so much more about how treasure baskets can be made and used.

I wanted something I could use with the story of Jesus calming the storm and thought that a box with a rough/smooth theme would fit the bill- reflecting the rough/smooth water of the storm/calm. I cheated a little bit and put a velcro curler into the box (plastic is not usually allowed but the velcro on it has a great texture!)

The box includes:

cork backed coaster (smooth)
wooden block (smooth)
wooden spoon (smooth)
ribbon (smooth)
pine cone (rough)
natural exfoliator pad (rough)
unused shoe brush (rough)
velcro curler (rough)
pastry brush (rough and smooth)

Toddler Play: Heuristic Play (Exploring with Stuff!)

May 24, 2015May 24, 2015Leave a comment

Heuristic play is a method used in lots of nurseries and pre-schools to help children to explore, create and use their imaginations. For children in church it’s brilliant because it helps them to start thinking, questioning and exploring and well as inspiring some awe and wonder! As they are allowed to freely explore, it also helps the children to build their independence and creativity. Even the adults can’t resist having a go themselves!

Heuristic play involves having collections of items (plenty of each to go round) which the children can then play with without adult intervention. Play can be themed if you are looking at a particular story.

Use items such as: corks, kitchen roll tubes, boxes and tins, napkin rings and bangles (and mug trees to put them on!), shells, pinecones, corks, pegs, stones, egg boxes, ribbons, muffin tins, bottle tops.

Click here to see a Pinterest board of heuristic play ideas.

Here are some examples we have used in church: