Hot Cross Bun Multi-SensoryPrayers

March 23, 2016Leave a comment

You will need: Hot cross buns cut into bite-size pieces, paper strips, pens, spices in a pot, covered with foil and with holes poked in the foil e.g. cinnamon, ginger (or use a scented candle), sultanas or raisins

Bread- A reminder of the bread Jesus broke to give to his disciples as a remembrance of him.
Eat some of the bun and think of people who don’t know who Jesus is. Pray that they will come to know him and his love for them.

Cross–reminds us of the death of Jesus on Good Friday and the sadness surrounding it.
Glue paper strips to make a cross and write/ draw names/ people who are sad or grieving. Ask God to help them

Spices- remind us of the spices used in getting the body ready for burial. Again, this is a reminder of the sadness of Jesus Dying and of the people who took care of him
Smell the pot of spices or the scented candle.
Think of people who help to look after us and those people that we look after. Thank God for them

Sultanas and the sweet glaze on top of the bun– what Jesus did for us on the cross brings abut something sweet and amazing- the hope of new life and relationship with God.
Eat a couple of sultanas or raisins and think about what your hopes for the future are. Tell God about them.

Lunchtime Club Prayer Box

June 3, 2015June 3, 2015Leave a comment

Here is a selection of tried and tested ideas that can be taken into school and used as a prayer session, perhaps as part of a lunchtime club. Everything fits in a big box and makes prayer a very active and involving activity for the children. Exploring prayer with children is always an amazing experience, so be prepared to be bowled over!

‘What would you like to say to God?’ graffiti board (all you need is wallpaper lining and pens!)

Reflective prayers to colour in (very popular!)

Laminated maps (find a place you want to pray for, ask God to bless that place and stick a sticky dot there to show you’ve prayed for it)

Laminated people shapes- write prayers for people on the sheets with dry wipe pens

Prayer cubes

Prayer chatterboxes– the most popular!

When we tried this at a lunctime club, we managed to have some great conversations with children and some of them opened up in a way they never had before. They were eager to make their own chatterboxes, choosing what to pray for under each flap. One of the girls who was praying with the maps stuck a spot on the Antarctic because she was concerned about global warming!

If you use some of these ideas, please let us know how it goes!

Prayer Cube

June 1, 2015June 1, 2015Leave a comment

When teaching younger children about prayer, I have found it easiest to concentrate on ‘Sorry,’ ‘Please,’ and ‘Thank you’ prayers. This cube helps to make prayers fun! Throw the cube and pray whatever prayer lands face up. If it is a ‘sorry’ prayer we always tell the children that it’s Ok to say the prayer in your head because sorries are between you and God. Enjoy!

Click here for a printable version.

Prayer Rockets!

May 31, 2015May 31, 2015Leave a comment

Here’s a fun way to get children to engage in thanking God and asking for blessing while also symbolically releasing their prayers into his hands.

First, get children to write and draw their prayers on a small slip of paper (about the size of an average till receipt).

Next, roll the paper tightly round a straw (the long straight part rather than the bendy part!) and secure it with sellotape. Fold the top of the paper over and secure it with some more sellotape. The paper will now have made a sealed pocket around the top of the straw.

Talk to children about releasing prayers to God and trusting in His love and His power. Say a short prayer, giving your prayers to God and then blow on the free end of the straw. Watch the prayer rocket fly as you release your prayers!

8-11s: Lord’s Prayer Session

May 30, 2015May 30, 2015Leave a comment

Here are some ideas for helping children to connect with the Lord’s Prayer.

Lord’s prayer ordering game– How well do you know the prayer?

Prayer printed out and cut into strips, mixed up so they can be put in the correct order. We made this a race!

‘Hallowed be your name’: Play names of God dominoes, exploring the different names and characteristics of God. Click here to print out the dominoes.

‘Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven’: Talk about road signs in this country- triangle signs are warnings and circle signs are orders. If God made some order signs to show how He wanted people to live, what would be on them? Let children draw them in the circles.

‘Forgive us our sins’: Forgiveness prayers such as ‘washing away sins’

‘As we forgive others’: Forgiveness fizz prayers

Reflect on the prayer with this reflective colouring sheet:

Lego Prayers

May 28, 2015May 28, 2015Leave a comment

If you have lots of bits of lego lying around then this prayer activity is for you!

This way of praying involves lots of colour and touch so it’s great for visal and kinesthetic learners…

You will need: A lego baseboard, lego bricks, lego people, lego accessories of any and every kind!

Make a cross shape on the baseboard using some bricks to symbolise bringing your prayers to Jesus.

Use bricks to pray! Here are some ideas:

Use different colours to represent different types of prayer e.g. sorry, thank you, healing.
Use colours to pray for different people or places
Use accessories to pray e.g. flowers as thanks for nature
build bricks on top of each other to pray for groups or families

Do this over a period of time, either in a family, on your own or as a prayer station. See how long it takes to fill the cross with prayer!