Esther showed great love for her people and for her uncle Mordecai, but she also showed that she had a great deal of courage in her heart. Ask the children to think about times when they have needed to show love to others or needed to be brave so they could help others.
Flame: “God Loves Me” Stained Glass Windows
February 14, 2023 by Leave a Comment
This week one of our focus stories is the Prodigal Son. The main point we want to get across is that God loves us and wants to be involved in our lives. This is a craft we will be doing with our 3-5s group on Sunday and also with the 5-7s.
Flame: Memory Verses with Duplo Blocks
February 1, 2023 by Leave a Comment
As part of our lesson looking at endurance (a link to athletes preparing for the Olympics), we used Duplo blocks and labels to put together the memory verse we were looking at.
Pass the Parcel Nativity Story
December 20, 2022 by
I wanted a simple, interactive way of telling the Nativity story, as my Sunday group can be a bit lively, so I decided that we would use some of our leftover Christmas cards.
Flame: Advent Prayer Bags
November 29, 2022 by
Lately, I’ve seen a variety of lovely ideas online for helping children and families to get involved with the Advent season. Drawing on some of the ideas I’ve seen, I’ve come up with a little bag of items that will take children through some of the main Advent themes.
Flame: Boxes Prayer Game
November 9, 2022 by
Children love this game and may well be familiar with it, but here’s a twist that adds prayer to the mix. Draw some dots in lines and columns on the paper (see below). I used 10 rows of 7 dots.
Flame: Jesus Calms the Storm – Sensory Bottles
September 13, 2022 by
I’ve been doing a little bit of experimenting with sensory bottles this week as I wanted to make some to help the children under 5 years old to explore the story of Jesus calming the storm.
Flame: Light of the World Lantern
July 12, 2022 by
Lanterns and lamps appear in many Bible stories and they’re so easy to make, but I’ve always been disappointed that it’s difficult to put a light in a lantern without risking the whole thing going up in flames.
Flame: Easter Cards
April 12, 2022 by
We made Easter cards last year and, when I got the Easter box down this week, I found we had loads of materials left so we did it again.
Christmas Card Boxes and Advent Calendar
December 22, 2021 by
I always keep my Nativity themed Christmas cards because the children, especially at our school, love to look at them and talk about the Nativity story.
DIY Nativity Advent Calendar
November 17, 2021 by
If you’ve ever thought of making your own Advent calendar but wondered if it would be too tricky, this is the post for you! Here you can make your own Nativity-themed calendar that can hold candy, small toys, or personalized daily Advent activities.
Crossroads: Being Creative
January 11, 2021 by
As a child, I loved making up songs. I’d make up the tune as well as the words and sing these songs to myself as I played. Occasionally I even wrote the words down.
Flame: Strength in Christ Yarn Craft
August 1, 2020 by
This craft is very messy, requires some patience and is very effective for exploring the idea of Jesus giving us the strength we need (e.g when looking at verses such as Philippians 4:13).
Flame: Palm Sunday Spinner
April 7, 2020 by
We are getting into Easter planning mode at the moment and needed something a bit different for Palm Sunday. This is a great activity because somehow the hosanna appears on the palm leaf. The children love watching the trick of the eye happen!
Flame: Praying for Sad Situations
October 30, 2019 by
Children can really identify with a sense of sadness, and, as a fact of life, sad things happen. They occur in our lives, in the lives of people we know, and in the world as a whole. Here is a prayer station to help children (especially younger ones) pray that God will bring joy and happiness to those experiencing times of sadness.
Flame: Sensory Prayer Path
February 19, 2019 by
I was inspired by a photo I saw on Pinterest recently of a sensory pathway and it got me thinking about how we could use the idea to help children to connect with God.
Moses in the Bulrushes: Prayers for Safety
March 14, 2018 by
When telling the story of baby Moses being left in a basket in the river by his mother, I like to focus on the theme of safety. Here is the prayer activity we ended with. It was so easy but felt so significant!
Flame: Creation Story Circles
June 6, 2017 by
I get really excited by visual ways of telling stories, so I thought I’d make some for us to use. I chose to use cork and paper as we are trying to get away from plastic, if possible!
Flame: God Is Close to Us Safety Pins
February 17, 2016 by
Here’s an idea to help emphasize God’s closeness to us, wherever we are, and whatever we’re doing. It works for adults or children, individuals or groups, so be prepared.
Flame: Children Teach the Story of the Lost Sheep
January 5, 2016 by
One of the new ideas we’ve tried out this year is to encourage the children to take a more active part in the teaching on a Sunday morning. This was our first attempt.
Flame: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
June 8, 2015 by
This week I’m going to be talking about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. When I’ve taught this before, I’ve focused on how we come to God in prayer, but this time I’m looking at the idea of grace.
Flame: Loom Band Advent Stars
December 10, 2014 by
Here’s a way to use up some loom bands in a reflective Advent activity. After sharing the story of the WIse Men, make 5 popsicle sticks into a star shape and secure each point of the star with a loom band.
Flame: Loom Band Prayer Bracelet
July 23, 2014 by
I finally cracked and bought some loom bands this week. It’s always great to use something children already enjoy to help them experience prayer, so here’s an idea for making loom band prayer bracelets (without the loom)