I love open-end activities. They provide choice and freedom which lead to deep exploration and creativity. They are easy to set up, are suitable for any age or size of group, and you can use the same materials each time. They provide a safe space to explore spiritual things including Bible stories and how they … Read more
Due to Covid, many churches have been looking creatively at how to meet together, and I’ve been encouraged to see many groups considering more inter-generational ways of meeting together. Recently, I heard of a small group looking at meeting with adults and children together once a month. As they discussed this, they realised they wouldn’t … Read more
Faithful Families for Lent, Easter and Resurrection Title: Faithful Families for Lent, Easter and Resurrection Author: Traci Smith Published by: Chalice Press Price: £9.59 Best for: families looking for simple, spiritual ways to mark Lent and Easter together Best bit: by focusing on spiritual practice, Traci gives us a great range of options to try, while … Read more
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For a while I’ve been pondering the question of the best Bible for 4-7 year olds. I’ve seen many threads on Christian mums forums, with various bibles recommended including: The Big Bible Storybook by Scripture Union. I love this one and have used it along with the matching board books since my children were very young. … Read more
Title: Mosaic – Celebrations Author: Scripture Union Useful for: anyone wanting materials for a small group with a wide age range (e.g. a family!) Best bit: loads of creative activity pages and flexible, accessible ways to explore the Bible story including great artwork Worst bit: maybe too many colouring pages, although my children did love them! Price: RRP £11.99. This … Read more
Title: Bake through the Bible—20 cooking activities to explore Bible truths with your child Author: Susie Bentley-Taylor and Bekah Moore Useful for: parents and group leaders for children 3-10ish looking for fun, tasty, cooking activities to share Bible stories Best bit: lots of interesting, fun and tasty recipes, a good mix of Bible stories, and a quality book with a strong design and … Read more
Title: Comfort in uncertain times Author: Rachel Turner Cover illustrator: Rebecca J Hall Published by: BRF Price: RRP £8.99 Kindle edition also available Good for: parents of children age 3-12 years Best bit: I love Rachel’s re-tellings of these 15 Bible stories – you can hear her voice as you read them Worst bit: Because of … Read more
For a long time now I’ve been in favour of adults and children growing in faith together. I’ve led all-age services, done training for family and childrens’ workers and even run family activity days all with the intention of helping people experience and understand the joy which comes from intergenerational church done well. For me … Read more
Challenge: Read the whole Easter story by Easter. You have four gospels to choose from, so maybe pick the one you like or one you’re less familiar with. You could choose a different Bible version from that which you usually use. If you’re doing this with very young children, you might want to use a … Read more
Do you set goals? How about developing a habit instead? In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear says that it’s habits which make us the people we are, and the people we want to be. Goals, he proposes, once achieved, can actually cause a reduction in the type of behaviour we want to have, whereas … Read more
Have you ever wondered where the idea of communion came from? It’s something we can take for granted especially if we experience it as a regular part of our church life. However, the roots of communion go back thousands of years to the first Easter, the week Jesus died, the week we sometimes call Holy … Read more