New Year isn’t necessarily a particularly family event especially for younger children. My youngest, currently four, has put in a request to stay up late this near year, and watch The Beegees, which is what she considers to be ‘New Year’. (Just to clarify, last year we DID watch a documentary about the Beegees with … Read more
Search online for nativity art, and look at how the same stories have been depicted differently by different artists. You might like to look for pictures of the angel visiting Mary, the angels and the shepherds, the shepherds visiting Jesus and the wise men arriving. Which picture do you like best? How does it speak … Read more
Have fun by dressing up as the characters from the Nativity story. Visit some charity shops to look for bits and pieces that could be used in different ways. Scarves and dressing gowns for example. You could make tunics out of pillowcases and headdresses with tea towels and a ring of elastic. You could download … Read more
This is a simple way to make a gingerbread nativity scene by creating a manger scene in a stable (or house depending on your theology of the nativity!). I know homemade gingerbread tastes fab, but the bought stuff is easier to build with and gets us straight to the fun bit which is of course … Read more
I came across story dice a few years ago, and have wanted to make a Bible story set for ages, and I’ve finally worked out how to do it, so here they are! As there as 6 sides on each die, I think that 3 dice is probably enough. I’ve kept the pictures simple and … Read more
Have fun moving about and playing this game as you pray. If you’re not familiar with the traditional game of Twister, it’s quite simple: you spin the spinner until it lands on a colour and one body part (left or right hand or foot). You then place that part of your body on a spot … Read more
 Something my children enjoy is using puppets to retell and explore the meaning of Bible stories. One way I’ve made the puppets is to buy 2 identical sets of Bible storybooks. We then have one copy for reading and I cut up the other and stick pictures onto lolly sticks. It takes about 20 minutes … Read more
Most families have some dried pasta in the house, so here’s a few ways to use it to explore Bible stories together. While 1 type of pasta works fine, it’s fun to have a few different types. In this picture we used lasagne sheets, spaghetti and twirls (what are they called?). You could read the … Read more
What word would you choose to describe summer holidays? Wonderful? Relaxing? Memory-making? Long? Stressful? Childcare? Expensive? Exhausting? Whatever the age of our children and our unique blend of work and childcare, summer holidays change our daily lives. Our routines are different, our goals are different, and we face challenges which don’t exist during term time. … Read more
One of the things I like doing when reading the Bible is considering the crowd. Who are the non-speaking people in this story? Which people from other Bible stories might have also been in this one as part of ‘the crowd’. This is especially interesting when looking at stories about Jesus as the Bible often … Read more
This is a simple activity which can be used as an exploration of any Bible story. I use it at home and also in our church as part of our intergenerational service at Easter. The idea is to have lots of abstract shapes for people to create their own pictures with. The pictures could be … Read more
I wonder what part of the Easter story you like best? Which part have you particularly noticed this year? I wonder what you might make out of these shapes? I love open-ended activities. We have creative materials out all the time for my daughters to create something whenever the mood takes them. And they do! Often … Read more