Grieving with children

Last week a tragedy happened in a town near us when two young boys were killed in a hit-and-run. One mother whose daughter knew the boys contacted me asking if I knew of any resources to help them. As it happens, we’ve had a family bereavement this week, as my Grandad died at the age … Read more

Review: On That Easter Morning

Title: On That Easter Morning Author: Elena Pasquali Illustrator: Alison Jay Price: £9.99 Published by: Lion Children’s Available here Good for: children age 3-8 years old Best bit: stunning artwork and gentle, Biblically accurate storytelling, and the wonderful two-page spread picture of the last supper aka Passover Worst bit: doesn’t mention Pentecost, which I hoped … Read more

A simple Sabbath ritual

Would you like a way to mark you Sabbath, to make it different from the other days of the week? In our home, we mark it with a weekly Shabbat meal, a simple ritual we do together as we begin our Friday evening meal (which is always roast chicken!!). You can find out more about … Read more

10 Great Things about Shabbat

We’ve been celebrating Shabbat as a family each Friday for over a decade now. We love it, and couldn’t imagine our week without it. We’ve shared it with lots of different people, and we’ve adapted it as we’ve gone along to keep it accessible and relevant to everyone present. I’ve made a version of our … Read more

Handwashing Prayers

I love to make sorry prayers into an activity. The idea for this one is that cleaning our hands is a metaphor for the forgiveness Jesus gives us. Gather: All you need is a bowl of water and a towel. What does the Bible say: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive … Read more

Breath Prayer Guided Meditation

You may well have come across Sarah Bessey and her Breath Prayers for Anxious Times. (NB The full post from Sarah is behind a paywall, but if you leave your email, it won’t cost you a thing!) I love using this myself, so I’ve adapted it into a guided meditation which I use with my … Read more

Holy Week Boxes

I don’t know about your children, but mine love things in boxes. So here’s an Easter activity in a box. I’ve used it with my children since they were toddlers, but the simplicity of it lends itself to use with all ages, including adults. And using it each year, gives further depth to each Holy … Read more

Why Pancake Day?

A little story from when my children were a bit younger “What’s pancake day all about?” I ask my 7 and 8 year olds over breakfast. “Pancakes!” my 7 year old replies gleefully. O-Oh. I have work to do here! “What else?” I ask. No response. “It begins with L and rhymes with Bent.”“Lent!” *phew! … Read more

Chalk Bible Landscape for Small World Play Story Telling

My children love small world play. When they play with Lego, they make models then use them to create a world and tell a story. They love Play Mobil (although not as much as me!), and any sort of small toy they can tell stories with, so this is an easy way for me to … Read more

Review: Go Colour series

Title: Go Colour: The Lord’s Prayer* Author: Youth For Christ (with thanks to Sarah Joy, Tom Spicer and Jo Squires and Steve Squires) Price: £4.99 (or £11.99 for the pack of 3 books) Published by and available from: YFC *This is part of a series, including Go Colour Psalms and Go Colour Prayer Good for: … Read more

Hands on faith with under fives

“I do it! I do it BY MYSELF!” It’s a cry we often here from young children, desperate to be independent and master skills. It’s something my husband and I chose to intentionally nurture when our children were young, especially as they are only 18 months apart in age. I remember number 1 coming into … Read more