I love Advent and candles. Here’s a really simple idea for using them to develop thankfulness in the run up to Christmas. It doesn’t take long, but a few moments each day will help develop a habit of thankfulness in a month when so much is trying to pull us away from it. You might … Read more
My name is Victoria and I’m a nativity scene addict. There. I’ve said it. I just love nativity sets, especially ones which everyone can touch, play with and enjoy. There are some lovely ones about, and although it may seem like quite a bit of money, I’ve found this is one of the best ways to engage … Read more
Set up a tent in the garden and share a Bible story together inside it. Here’s three tent-based Bible stories you could share in your tent: Abraham and Sarah are visited by three angels Genesis 18:1-15Moses and the the tent of Meeting Exodus 33:7-11The siege of Samaria 2 Kings 6:24- 7:20 (ends with a gruesome … Read more
We use watercolours a lot at our house. I love that I can leave them out for the children to use whenever they want, and even when my 2-year-old chooses to paint herself blue (quite often!), she can just be washed down! Coming up to Christmas I see lots of cute hand and footprint pictures, … Read more
Title: Comfort in the Darkness – helping children draw close to God through Biblical stories of night-time and sleep Author: Rachel Turner Useful for: parents of children aged 0-10ish looking for Bible stories and activities to explore God and nighttime. Best bit: brilliantly re-told Bible stories and succinctly written ideas to help children in their relationship with God. Worst bit: no pictures … Read more
This week I’ve aquired a variety of Play Mobil baskets so I thought we could do the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. It’s a story we know well, but I’m always amazed at how playing a story allows us to explore it and how it relates to us in new ways. Having set out … Read more
Inspired by an enthusiastic hunt for ‘fairy doors’ at Ripley Castle, I thought I’d have another go at a Bible story treasure hunt but this time use pictures. This one takes a little prep but is really flexible and so could be made to work for any age of children or adults. My children are 3 … Read more
I don’t know about you, but I’ve found I’ve had to re-learn how I connect with God since becoming a parent. I know God’s the same, but my life with young children is very different. I’ve found God is very gracious, and meets me wherever I am, but I have found some things have really helped … Read more
Title: God’s Story for Under 5s – 36 Bible-based sessions for midweek and Sunday groups. Author: Becky May Useful for: groups leaders and parents of under 5s wanting to share Bible stories with their children in a developmentally appropriate, play-based approach Best bit: loads of stories, and multiple ways to playfully explore each story in a meaningful way, plus short … Read more
Do you have Godparents? Are you a Godparent? Here’s some ideas of things you could do to celebrate! 1 Get in touchNot spoken for months or years? Get in touch this week by phone or email or facetime or text or letter. When my God daughters were little, I sometimes made them letters using pictures … Read more
In her book, Parenting Children for a Life of Faith, Rachel Turner talks about creating windows on our faith practises so our children can see what faith looks like for us. We all have our own ways that we like to spend time with God. Mine is often with art materials. Some mornings before the girls … Read more
This is a guest post by Mina Munns of the super Flame: Creative Children’s Ministry blog. If you’ve not seen it, take a look! It’s full of fabulous ideas for prayer and stories and faith suitable for families, children, including under 5s and adults. If you’ve never heard of Play dough mats then you have … Read more