Pairing Up

A week or two back, the text was about the mission of the seventy.  I decided to focus in on the idea of Jesus instructing the disciples to pair up as they set out to share the Good News.  In my children's sermon, I talked about pairs, where we find pairs, etc. After telling them that this was how Jesus wanted them to go, we wondered why.  The kids had lots of great ideas (safety, courage, easier, friendship, and so on).  We then paired up and took a short little journey of our own to the Prayground, specifically the sensory table.  Inside the sensory table, I had a mix of socks from big to little in all sorts of colors and fabrics.  I invited each child to find a pair of socks and put them on their hands.  We pretended the socks we puppets and practiced sharing the Good News of God's love with others.

Little Green Men

This coming Sunday we begin the long green season of Ordinary Time.  As I was prepping for this week's readings, I found it very timely that our Gospel reading involved Centurions given that it is Memorial Weekend.  This gave me a springboard for a great sensory table and Children's Sermon idea that I hope will not prove too controversial.

Let's begin with the color green.  Ordinary Times is marked with the color green and I think it is great to explain to our youngest worshipers that this helps remember this is a growing time.  We don't have the fanfare or excitement of some other celebratory weeks, but we know we are growing in our faith and understanding.  For this reason, I filled the sensory table with lots of piece of green ribbons, fabric, rick rack and the like.  I have found adding lots of soft material like this helps keep the noise level low.  When there is too much clinky stuff in the sensory table, we have more volume issues.

Now to connect this week's Gospel reading and Memorial Weekend.  Given that this week's reading is about a Centurion, or soldier, and it is also Memorial Weekend, I decided to add little green army men to the bins.  In an effort to keep the violence level low, I did sort through and remove any of the guys with big machine guns.  I hung onto the ones with the metal detectors and walkie talkies.  I was able to cut the guns out of the few fellows as well.

Students will be invited to search through the green bins to hunt for the  soldiers and when they find one, they are encouraged to say a prayer for our soldiers.  They will also be invited to take home one soldier as reminder to continue to pray for our soldiers.

Here are the activity directions:

 We are now in the “Ordinary Season” part of the church year.  This is a season where we hear stories to help us grow in our faith.

Today’s story involves centurions.  Centurion is an old word for soldiers.  A centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant, and Jesus did!

This weekend we celebrate Memorial Weekend.  It is a time when we remember people who have died, especially soldiers.

Look through the green in the bin to find a solider.  Think about how Jesus helped the solider in today’s story.  Pray for our soldiers.

Take home a solider to remind you to keep praying for our soldiers. 

MORE Worship that Sticks!

Back in July, 2015, I created some magnetic worship boards that allowed children to play out what they were seeing and hearing in worship.  You can read more about them in the Worship That Sticks blog entry that I wrote about them.  Children (and adults!) have loved these magnetic play boards and it got me thinking of other ways  I could utilize the concept.    After lots of brainstorming and lots of little ideas rolling around in my head, it all finally came together this week and I have brand new magnetic worship boards awaiting Sunday!

The first thing I did was sit down and make a list of things a child may see, hear, say or do during most worship services and create a worship bingo board.  Using a bulletin (or bugging a co-worker) could be great resources for this part of the process.  (Or you can just email me and I'll send you what I came up with!)  Once I had a pretty good list, I created a table with 20 of the items and then using copy and paste, as well as switching some items for others and a lot more copy and paste, I came up with 6 different versions of the Worship Bingo card so there could be some variety for the kiddos. 

Wanting to have the boards be able to be used in more than one way, I remembered some cool finger prayer labyrinths I had come across before and decided that would be awesome on the backside of the bingo cards.  I laminated the back to back labyrinths and bingo cards.

I now needed some type of magnetic markers that the children could use to keep track of their bingo game.  Bonus: if there was another way to also use these magnets for a third activity!  Bum-bum-bum-BUM! Magnetic Poetry!  Using scrap strips of magnetic sheeting left over from a different project, I wrote words of songs, verses and so forth on strip after strip of magnetic sheets.

 

I cut the words apart so they can be arranged to make new phrases, poems OR used as bingo markers!

 While everything I had done and made was perfectly logical to me, I decided that some children (or more likely their parents) would want to know what to do with these magnetic worship boards, so I created the following "directions" and adhered them to the top of the cookie sheet with clear contact paper.

And TA-DA! Magnetic worship boards ready to help kiddos engage in worship in a whole new way!

WOW: Armor of God part II

Belt of Truth was the theme for our 2nd Sunday in our three part worship series on the Armor of God.

Our activity sheet station did not change, but we did swap out the craft.  Today we had this cute Belt of Truth craft that can be purchased from Oriental Trading.  Kids had a lot of fun decorating their own belts and I added one to each of our two "knights"

We had a new game at the Hands-On station.  I like to call this one "Liar, Liar, Big Pants on Fire." I began by talking about Paul's writing and wondering aloud what he meant about a belt of truth.  I then asked if any of them knew the phrase "liar, liar, pants on fire."  I explained that I didn't have any pants on fire, but I did have big pants.  When we aren't being truthful, or are telling lies, or even surrounding ourselves with untruthful people, it can be a big problem.  I then held up the pants, "Kind of like these big pants.  Today, we are going to play a game with these big pants that will remind us that lying is a big problem and can make our lives a lot more complicated.  It can be a lot of work hanging onto these lies and keeping them up can make it hard for us to do everyday things.  Today we are going to try this simple obstacle course, but while wearing these really big pants." 

After letting a few sets of volunteers give the course a go in the big pants, we paused to talk about how the really big pants made the obstacles more difficult to navigate.  I then brought out a set of yellow jump ropes.  "Paul tells us to arm ourselves with the Armor of God.  He says to put on the Belt of Truth.  I think what Paul means is that like when we put a belt around ourselves, we should also surround ourselves with truth.  That includes being honest, surrounding ourselves with honest people and learning more about God.  The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Truth.  The more we learn about Jesus and closer we are to Him, the better.  Do you think this course would be easier to navigate if you wore this belt instead of the really big pants?"  Tying a belt around volunteers, I let them give the course another try.

We then closed with a prayer thanking God for truth and asking Him to help us surround ourselves with Belts of Truth everyday.

We had a few minutes left so students could be excused to go to another station, or the option of trying the course again was offered.  As you can see, they had fun trying some challenging one another in some creative ways.

Bread of Life

The next few weeks we will be using texts in church. I decided this was a good opportunity to plunge in a little deeper and even spent a little money on materials that can be used for the next few weeks and stored for future use as well.  One of the items that I ordered and am anxiously waiting for is a bread play set to put in the sensory table.  There were much nice sets, but the price on this one pulled it ahead.

It add a little more diversity to the mix, I also went on a photo hunt and found some varieties of bread from throughout the world, a flag of origination to match and printed them in color on cardstock.  I printed flags and bread back to back to add into the sensory table.  I also added magnets to a set and put on a tray so an older child can try matching the breads to the flags.

While on Amazon, this little gem popped up in my items I might like and I couldn't resist.  This book , Bread, Bread, Bread by Ann Morris, has great photographs and can open the door to conversations about diversity and God's love encompassing and providing for all people, all over the world.  I will have it on the table in our prayground during the series and relocate it the children's library.

I have a few more ideas that I would like to get added to this area so check back and hold me accountable for getting it done!

Worship that Sticks (literally!)

A coworker of mine was sharing about some dolls she once saw made to look like pastors.  It sparked an idea for me that has been peculating for some time now and I finally have it completed and ready to share!

I began by asking the pastors and inter pastor to pose for me with their arms outstretched.  Somehow I managed to convince all three.  I then went around and took  pictures of various things children may notice in worship like the altar, the pulpit, the Christ candle, Communion chalice and paten, and so forth.  Using my computer, I cropped the photos to size to coordinate with one another and fit on a metal cookie sheet that I purchased at Walmart.  The photos were printed in color, trimmed, laminated, re-trimmed and backed with a magnetic strip.  Now children can play worship as they observe what is happening in front of them with their very own magnetic church play set!

Hands-On Healing

Sunday, June 28th, the liturgy the Gospel reading is Mark 5:21-43.  This powerful story of healing is a perfect time for a laying on of hands healing service, which my congregation will be doing as part of worship on Sunday.  Knowing that many people may not be comfortable with laying on hands, or would rather say prayers for healing for others, I have put together this hands-on pray and play sensory station.

In the tubs, I have have cut out "people" from various shades of paper.  I only had ivory and white, but I wish I had darker colors to represent more diversity.  Each "person" has an ailment glued on.  I used broken bones to represent physical ailments and broken hearts to represent emotional needs for healing.  The "people" were then laminated for stability and reuse.  I then added cut strips of self-adhesive bandages and the sticky part of generic post-it notes to be used as bandages.

 Here are pictures to better show the detail, or simplicity rather, of the people cutouts.

Using the "bandages" people are invited forward during the laying on of hands to choose a "person" that may represent themselves or someone else that they would like to pray for.  They can quietly or silently pray as they bandage the cutout.

Following the service, bandages can be removed and the people can be put away for use again in the future.

Sensory Seasons

One of the ways I am trying to keep our Prayground worship space fresh while also having meaningful materials is through the use of what I am calling a Seasonal Sensory Station.  This takes the preschool loved activity of a sensory table and adds a liturgical twist to it.  The sensory table is filled with items to reflect what is happening liturgically in the church.  After I am done with a set of items, I am bagging them up, labeling the theme and storing together for future use.  Will every child who plays at the Seasonal Sensory Station get why the items were selected?  Probably not, but even so, seeds are being sown. Here are some examples of things I have done so far:

Red is for Pentecost

This was my first go at our Seasonal Sensory table and it was a a hit.  Red streamers, strips of red cellophane, red roses, red pipe cleaner hearts, red curling ribbon pieces, and some little red baskets made for a fun, creative activity.  Many of these items may be found in our church art supplies or purchased at a local dollar store.  I spent about $7 to get the baskets, cellophane and fake flowers.  Children sorted, raced to find the most hearts, waved streamers, and peeked through red cellophane.  Add a little sign reading "Red is the color for Pentecost" to clue older kids and parents in on what the fun is all about. 

Holy Trinity Sunday

 White and gold, so pretty and simple.  What little girl, or boy for that matter, could resist pulling out these elegant strips of fabric?  Digging around our Art Cafe, I was able to find many scraps of ribbon and lace in white and gold.  I added a few gold sequins for extra sparkle and fashioned some trinity rings out of gold pipe cleaners and viola!  A Seasonal Sensory Station for Holy Trinity Sunday at no cost to me.  If you don't have the scraps, ask someone crafty.  I'm sure someone has some remnants they would be happy to donate.  Don't forget a sign to remind people that white and gold are the colors we use to celebrate Holy Trinity Sunday.

Green: The Growing Season

 

Here we go into the loooong season of green.  Our first Gospel reading was on the mustard seed, so using that as a spring board, I created this garden.  Trimming pool noodles left over from VBS, I wrapped them in scrap green fleece to create the base of my gardens.  If I didn't have these materials, or if I was going to start over, I would just buy dollar store green pool noodles.

Our garden needed seeds, so I found these cute little envelops in a stash we had and color coordinated beads to put inside as seeds.  Seeds packets or plain envelopes would also work.  Or make your own out of card stock!

Seeds need water to grow.  These adorable little dollar store watering cans with ribbons "streaming" out are a perfect way to pretend water the garden.

Well cared for seeds are bound to produce some type of beautiful plant.  These fun, fanciful flowers are fashioned from pipe cleaners.  Add a child-size plastic shovel, hoe or hand rake and your garden will spark imaginations and sow seeds all through the growing season.

I plan to use our garden Seasonal Sensory Station on and off through out the summer.  As the liturgy sparks ideas, I will swap it in and out.  This coming Sunday, Jesus calms the storm.  What a fun time to have a simple water station if your space allows!

SPLASH Prayground

The first time I explained my idea of a special area dedicated to children in the sanctuary, I got a pretty quick no.  Not being one to give up, I brought the idea up a time or two more.  When I saw a Facebook post from Grace Lutheran Church in Apple Valley, Minnesota doing something similar, I re-posted it and tagged my coworkers.  My re-post got some attention, including attention from our senior pastor.  That same week he was in the area of Grace Lutheran and stopped by.  He came back and gave me the green light to give our own Prayground a go over the summer.  The next day he even brought a table and chair set from his home to loan to the cause.

We have had a lot of positive feedback about our Prayground and love to see it being used by children of all ages.  It currently includes puzzles, children's Bibles and books, crayons and activity sheets, small stuff animals, and a child-size wooden cross. 

The challenge is how to keep the area fresh so children continue engaging while also intentionally choosing materials that lend themselves to be used in meaningful ways.  The last thing I want to do is fill the space with quiet, keep busy materials that have nothing to do with worship.  I want this worship space to be part of the greater worship happening all around it; not separate.  Suggestions, questions, input welcome!