Skip to main content

Review: An Illustrated Advent for Families 2017


It seems such a long time since I lasted posted but the reality of ministry leading up to Christmas is a bit crazy!

 I was lucky enough to be given a copy of Illustrated Children's Ministry's 'An Illustrated Advent for Families' and some of our families have been working their way through it in the last few weeks. Although, so close to Christmas,  it seems the wrong time to be reviewing an Advent product, I wanted to make sure that we had given it a good go!

 There is so much to recommend about this product and, though it may be too late this year to start using it, I am entirely sure that next year's version will be just as amazing!

 For a single family to purchase a digital copy of the pack costs $10 or about £7.50 and there are options for churches to buy a licence to send it to multiple families for a really reduced price, which is a great bargain.  What is helpful is that a downloadable sample is available so you can get a taste and see if this would be useful to your family or not before you buy.

 The pack comprises:

  • Simple to use family devotions for each week of Advent (including songs and lectionary based readings)
  • Colouring sheets based on the devotional theme of the week
  • an illustrated Advent wreath to colour and make
  • A colour in Advent calendar linked to daily acts and prayers which draw out the themes of hope, peace, joy and love

This is definitely a 'pick up and go' resource. Minimal preparation is needed and the colouring sheets are of an extremely high quality. There is nothing sweet and saccharine here! This is a really intergenerational resource and is intended to be done 'with' not 'for' children.The colouring sheets, in particular are appealing to all ages and I got just as much from spending some time focussing on the words and images as the children did. The Advent wreath craft was especially popular and helps children to tie in what they are doing at home with the candles that many churches light for each week of Advent. I particularly loved the 'actions' Advent calendar and know that one of our young families got a lot out of trying to bring some hope and joy to others over the last few weeks.


There are so many ways to use the material, so it's suitable to give to families on the fringe of church who might not want to engage with the more devotional material but could easily use the Advent wreath and Advent calendar actions.  

 Check out the Illustrated Children's Ministry site for many more resources and look out for their packs for Lent which will be coming very soon!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Button Prayers

If you are looking for an active, kinaesthetic, way of praying in a small group or even with the whole congregation, then this might be for you! You will need: A collection of buttons of different shapes, sizes and colours- at least one button for each person praying. Give everyone a button. Feel the hardness of the button and think about people who are going through hard times.  Ask God to help them. Buttons are used to fasten clothes together.  Ask God to bring together people who have fallen out and moved apart from each other.  Pray that He will bring peace. Look at your button and see how many holes it has.  Think of that number of things you would like to say thank you to God for and say Thank you prayers. Look at the colour of the button and say thank you to God for something that is that colour  Find someone who has the same colour button as you.  You might want to make a small group of people with the...
1 comment
Read more

Trusting God: The Amazing Water Glass Trick!

I used this idea in an assembly yesterday, focussing on people we trust and what it means to trust God.   This would work really well if you are exploring miracle stories or stories about trust.  Suitable verses to use with it might be:  Joshua 1:9: Remember, I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the  Lord  your God will be with you wherever you go.” Psalm 56: 3  When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. John 14: 1  Jesus said, “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me  I have to admit that this trick is not an original idea.  I found the trick in this book:  Simple Science Object Talks by Heno Head Jnr  and would definitely recommend getting cold of a copy if you can! You will need: A glass of water (about half- 2/3 filled) and an index card. This is what you do: place the index card over the top of the glass, making sure that the whole of the rim is covered by it, and press...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Power of Prayer: Skittles Experiment!

This experiment with skittles is colourful, easy and makes a great statement about what we are asking God to do when we pray.  In essence, prayers are a way of joining with God and asking him to have an effect on the world and situations around us. We pray because we believe that our prayers, through God's power, will make a difference to the world.  In this activity, colour is released from the sweets into the surrounding water, creating a colourful picture, symbolic of how the prayers we raise to God are a way of us joining with Him to release the kingdom here on earth and have an impact. You will need: A bag of skittles, a plate, hot water (not hot enough to scald, but hot enough to make the colour run!) Arrange the skittles in the plate Pour some hot water onto the plate to cover its surface.  Pour it carefully so that the skittles stay in place.  Wait and the skittles will gradually release their colour Try an alternative... Cover the s...
Post a Comment
Read more