Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

 Here is a play dough mat to help explore Jesus' words in John 14:1-14.  I've chosen to go with the theme of 'do not let your hearts be troubled', giving space for children to bring worries to Jesus and then chance to chat about who we trust to help us. As usual, print out, put in a plastic sheet protector and chat as you create! Click here to print off the sheet. I wonder what worries you? I wonder who helps you when you are worried? I wonder what helps you when you are worried? I wonder what it feels like when you tell someone about your worries?

 This Sunday we hear the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead- an unforgettable glimpse into what will come on Easter Day. If you're looking at this story, here is a play dough mat to help children to explore a bit deeper. This mat focusses on the emotions of the various people in the story and asks children to use playdough to make facial expressions for different events. There are all sorts of characters they might choose to think about: onlookers, Mary, Martha, the disciples, Jesus, even Lazarus himself. Each character will have a different perspective and it is always fascinating to hear the reasoning behind what children create/ Another useful question to ask is always: I wonder where you are in the story?  If you'd like to print out the sheet, click here.

Across the world we are seeing violence, war and unrest and it is understandable that children will have questions about what they see and feel. Giving the opportunity to discuss and explore questions and prayers for peace is important and this is a resource to help in a hands on way. While using the play dough, children will have space to think and talk if that is what they would like to do. To print out the play dough mat, click here. Cover with a plastic sheet protector for multiple uses and give children space to explore. Talk about: what is peace? what is a 'peacemaker'? How would you recognise a peacemaker? What could you do to be a peacemaker? Where in the world will you pray for?  

 It's been really busy recently reopening the church and doing many risk assessments. Not everyone is able or confident to return just yet, though, so we are continuing with our weekly online family services. This week we are taking a look at the story of Jesus and the 10 lepers and exploring the theme of thankfulness. If you fancy joining in, here are some links to the resources we are using: The video of the service including sorry and thank you prayers, story, wondering questions and creative prayer activity. The service liturgy if you'd like to join in can be printed off by clicking here . Click here to print off the play dough mat: Click here for more ideas on saying thank you.

If you are exploring the story of Jesus the Good Shepherd (and the Gate!) this Sunday in John 10, then this play dough mat may help! This mat helps children to think about what the Good Shepherd might look like, do and say.   Click here to print out the mat, put in a plastic folder for repeated uses and have fun!

For anyone who is looking for something to do at home this coming week, here is a playdough mat that ties in with our Mothering Sunday readings. Just click here , print out and laminate for further use in the future!  Think about: What does being safe feel like? Who keeps me safe? Who do I help to feel safe? Have you ever asked God to help you feel safe? Pray: Use the play dough mat to think about people who keep you safe and say thank you to God for them.

I've been thinking a lot about the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13: 31-32) recently, and for some reason it keeps cropping up all over the place! Because it's been on my mind, I've made a play dough mat to help children in their exploration.  The seed is a little bit bigger than it should be if we're going to keep accurate proportions, but I wanted children to at least be able to see it! As usual, if you laminate the printed sheets, its much easier to clean up the play dough and you can also keep the mats for repeated future use! To print the mat click here .

For those of you who have followed this blog over a period of time, you will probably know that last month saw the publication of my first book.  I am so excited about it! The book looks amazing and has loads of ideas for helping you to introduce Holy Communion to under 5s.  There are play sessions for Creche areas, sessions for more formal children's church settings and ideas for when you have no children's groups at all. There is also a section for what families can do at home to explore the main themes. What is extra great about this book is that it comes with downloadable and printable material.  To give you a taster, here is one of the play dough mats that links with a session exploring what it means to be part of God's big family.   To print click here You can buy the book here (overseas postage is available) or on Kindle here. Have fun!

At Cafe church last week we were talking about the different aspects of God's character and how different people are drawn to different pictures of who He is.  We looked at different images from the Bible... A Father (Hosea 11: 1-4) A Shepherd (Psalm 23) A Mother Hen (Matthew 23:37) A King and a Warrior (Psalm 24: 8-9) The Creator (Isaiah 40: 28) Love (1 John 4: 7-8) A Potter (Jeremiah 18:1-6) A Fortess, a Rock and A Shied (Psalm 18:1-3) ...and then talked about who God was to us.   This play dough mat was made to help children to explore their ideas in a hands-on way. To print the mat  click here. Laminate the mat before use if you want to use it multiple times!

We are getting ready for our light party next week and a light themed Messy Church as well!  This is one of the activities for Messy Church that we just might have on hand at the party as well.  Play dough is always a favourite. If you want to print out the mat, click here. Remember to laminate the mats if you want to reuse them in the future :-)

We're gearing up for 'Thy Kingdom Come, ' an international wave of prayer starting on Ascension day, and we're getting excited! As part of our activities, we're running a prayer day in the local Church of England infant school.  The children will explore the Lord's Prayer through 7 different prayer and reflection stations and the first one will focus on 'hallowed be your name.' I've made 2 different play dough mats to help children to explore this phrase- partly because some of the children will be at foundation stage so lots of words might be counterproductive.  The idea is that children can explore and decorate names for God and think about how they can use the play dough to make them look 'special.' Click here to print out mat 1 Click here to print out mat 2 As usual, it's great to laminate the mats because then they can be reused as many times as you want and it makes it so much easier to get the play dough off ...

We had some fun with these at Messy Church a few weeks ago!  I know I'm having a bit of a play dough mat overload at the moment but they are so useful!! Click here to print off the mat, laminate for future uses and get play dough-ing!

We have a baptism coming up where there will be a lot more children than usual in the congregation. We want to do something that will help the children to engage with what is going on, so I've come up with a play dough mat to help them explore the signs and symbols they might see being used: A cross to represent the sign of the cross made in oil on the candidate's head A dove to represent the Holy Spirit A heart to represent God's love for us Water to represent cleansing and being born to new life Candle to represent being sent out in the light of Christ This mat could also be used when discussing baptism symbols with children before baptism (if they are old enough!)- the pictures prompting conversation about why each symbol is important and what it means. Click here to print off the mat. Have fun exploring!

This year we are going to have a special session with the children where we really celebrate Epiphany.  We are hoping to make King cakes but this will definitely be one of our activities: an Epiphany play dough mat that will help to explore the idea of gifts we receive and what we can give to Jesus.  Click here to print off the page and have fun!

Here is a play dough mat to help children to explore and respond to the story of Jesus walking on water and Peter's attempt to walk towards him.  It's especially useful to help children explore themes of bravery in life and looking to Jesus for confidence. As usual, the play dough mats work best if you laminate them as they are then easier to wipe clean and you can use them again and again! To print the mat,  Click here . Have fun!

If you do Christingle every year, it's always good to have a few new activities up your sleeve! Here is a play dough mat to help children to explore the different parts of the Christingle and to think about the good things God has given them. If you aren't sure what a Christingle is, here are some previous posts which will explain all... Click here  to print off the mat.  Laminate the mat if you think you will use it repeatedly as this really helps to get the play dough off without damage!

This play dough mat will work with any of the stories where Jesus performs a healing miracle- Jairus' daughter, the 10 lepers, Bartimaeus... As usual, print out, laminate for repeated use and start creating!   The focus is on Jesus' love shown through his healing power and will hopefully provide opportunities for children to think and pray about people who are ill.  It's also a great opportunity for leaders and children to share their own testimonies of God's healing! Click here to print out the play dough mat.

Here is a playdough mat to help explore the story of Jesus appearing on the beach in John 21.  The disciples don't realise at first who Jesus is, but the amazing number of fish he helps them to catch and the bread and fish they share on the beach are reminders of his miracles and help them to recognise him.   On a simple level the mat will help children to remember the catch of fish, but if you want to go a little further it might help the children to think of what it feels like to recognise Jesus and be close to him. To print ot the mat click  here , laminate and get creating!

I'm in the zone at the moment, looking for ways of exploring the story of Jesus calming the storm- especially for under 5s! Play dough mats always seem to go down well with this age group so hopefully this will be useful. Click here to print off the mat and then laminate it if you intend repeated use!  The children can choose to show the storm or the calm and I'm sure it will be fascinating to see what they pick and why... Let me know if you use it as I would love to see :-)

This is the second play dough mat in the Nativity story series I am putting together: Angels and Shepherds! Print out the mat, laminate it for future uses and get creatively thinking about peace on earth... Click here to print out the mat.