Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

As I am becoming more aware of the different needs children have and the different ways in which we connect with God in prayer and reflection, I am also becoming more aware of multi sensory tools!  I really like finger labyrinths as a prayer tool and this is a very touchy- feely version I have recently been exploring.  The idea with this method is that there is a marble trapped between two layers of felt, which you move along the labyrinth path with your fingers. There are obviously much more elaborate labyrinth patterns you can make, but I wanted to keep my first try as simple as possible... You will need:  Pieces of felt (for each labyrinth I used 2 rectangles of 15 x 12 cm), embroidery thread, needle, scissors, marbles Lay one rectangle on top of the other and sew the edges together, leaving a hole of about 2.5cm at the top left hand corner (as shown below). Slip a marble through the hole so that it sits between the two layers of felt.   Sew y...

I ran a prayer workshop the other day and was looking for a way to make some tactile finger labyrinths that children could play with.  Lego was the obvious solution! I made some simple spiral labyrinths with a square baseboard and a circular one I bought over Christmas and I really loved the effect. Children can build them themselves and then use them when reflecting on God and thinking about journeying with Him through life.  This might work especially well with visual and kinaesthetic learners. I think I'll try some more complicated labyrinths when I have another go!

Finger labyrinths have been really popular on Flame for a while, so I thought I'd post another way of making them. This is a very tactile version, very easy to make, and allows children the chance to make their own wandering line!  The labyrinths would work really well as a craft activity for any Bible story that involves a journey e.g. The Exodus, Joshua. You will need: Paper plates, pencils, foil, glue (PVA works best) Get children to draw a spiral on the paper plate- start in the middle and work outwards but take the line on a wander if you want to!  Next, cut pieces of tin foil and roll them into thin sausage shapes. Glue the foil sausages to the spiral on the plate.  If using PVA you will need to wait a while for the glue to dry! Children can now use the labyrinths as prayer tools, either as a way of using something tactile as they reflect or, more specifically to think and pray about life journeys (see below) Talk about: How does it fee...

Some of the children really love using our finger labyrinths: click  here  and  here  to print off some paper versions.  Even though they are very useful, it's always bothered me a bit that they were only two dimensional.  I wanted something a bit more touchy-feely but still cheap, quick and easy to make.  I was wandering around Hobby Craft yesterday and an idea came to me so I tested it out and actually it works quite well! You will need colourful paper plates (I got 8 blue ones for about £1.50) Writing paint (£2.99).  This produces a slightly raised effect when painted on. I chose coloured plates because I was using white paint, but white plates (much cheaper!) will work just as well if you use a coloured paint.  First, very faintly draw the outline of a labyrinth onto the plate... ...then trace around the outline with writing paint.  When it is dry, there will be a raised surface  of paint.  I had a bit of a pr...

One of our popular posts about prayer has been the one on finger labyrinths for children.  Click  here  for the original post.  Some children find it useful to have their hands occupied when they are focusing on God and I've had quite a few children share something they felt God was saying to them when they used one during a time of reflection.  It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it really helps the odd one or two! Recently I made a more colourful version (the others being black and white) because I know that the visual helps to draw me into prayer so there are probably children out there who feel the same!  We'll print some out and add them to our collection at church and please feel free to click  here  to print out your own.

 I was thinking about prayer labyrinths the other day and came across finger labyrinths- a portable and very sensory version of the tradition!  I had a go at making one and really found that tracing the path helped me to focus in prayer.  I thought about buying some for the children to use because it might appeal to the more kinaesthetic while they are listening to God in silence but soon realised it was going to be very expensive as we might like to give all of the children a chance to try it at the same time!  The next best thing I could do was make my own.   I'm afraid they're not as tactile as wooden ones might be, but the sense of following the path on a journey with God is the same!  We tested them out with three of the children at Powersource and one, at least, really seemed to find it useful.  We'll introduce them to the children as a whole in the coming weeks.  As with everything, what appeals to some will not appeal to all, but if ...