Skittles prayer bags with printable prayers

After the success of our Prayer Space at school and the enthusiasm from the children, we thought it would be a great idea to give each child a practical prayer to take home with them. It was a great idea until I found myself sorting skittles into 120 little bags. Fortunately it's a fairly small school!

I went in to school to do a collective worship session where I demonstrated the prayer activity and then each class was given prayer bags to distribute to the children. I know from feedback on the street and on my next visits that at least some of the children did the prayer at home, so I will call that a good result!

You will need: a copy of the prayer and a small bag for each child, Skittles sweets, bag ties, stapler.

I put roughly 10-12 skittles into each bag, tied the top of the bag and then stapled the prayer to the front.

Click here to print off a sheet of prayers.

School Prayer Space with Printable Prayer Station Instructions

Last week was a busy but amazing week! I spent most of it in our local primary school in the prayer space we had created with some inspiration from Prayer Spaces in Schools. We were given a classroom for a week and turned it from this...

To this...

Each class spent at least one session in the room and lunchtimes, when children could make their own way there, were very busy! We had some amazing conversations about life, death, families, worries and everything in between. Here are some of the things we got up to...

Unfolding Hopes and Dreams Water Prayers

Play dough thank you prayers

Whiteboard worry prayers

Bringing light: How can I help to make the world a better place?

Saying sorry sand prayers- drawing things to say sorry for in the sand and then smoothing it over as a sign of God's forgiveness

Cardboard box prayers for people who have no homes

Pipe cleaner people thank you prayers

Prayers for the world (post it notes on a world map shower curtain!)

Sensory reflection prayers

 Marble labyrinths

 Mermaid fabric sequin cushions

 Reflection bottles

Plasma ball

Questions for God

 Click here to print the prayer station instructions we used for each activity.

Praying with Games: Pop Up Pirate Prayers, Story Links and Talking Points

Game: Pop Up Pirate

Story Link: Be ready! (Luke 12: 35-40)

Talk About:
What things in your life do you have to wait for?
How do you feel when you are waiting?
What do you do to get yourself ready for the event you are waiting for?
What things in life do you do where you need to be prepared in advance? e.g. packing school bag, packing for a camping trip
Waiting for Jesus to return- like the pop up pirate, we don't know when it will be, so we need to be ready!
What will it be like when he comes? (Revelation 21 gives a good idea)
How can we get ready? What can we do in our lives to show that we are following Jesus?
(the master who returns in the story blesses his servants and gives them a meal, so there is a theme of blessing from God that we could link to us working to bless others as we wait for him to come).

Prayer
Take it in turns to put swords in the barrel. Every time you put a sword in, ask God to help and be with someone who is waiting for something e.g waiting for some news, waiting for a baby to be born, waiting for test results, waiting for a message, waiting for a holiday

Praying with Games: Guess Who Prayers, Story Links and Talking Points

Guess Who is a popular and easy game that even younger children can play. Here are some ideas about how you might connect the game with God...

Story link: 

You formed the way I think and feel.
    You put me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because you made me in such a wonderful way.  I know how amazing that was!

Psalm 139: 13-14

Talking Points:

What is special about you?

How are we similar and different to the people around us?

What is your favourite thing about yourself?

What is your favourite thing about someone else?

Use the game to think about the ways in which people are unique. How do we know who we are looking for? Several people in the game have orange hair, but not all of them have curly orange hair or orange hair and blue eyes.

God has made us all differently but he knows every part of us and knows all about us. He knows not just our appearance (like in the game) but our personalities too.

Prayer Idea

 

Choose a character on the board who has something in common with someone you know e.g. someone with glasses, someone with brown eyes. Ask God to bless and look after that real life person.