Good Samaritan: Love your Neighbour Sensory Bottle

You will need: cooking or baby oil, food colouring and water, jam jars with labels removed or clear plastic bottles and lids/ tops

Mix food colouring into the water and fill each jar or bottle with a ratio of roughly 1/3 oil/  2/3 coloured water. 

The oil will settle on top of the water. Observe the fact that the water and the oil do not mix- just like the Jewish people and the Samaritans in the time of Jesus. 

Put the lid/top very tightly on the jar or bottle and gently shake it. Watch the oil and the water droplets create swirls and patterns as they separate out again. The two substances have worked together to create something quite mesmerising and beautiful. 

Think about what happens when the Samaritan reaches out to help someone he wouldn’t usually mix with. 

How might that work in our own lives and communities?

Rough Times Sandpaper Prayers

I love sensory prayers and sandpaper is a great touchy-feely medium to use when praying about things that are difficult and grind us down.

You will need: Colouring pencils, sandpaper cut into small strips, a cloth

God is our protection and source of strength.    He is always ready to help us in times of trouble. 
Psalm 46:1

Feel the roughness of the sandpaper. 

Who do you know who is going through a rough time at the moment? 

On a piece of sandpaper draw or write the name of a person, place or situation you'd like to ask God to help. Pray that these people and places will know that God is there for them, whatever they face.

Place the sandpaper on the cloth as you give your prayer to God.

All Souls Day Rosemary Remembering Payers

I was at an amazing Baptism conference last week where we used Rosemary as a sensory way of remembering our Godparents and Godchildren as we prayed. I know that smelling rosemary has a real link to improving memory and I vividly remember using Rosemary oil during my exam revision at school!

As All Souls Day is approaching, this Sunday we had our annual bereavement service and it struck me that we could use the Rosemary with children who have lost loved ones, to help them to bring their memories to God with thanks. Using the scent of the herb is a gentle and positive way to help children explore what can be an emotional subject.

You will need: Rosemary stalks with plenty of leaves.

Give each child a leave from the stalk of Rosemary and get them to rub it between their fingers to release the scent. Talk about their memories of the loved ones they have lost. Think about the sweetness of the smell. What happy memories do they have? What would they like to thank God for about that person?

As they smell the scent of the Rosemary, thank God for loved ones who are no longer with us and for the memories we have of them.

Give each child some of the Rosemary to take home with them so that they can continue to remember and thank God if they would like to.

Textured holding crosses for sensory play and worship

A while back, I thought it would be good to have some holding crosses for the children to use during our worship time as part of our multi-sensory items but, when I looked at the price of wooden ones, I was a bit put off!

Instead, I decided to go down the fabric route (I got a massive bag of offcuts from Amazon for a really cheap price!) and have made a collection of different sized and textured crosses which are perfect for holding onto.  They don't take long to make and you can stuff them enough to make them quite firm to hold.  It's great that I got such a variety of fabric in the parcel because it means that each of the crosses has its own particular feel and texture.

You will need: Various kinds of fabric- fleece, denim, silky, sequinned etc, needle and thread, stuffing (I used the stuffing from a cheap cushion from IKEA)

1. Cut out two identical cross shapes from a piece of fabric.  

2. Lay the shapes on top of each other and sew around the edges. Don't sew the top edges together yet, but leave a hole there. 

3. Stuff the stuffing through the hole until the whole cross is filled.  Sew up the top edges to seal everything in and your cross is finished!

If you are going to be incredibly neat and tidy, you might sew the cross inside out and turn it right side out before you add the stuffing!

Simple Sensory Marble Labyrinths

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 your labyrinth lines (as below) so that the needle and thread goes through both layers of felt. Lines will be roughly 2-2.5 cmx apart. 

You should be able to use your fingers to move the marble from the opening hole to the middle of the labyrinth and back again.  Having the marble inside while you sew, and pushing it along as you progress, is useful because it helps you to see that your lines are an adequate distance apart.

When your lies have been sewn and you are happy, go back and sew up the opening hole in the top left hand corner. Now your marble will not escape!

Enjoy reflecting and journeying!

Sequin Fabric Board Prayers

I recently discovered 'mermaid fabric' and I love it as a sensory experience and a potential refection and prayer tool!

Mermaid fabric is essentially sequin covered fabric, but the brilliant part is that the sequins are one colour on the top and another colour on the bottom.  If you stroke the fabric upwards, it reveals the underside colour and I could basically sit there stroking all day!

I thought the fabric would be good as a reflection tool in the 'worship' boxes we are creating for children during worship times in a service.  There is a lot of awe and wonder here!!  Here's what I did...

You will need: Mermaid fabric, picture frames (with glass panel removed), PVA or hot glue, scissors.

I took the glass panel out of my photo frames and then removed the backing board, which I measured and then covered with the same size panel of mermaid fabric.  I used PVA glue to stick it on and that seemed to work fine.

I then put the backing board back into the frame and we were good to go!

There is so much potential for these boards...

• write the initials of someone you are praying for
• Pray for God's love to be shown and draw a heart in the sequins
• If you have a fabric like the one above which is black on one side and gold on the reverse, pray for God's light to come into dark places
• Use the boards as a sensory reflection tool to help you focus on the awe and wonder of God.

Try them out and let me know how you use them!

Sensory Spice Painting Prayers!

I have to admit to liking a bit of incense every know and again.  Multi sensory prayers are my favourite thing and one of my favourite images in the Bible is of the smoke of the incense rising with the prayers of God's people in Revelation 8:4.  I love it when all of the senses get involved- but smell is pretty hard to achieve, especially as we have to be very careful if working with people who have asthma. After seeing some posts about painting with spices, I thought I'd have a go at applying it to prayer.  I wasn't disappointed!

This prayer activity works really well if you can get hold of some strongly coloured spices.  I would have loved to use some saffron, but it was a bit out of my price range. Turmeric worked really well for a yellow though!  

You will need: cupcake cases, water, spices- I used paprika, cinnamon, ginger, cumin and tumeric, paintbrushes, paper

Put about a tablespoon full of spice into each cupcake case (one spice per case).

Mix some water into the spice to make a paste. Gradually add water until you get a paintable consistency.

Ask children to paint their prayers for people and places or to say thank you to God in words and pictures.  Be ready for some wonderful spicy smells to rise up as they pray!

Multi-Sensory Easter Story Talk and Activity

This talk is suitable for smaller groups of children or even for a larger group as long as you have plenty of resources to go around!  The talk goes through key events of the Easter story and involves touch, taste, sound, sight and smell.  Beware allergies!!

You will need: bread, some stones, salt water in a pot, nails, a piece of wood, salt and vinegar crisps, a bandage, a hollow, chocolate Easter egg, scented candle and lighter

bread- Talk about the last supper.  Jesus gathered his friends around to share a last meal, to prepare them for what would happen and tell them how to remember him.  Share out pieces of the bread

stone- Gethsemane.  After the meal, Jesus went to a garden to pray for strength and that God would help him in the coming days.  Children take a stone and hold onto it.  Think of things in their life that are hard.  Ask God to help them.

Nails- After being arrested, Jesus is led out to be crucified and is nailed to the cross.  Hammer the nails into the wood and talk about the sights and sounds of the crucifixion

Salt and vinegar crisps- People were standing with Jesus while he was on the cross and gave him some sour wine or vinegar to drink. This sourness also helps us to remember the pain Jesus went through on the cross. Pass round the salt and vinegar crisps.

Salt water-Get a couple of children to dip their finger into the water so that they can taste the salt.  This saltwater represents the tears of the people who cried for Jesus when he died on Good Friday.

Bandages- When Jesus was dead, his friends took him down from the cross, wrapped his body and put him in a tomb, putting a stone in front of the entrance. so that it was completely closed.  They couldn't prepare his body because it was their special Holy day and they wanted to keep him safe until it was over and they could come back.

Hollow Easter egg- This represents the closed tomb (Hold the egg to show that it is completely sealed- you might need to hold it if it comes in two separate halves!)

Scented candles-Women arrived on the third day with spices to get the body ready (light the candle so the children can smell it)

But...

Pick up the egg- and break it open to reveal the hollow inside.  Jesus wasn’t there! Like a baby chick breaks out of an egg shell (or a butterfly out of a cocoon) as a sign of the start of new life, Jesus rose to new life out of the tomb. He was no longer dead.  He is alive!  When Jesus died, it seemed as if everything had gone wrong for his friends and followers but God had other plans.  Something amazing happened! Even if we’ve done wrong things or think that things will never get better, God has other plans! If we go to Jesus, say sorry to him and ask him to help us then, because he loves us so much, we have a chance at a new start too.  This is exciting and amazing and is a gift for everyone!

Share out the egg with the children as a symbol of the gift of new life and new starts that Jesus brings us.

The Lost Sheep or Lost Coin Sensory Play for under 5s

This activity came about by accident when I was helping to run activities for under 5s at a church camping weekend.  A friend had made some Moon Sand and children had proceded to mix loom bands in with it.  Searching for the hidden loom bands became a great game and the added bonus of sensory play was brilliant!

Use this for exploring the 'searching' element of the Lost Sheep or Lost Coin stories.

You will need: 8 cups of flour and 1 cup of baby oil (or vegetable oil will also work- see here for a recipe), loom bands, a tray with sides to keep the Moon Sand in.

Mix the oil and flour thoroughly.  You will end up with something resembling shortbread mixture, dry but forming clumps when you press it together.  It will easily crumble back when you have finished pressing it!

Hide the loom bands in the mixture and then encourage the children to find them.  You might want to turn it into a game and see who can find the most.  It will get a bit messy so have some paper towels on hand!

Talk about:
How does it feel to be lost?
How does it feel when you are found?
What is it like to look for something?
Why do we look for things when we lose them?
Who or what would you look for if it was lost?

Talk about God's love for us and his determination to show how much He loves us.

Multi-sensory Creation Thank Yous (Painting with Tea Bags!)

Often, when celebrating God's creation with children, we rely very much on what we can see and we neglect other senses such as smell and touch.  This is a very multi-sensory way of celebrating the things that God has made in the world around us!

You will need: A variety of tea bags, including fruit teas, which will bring a real mix of smells and colours to the mix; shallow bowls; hot and cold water; paper

Put each type of tea bag (1-3 of each depending on how many children you have) into a separate bowl and pour on some hot water to make the tea start to infuse.  After the colours start to emerge, put some cold water in and leave until the teabags are at a good temperature to squeeze and hold by hand.  It works better if most of the water has been squeezed out before painting!

Talk about the things God has made in creation and the senses He has given us.  Remind children that tea comes from a plant and is therefore part of creation!  Encourage the children to smell the different tea bags and to experiment with the different colours they make on the page.  When they are happy, get the children to use the tea bags (by dabbing them on the paper) to paint pictures of things in creation they would like to Thank God for.  

When all of the pictures are finished, gather them together and say a big 'thank you' prayer!