For very young children

Play materials: toys and construction sets that link together.

Gathered groups/in the pew: parents could be encouraged to bring toys with them.

Gathering prayers

Young children love repetition. Using the same prayer to start your session each time you meet will create a sense of familiarity and expectation.

Suggestion 1: God loves me

From the top of my head
(Touch head)

to the tips of my toes;
(Touch toes)

from the lobes of my ears
(Touch ear lobes)

to the end of my nose;
(Touch nose)

from my back, to my front
(Turn round)

to my wiggly fingers,
(stretch out arms and wiggle fingers)

God loves me!
(jump up and down)

 

Suggestion 2: God loves...

Leader: God loves
Child 1: (say name)

Leader: and God loves
Child 2: (say name)

Go round the circle until all the children have been named (the leader or accompanying adult can say the name of pre-verbal or shy children)

All: Thanks be to God!

 

Storytelling

Gather the children in a circle and ask them to copy your actions as you tell the story:

Jesus was talking to his friends.

He said, ‘If anyone does anything that makes you feel sad (make sad face)

ask them to stop. (hold up hand)

If they don’t listen (cup ear with hand)

then ask some other people to come and talk to them (beckon to someone else)

and make things right again.’ (shake hands)
Jesus said that this helps make the church work:

‘If two or three people come together to share my love (hold hands around circle)

then I will be there.’ (place candle in centre)

No adaptation needed for gathered groups.

Play

Provide some play figures and buildings, including a toy or model church. Talk about how we can share God’s love at church, and Jesus will be there, but also that we can meet in many other places and still share God’s love.

Gathered groups/in the pew: parents could be encouraged to bring toy figures with them.

 

Create

Invite each child to decorate a strip of paper using art materials. Then make them into a paper chain to represent those gathered in Jesus’ name in your group today.

Gathered groups: prepare kit for individuals/household groups 72 hrs in advance; you could join the paper chain together 72 hrs later, ready for them to see the following week.

Praise

Give each child a battery-operated tealight to hold or place in front of them. Play or sing ‘Be still, for the presence of the Lord’ and encourage the children to watch their flame.

Gathered groups: prepare kit for individuals/household groups 72 hrs in advance.

Pray

Dear God,
thank you for being with us at (insert name of group) today.
Please help us to share your love,
and to build up our love for each other.
Amen.

 

Sing

God loves you, and I love you
This little light of mine

 

Colouring sheets

English version; Welsh version

 

A sending out prayer

Young children love repetition. Using the same prayer to end your session each time you meet will create a sense of familiarity and expectation.

God bless you,
(Point to others)

and God bless me.
(Point to self)

Amen. (Wave arms)

Leader: Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
Children and parents: In the name of Christ, Amen.

 

Additional activities

These activities are from this week's Explore & respond and can be adapted
for under 5s:

Beauty from brokenness    10 mins E S

Make a symbol of restored relationships

You will need: a pack of different coloured paper, glue.

• Give each child a different coloured piece of paper. Ask them to think of times they have been wronged or upset by other people, and to tear a piece off their paper for each one.
• As they do this, begin to gather everyone’s torn pieces of paper together.
• When everyone has reflected on how others have upset or hurt them and ripped up their paper, ask the children to work together, using all the pieces of paper to create a mosaic of something beautiful, e.g. a flower, a heart or a butterfly.
• After they have finished, talk with the children about how beautiful things can come from dealing with things that have upset us. Ask: have you ever experienced something like that?

 Gathered groups: prepare kit for individuals/household groups 72 hrs in advance.

Together again       5 mins E S A

Pray for relationships that need mending

You will need: zips (available from craft or sewing shops).

• Give each child half of a zip and ask them to find its ‘partner’ to put it together again. First, demonstrate how this works.
• Wait until everyone has found the matching zip and then, as they zip it up, say a simple prayer, e.g. When we hurt or upset one another, help us, God, to come together again. Amen.

Gathered groups: the leader could demonstrate this. 

Spiritual styles abbreviations (as defined by David Csinos)
W Word E Emotion S Symbol A Action
Read our Spiritual Styles articles