Easter Day Reflective Colouring Sheet to Print

Here is a reflective colouring sheet for Easter day.  I'm posting it a few days early so I apologise to those who are still burying the Alleluias!  Click here to print off the sheet.

Happy Easter when it arrives!

Holy Spirit Crayon Melting Craft and Prayer Activity

This is a really exciting way to talk about the power of the Holy Spirit!

You will need: wax crayons (wrappers off works best) strong glue (eg. from a glue gun or superglue), a canvas (this really doesn't work on paper!), a protective sheet, a hairdryer.

We did this outside with an extension cable for the hairdryer because there is a certain amount of splatter!

Glue the crayons to the top of the canvas and let the glue set firm.

Set the hairdryer to the highest level and start blowing it across the bottom ends of the crayons.  It takes a while but they eventually start to melt.  Set the dryer down a heat notch and continue to melt the crayons.

 Watch as the colour is released!  We did this with children aged 5-9 and, as long as there was adult supervision they were brilliant at taking turns with the hairdryer and had loads of suggestions about where to aim it to make certain colours run in different directions.

When you have finished, the wax will dry quite quickly and you will have a group masterpiece!

Talk about: God, through the Holy Spirit has given us each gifts to help make the world a better, brighter place.  The power of the Holy Spirit releases those gifts within us so that we can share them with the world (like the power of the heat from the hairdryer released the colour in the crayons).  Speak about the gifts of the spirit and ask children which gifts they think that God might have given to them.

Prayer idea 1: ask children to think of a colour that represents the gifts they think God has given them or they would like to have.  Ask them to gather round and put their finger on that colour somewhere on the picture.  Say a thank you prayer and ask God to release those gifts in them.

Prayer idea 2: Set up a new canvas and get children to take it in turns to melt the crayons.  As they pray, ask God to release the gifts in them.

This would be a great activity for Pentecost and would also work really well as a group project at Messy Church!

Easter Story Picture Card Games- Print out and Play

Playing a game is a great way to help children to familiarise themselves with the different parts of the Easter Story.  Here are some cards to print out to help you with that very purpose!

There are 8 cards, all showing a different part of the story: Entry into Jerusalem, The Last Supper and washing of feet, Gethsemane, Pilate, crucifixion, tomb and resurrection.  Use all or some of them depending on the elements you are exploring.  Tell the story and speak about the pictures, then play a game to help reinforce the key happenings.  Click here to print out the sheet.

There are loads of ways you could use the cards... 

• Pass the parcel with a different card in each layer
• Hidden around the room
• Print out a set of cards per child.  Use 6 of the cards (perhaps leave out foot-washing and Pilate) and number them 1-6 in order of happening.  Children throw a die until they get a 1 and can collect the first picture.  After they have the first card, they then need to throw a 2 to get the second card. The first person to collect all of the cards in the correct order wins.

Matching game (see below)

Print out 2 of the picture sheets and glue them to card so that the pictures don't show through the back of the paper.  Cut the individual cards out, mix them up and lay them face down.

Take it in turns to turn over two cards at a time.  The aim is to find matching pairs and the person with the most matching pairs when there are no more cards left to take is the winner!

Lego (or Duplo) Prayers

This prayer activity is suitable for groups of children or even a whole congregation as long as you have enough bricks!  Have an adult or child to lead the prayers for each group, however big...

You will need: One Lego or Duplo brick per person

Hold your brick.
Pray for yourself.  Thank God for the things he has given you.  Ask Him to bless you and to help you to bless others.

Count the bumps on your brick.
For each bump on your brick, pray for a different person- freinds or family members.  Ask God to bless them this week.

Find someone who has a different colour brick to you.
Thank God for making each person special.  Thank him for the thingsthat are different but special about other people.  Pray that we will learn how to celebrate and understand people who are different to us.

Find someone with the same number of bumps on thier brick as you.
Thank God for families and friends and all who care for us.  Pray that He will help us to be freinds to those who are lonely.

Swap your brick with someone.
Thank God for the person you swapped with and ask God to bless them this week.

Put all of the bricks together and build a structure or tower with them.
Thank God for the church and the communities we live in. Pray that He will help us to include others and to help people know that they are loved and valued.

Daniel in the Lions' Den Story Cards

I'm doing a storytelling workshop at the weekend and will be using the story of Daniel in the Lions' den.  I wanted to produce a set of cards that would tell the story in an easy way, without too many words and this is what I came up with.  Please feel free to print off, cut out and use!  Click here to download the sheet.

I think I'm going to use them in a pass-the-parcel. The story will be revealed layer by layer until the final card is found in the centre of the parcel with some sweets so that everyone can celebrate how great God is!

Click to see pass-the-parcel versions of the Easter and Nativity stories.