The Hospitality of Abraham: Exploring with 3-5s

Here are some ideas to help you to explore the themes of the story of Abraham's hospitality to the three strangers by the Oaks of Mamre (Genesis 18:1-15) with 3-5 year olds.  I've also incorporated Genesis 21:1-7, when Sarah gives birth to Issac.  

The best idea is to tell the story and then to play!!

Build a tent or shelter out of tables, chairs, cushions and blankets and think about what is was like to live in the desert.

Explore themes of hospitality by playing with play food...

...making 'food' with play dough...

 ...making 'special' food for important visitors. Put spread bread and then add a layer of jam or sugar strands.  Cut into shapes with cookie cutters if you want to make it extra special!

Think about God's love for Abraham and Sarah and his gift to them by playing with hearts and gift boxes or gift bags.

Play with baby dolls to remember the special baby that God gave to Abraham and Sarah

Other ideas: 

• Make something no-bake like chocolate crispy cakes and give them as gifts to parents
• decorate placemats for special visitors
• get children to tell jokes and remember that Sarah laughed!

Shaving Foam Cloud Prayers

This is a really colourful way to pray for people and situations where you'd like to see God's power breaking through. Visual pray-ers will love it!

You will need: shaving foam, a tall glass, water, food colouring in two or three colours, small dishes, teaspoons or droppers.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of water into each small dish.  Colour each dish of water with a different food colouring.  Don’t water the colouring down too much because the more intense the colouring the better!

Fill the glass half way with water and squirt shaving foam to make a ‘cloud’ in the glass above it (this will probably fill the other half of the glass). 

Think of a person or situation you'd like to pray for and choose a colour of water you'd like to use to represent that prayer. Ask God to help them and then use a teaspoon or dropper to pour a small amount of coloured water on top of the shaving foam cloud.  

The colouring will slowly seep down through the spaces between the foam and the glass, and ‘rain’ down into the water.  As this happens, imagine God's power breaking through and changing that situation, just as the colour is breaking through and changing the water. 

Repeat with other colours as you pray more prayers.

Pentecost: A Round up of 8 Ideas

For all of us celebrating Pentecost on Sunday here's a selection of tried and tested (and fun!) ideas...

Pentecost pass the parcel all age talk

Pentecost Flames: painting with forks

Holy Spirit Crayon Melting Craft and Prayer Activity

Pentecost Play Dough Mats

Pentecost Flames salad Spinner Art and Prayer Activity

Pentecost Spinner

Pentecost Messy Church Crafts

Pentecost Talk and Prayer

The Lord's Prayer: Simple and Easy Prayer Stations

 We have been exploring the Lord's prayer as part of the 'Thy Kingdom Come' prayer wave between Ascension day and Pentecost. Here are some prayer stations we did yesterday at our local infant school.  The children loved them!

Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Deocrate the names of God to show how special they are.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Draw pictures of how you think God would like us to live and help people.

Ask him to help us live like that.

Give us today, our daily bread…

  

Make your favourite food out of playdough.

Ask God to help people who don’t have enough food to eat.

Forgive us our sins…

Think about something you want to say sorry for and say sorry to God.

Blow some bubbles. As they float away imagine giving your prayer to God. When they pop remember that God forgives you.

…as we forgive those who sin against us.

Think about someone who has upset you.

Ask God to help you forgive them.

Draw them on a heart and pin it to the line.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Take a stone and make something to protect it.

Put the stone by the cross and ask God to keep you safe from doing the wrong thing.

For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever.

God is the most amazing king you could ever imagine.

Decorate one of the crowns for God.