CLCGB.org.uk - Resources

Christian Resource - Palm Prayer Points

Palm prayer points

WHY - to use our hands to remember the story and take it into our lives

Ask the children to raise their hands to show their palms. Ask: ‘What happens when
we put our palms together? It reminds us to pray.’ Say that you are going to remember what
happened on Palm Sunday and see what it reminds us to pray about. After each point, have
a time when the children could pray silently or aloud. You might like to use some of the hand
actions from ‘Bible story with actions and singing’.

Point 1

Jesus told his disciples to find a donkey. (Hand action: point with index finger.)
When Jesus tells us to do something, are we as ready as the disciples to do it? What kind
of things might Jesus tell us? Obey parents, not swear, etc. Use examples that your children
understand and ask the children for suggestions.
 
Pause for prayer.

Point 2

The disciples found the donkey and brought it to Jesus. (Hand action: thumbs up.)
We can pray for courage and bravery to do to the right thing. You know it’s good to be friendly,
is there someone you are ever unkind to? It would be brave to change the way you behave.
Jesus will help you if you ask him to.
 
Pause for prayer.

Point 3

Jesus sat on the donkey. (Hand action: lay one hand over the other to indicate the cloaks being laid on the donkey’s back.)
Everyone saw Jesus on the donkey, can people see our good actions, or do we hide them away.
Let’s stand up for Jesus and be seen to do the right things.
 
© Scripture Union www.scriptureunion.org.uk/light
 

Christian Resource: Remembrance Day Resource

In 2017 a book called Diddy Disciples will be published by SPCK. It’s a guide to Toddler Worship in a liturgical tradition and from the proofs we have seen it will be very useful.

They have just published a Remembrance Resource from it on the SPCK website: http://spckpublishing.co.uk/blog/2016/11/diddy-disciples-remembrance-day-resource/

Do you have a useful resource that you can recommend to share with other leaders?  If you do email NHQ with your resource and we will add it to the site.


 

Christian Resources - Ready to use session plans

Welcome to our ‘Ready-to-use’ meeting guide section, here we have a wide selection of session plans which you can use for your youth group, the sessions are set out to contain a variety of activities and generally revolve around a key theme, often a life issue or biblical issue. We hope you find these useful, we are always adding to these meeting guides so be sure to keep checking back here for updates.

http://www.youthworkresource.com/youth-work/ready-to-use-session-plans/

It has a list of session ideas with a Christian base with some sessions for age 11 upwards, some have an age range but the ideas look very helpful.

It lists equipment needed and any resources on you-tube.

Christian Resources - ROOTS

ROOTS resources and magazine is a great way to link in our program to the C of E's bible readings and the lectionary.  ROOTS publish a monthly newsletter for free which anyone can sign up too.

This months latest update can be found below.

 

Sacred and secular

Bringing a Christian voice to secular festivals

We shape our lives through the sacred and secular calendars, using them to mark out time and find meaning in the rhythms and patterns of the year. Our celebrations are a mixture of Christian and secular: Easter, Valentine's Day, Pentecost and Remembrance Sunday.

How can we bring a Christian voice to the festivals, celebrations and commemorations that take place outside our churches? Tim Stratford, Archdeacon of Leicester, has written an introductory article which explores how weaving the sacred into the secular can help to make sense of our human condition, our joys and fears.

 

   

This simple diagram shows the rhythms and patterns of the lectionary and secular years.

Download the diagram now (PDF): 'Our journey through the year'

 

   

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

                     

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is traditionally observed from 18-25 January. We're delighted to have produced the worship resources for the Week, in conjunction with our ecumenical partners Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI).

 

Download the all-age worship resources here (opens as PDF)

  

   

Our Lenten journey for children

                                                               

On our journey to our ‘Easter encounter’ with Jesus, we will hear some sad and searching stories that might make us feel like crying, as Jesus did. So each week we will make and decorate a teardrop, and create a road of tears to represent our journey to Jerusalem. On Easter Day we will transform the road of tears into flowers of joy and praise.

 

This Lenten journey has been devised by Elaine Halls, a Methodist minister based in Jersey.  

 

   

Responding to the Bible reading each week

 

Each week the ROOTS resources offer ideas for activities and participation during worship, helping everyone to make a personal response to the reading. The response activities for 24-30 April 2016 explore Jesus's farewell to his disciples from John's gospel and the giving of a new commandment - to love one another.        

 

In Adult & All Age, Active worship offers ideas to engage different ages, spiritual styles and learning preferences, including a Simple worship activity for all ages, often something that people can participate in from their seat.

                            

In Children & Young People, it's easy to keep sessions fresh and varied, with a range of different types of activities, games and prayers, which provide plenty of material for both Sunday and midweek. The Explore & respond resources follow the simple format of Do, Make, Pray and Sing.

 

ROOTS resources are published in two magazines - Adult & All Age and Children & Young People, plus a supporting website. If you'd like a free sample magazine, phone 0845 680 5317 or emailrootssales@rootsontheweb.com to request a copy. 

Craft - Easter egg-people

Easter egg-people

Why: To show we are happy because Jesus is alive.With: Card ovals (egg shapes) in different colours, wiggly eyes, stickers, wool, chenille wires, glue, glitterDuration: 5 minutesDescription: 1 Have any of the children had chocolate eggs for Easter? (You may be able to see the evidence without asking!) Talk about how we give Easter eggs at Easter and that makes us happy, but there is an even better reason to be happy. The best news about Easter is that Jesus is alive. 2 Let each of the children choose an egg shape and decorate it to make happy Easter-egg people. Give them wiggly eyes and a smiley mouth, and use fun things to give them hair (glitter, chenille wires, wool, and so on). 3 Why do the egg people look so happy? So that we can look at them and remember Jesus is alive. When the children take their egg people home, they will be able to tell their friends and families – so they can be happy too!

Themes: Cares, Jesus, Easter

Extra ideas

Luke 19:28-40 Luke 22:7–23

Make mini palm trees using kitchen roll tubes and green paper. Each palm tree could have four green leaves with part of Luke 19:38 on each one: ‘God bless the king/ who comes in the name of the Lord!/ Peace in heaven/ and glory to God!’

Family Bible Week

Guardians of Ancora teams up with YouVersion for Family Bible Week

Beginning Sunday 8 May, YouVersion launches Family Bible Week an annual celebration to help families grow together through God’s Word.

As part of Family Bible Week Guardians of Ancora will be featuring as a Bible reading plan with daily devotionals based around the Bible quests in the game.

Join us every day from Sunday 8 May for a daily thought, reading, videos, music, audio stories and more. The devotionals will be available via the bible.com website or the YouVersion Bible app. 

To ensure that you're ready for the Guardians of Ancora devotionals available as part of Family Bible Week, bookmark the bible.com plans page.

Start using the plan now click here Start using the plan

To make the most of these devotionals download the latest update from the Apple App Store, Google Play or the AmazonAppstore.

Friebugs at the ready!

Firebugs is the newest craze to hit the City of Ancora. Firebugs is a series of challenging puzzles where players have to destroy obstacles to beat the challenges created by the citizens of Ancora.

The citizens of Ancora have come up with their own challenging levels to help train the wits and skills of the Guardians. On completing each level players are rewarded with experience points, stickers and more.

To find out more click on the following link: http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d237a3cc7f182bb209128d825&id=2675805fab&e=dc61ad4683

 

Game - Crazy Post

Crazy Post

1. Each postwoman collects letters from the Post Office one at a time.

2. There are 32 letters, each with the name of a different town.

3. Each letter must be posted in the proper letterbox for that town, before you return to collect the next letter.

4. There are eight letterboxes, each with the names of four towns, set up in your delivery area.

5. Postwomen must be careful, because some towns have names similar to each other, eg. HONLEY and HANLEY

6. The winning Postwoman is the first one to report to the Post Office that she has posted all her letters AND has the least number of wrongly posted letters.

7. The Post Office will know who has posted each letter in a letterbox, because each Postwoman has her own individual number (1-24) which is marked on the back of each of the letters she collects from the Post Office. Please make sure that your letters are marked with your number.

You will need to download this document with the towns on to cut up and use in this game.

Games - Beans

Beans

Beans

Age Range: 5 to 11

This activity is ideal for use as a warm-up.

1) The children should begin by walking around the room in any direction.

2) On the various commands listed below, they should carry out the appropriate action:

Command

Action

JUMPING BEAN

Jump around the room

RUNNER BEAN

Run around the room (looking out for other people).

OR Running on the spot (more suitable for younger children than running around the room)

BROAD BEAN

Stretch your arms and legs out as wide as you can.

Walk around the room taking as large strides as possible

Jump in a star shape

BAKED BEAN

Lay on the floor in a star shape until the next command is given.

OR Lie on floor and Sunbathe

JELLY BEAN

Move around the room slouching and doing silly movements

Wobble like a jelly

CHILLI BEAN

Shiver and shake

FROZEN BEAN

Children have to stand very still.

MR. BEAN

Walk around with a puzzled/vacant expression, muttering under your breath!

BEAN SPROUTS

Stand on tiptoes and make yourself as tall and thin as possible.

STRING BEANS

Stand on the spot, making yourself as long and thin as a piece of string

OR Find 2 partners, hold hands and run around in space.

OR Make a long thin shape

OR pretend to play an "air guitar" or violin!

BLACK-EYED BEANS

Children stand still and 'shadow box' by punching the air in front of them (obviously not touching anyone!)

Stand on the spot with one hand over one eye.

BAKED BEANS ON TOAST

Lie flat on the floor, spreading arms and legs out as far as possible.

OR Children lie in middle of area as close to each other as possible

OR Find a partner and lay on the floor

DOUBLE BAKED BEANS ON TOAST

Two sets of partners join together and lay on the floor

BABY BEAN

Lie on the floor in the 'foetal' position

BEAN PIE

Children should all run together to form a group

The children arrange themselves into groups of four, three of them create arches with their body and the other crawls underneath them.

BEANY BABY

Walk around the room, crying like a baby or be like a bean bag!

FRENCH BEANS

Stand in one spot and do the can-can

OR Strike a pose and shout "Bonjour!"

OR Cross your arms, kick your legs and point your toes while saying 'ooo la la' in a french accent!

Put 1 hand on your hip and put the other hand in the air and make a circle facing the ceiling while shaking your hips as if you are doing the hoola hoop on your waist.

OR Strike a pose and shout "Oooh la la!"

BACK TO BACK BEAN

Find a partner and stand back to back until the next command.

SEAN BEAN

Based on the well known actor and Sheffield United fan. The children stand with their hands in the air - celebrating a goal and shouting the well known sheffield united exclamation : "C'mon you red and white wizzaarrrrrrrddddsssssssss!!!!!!!!!"

Pretend to play the character "Sharpe", or playing football.

COFFEE BEANS

All cough madly (hands over mouths of course)

KIDNEY BEANS

Stand still with arms and upper body bent forwards at waist.

OR Bend over and try to touch your toes!

OR Freeze and bend into a C shape and shout Chillie Con Carne!

OR Make a Kidney shape on the floor

BUTTER BEANS

Slide around on bottom (indoors)

OR Make a cuboid shape

HUMAN BEANS

Running on the spot (i.e. we humans dash about and get nowhere fast!!!!)

SANTA's BEEN

Walk about wobbling your tummy saying "Ho,Ho, Ho".

FULL OF BEANS

Dance around really energetically!

WHERE'VE YOU BEAN?

Puzzled expression, with hand over eyebrows peering into the distance

HAS BEANS

Walk around with a pretend walking stick as if old and frail.

Point behind you, look behind you, or walk backwards.

All lying on the floor pretending to be dead.

Walk Backwards

BEAN THERE,
DONE THAT!

Children walk haughtily with noses in air, waving one hand

JELLY BELLY BEAN

Students lay on floor on their bellies and wiggle.

NOT A BEAN

Wandering around the room looking sad

OLD BEAN

Walk round slowly like an old person.

DWARF BEANS

Moving around on your knees.

TINNED BEANS

Children get into small groups

BEAN HURT

Children rub their knee etc. as if they have been pushed off a swing!!

FLAT BEANS

You can use this at the end of the activity the children lie flat on their backs.

BEANSTALK

Children could start crouched on the floor and grow up slowly until they are straight and tall like the beanstalk in 'Jack and the Beanstalk'.

OR children run up the bean stalk when you shout GIANT they climb back down and chop the beanstalk down.

MAGIC BEAN

Children either wave their magic wand or waggle their fingers as if casting a spell.

OR children return to the exact spot they started the game in (useful to get them to find identifying features of their starting point).

OR children skip around room waving a wand.

BEANIE

Children crouch down on haunches, wrap arms around knees, and bounce on balls of their feet.

GREEN BEANS

Children stretch themselves very tall in a space.

MICROWAVE BEANS

Children run around, touching the floor, and jump up (with a PING!) into a star shape.

MEAN BEAN

Stomp around the floor looking mean and moody.

LEAN BEAN

Children get into pairs, and lean back to back supporting each others weight.

BEAN HAD

Children roll around the floor pretending to laugh.

TOOTHBRUSH BEAN

Walk around the room, pretending to brush your teeth.

LAUGHING BEAN

Children walk around the room laughing!

CRYING BEAN

Children walk around the room crying!

SAD BEAN

Children walk around the room pretending to be sad!

HAPPY BEAN

Children walk around the room pretending to be happy!

SPRING BEAN

Children start in crouching position and then spring up suddenly towards the sky!

CHICKEN BEAN

Children crouch and scratch around like chickens with their arms folded in as wings. Chicken noises could be made.

LEMUR BEAN

Children put their hands as though they are paws in front of their chests and look around eagerly like a Lemur!

THREE BEAN SALAD

Children get into threes, one on the bottom sitting on the floor, the next on their lap, the final one on the middle ones lap.

BEAN BAG

Children get into pairs. One sits on the floor, the other on their lap

Pretend to be a bean bag, being thrown between two people.

A child would inflate as a beanbag by breathing in deeply through nose and exhaling through their mouth.

BOGGIS, BUNCE AND BEAN

After reading Fantastic Mr Fox, a year 3 child suggested: 'Boggis, Bunce and Bean' - Children get into 3s, and each pretends to be one of the three farmers (one fat, one short, one lean (all mean)).

NEVER BEAN

Children curl up in a ball on the floor, as though they have never been born.

SUPER BEAN

Children freeze in an arabesque and can also make a suitable sound like Superman.

BEAN CASSEROLE

Children all join hands, or have a group hug!

WAX BEANS

Children strike a pose and hold it like they are made out of wax.

SNAP BEANS

Children snap their fingers.

HILL OF BEANS

"Hill of Beans" as we old timers used to say in reference to something not mattering very much as "It doesn`t amount to a Hill of Beans." The children could do the Mountain Climbing exercise (Get on your hands and one foot with the other foot stretched back and switch legs several times).

EDAMAME BEAN

Children have to assemble in groups of three or four, curl up into the fetal position in a row on the floor, as if inside a pod and then pop out one at time.

BEANO

Children could walk around pretending to be devious and looking naughty!

COWBOY BEAN

Children hold hand in air as if they are lassoing a cow. The children call "ye how"!!!!

BEANOCULARS

Lie on floor with a partner side by side and roll towards and away from each other.

You could also ask a particular child to demonstrate a particular bean action, and ask other children to guess what type of bean it is!

 

Games - Blackout

Blackout

You'll need a few scarves, pieces of cloth etc for a blindfold.

Pick around 2-5 kids (depending on how many are in your group/class) and blindfold them up. Then get the others to find a space and stay there, but make sure they don't go too far away. The blindfolded ones have to try and find the others. If they find and touch one, they have to go and get a blindfold and join in too! The last one not found, wins!

Tips: Everybody could talk and giggle and shout 'Here I am!' to help the blindfolded, but remember, they cannot move! OR if you don't have enough blindfolds, the ones who have been found have to run around, tapping the blind ones and talking to confuse them!

Games - Chains

Chains

Age Range: 5 to 11

Choose two 'catchers', who link arms/hold hands. They chase the others (as in 'tig') and catch them.

If you are caught, you join the chain. When four people are in the chain, the chain splits into 2 sets of 2.

This goes on until you have a WINNER!!!

Games - Cups and Saucers

Cups and Saucers

Age Range: 7 to 11

Place enough small flexi cones on the floor so that there are at least one for each child. Half of them need to be placed on the floor in the normal way, and half upside down. This creates the cups and saucers.

Divide the class in two, depending on whether they are a cup or saucer and they have to turn the flexi cones over for their team. The team with the most cones turned over within a set time, e.g. 30 seconds, wins.

The game can be repeated by lengthening the time, travelling in a specific way e.g. hopping, or having an uneven split of cones to start with.

Here are some variations:

1) When you have finished this game you get each team to go back to their side, then on the whistle each team member runs out and collects one cone and takes it back to their side. When all the cones are gone from the middle they can steal one cone at a time from the other team. The team with the most cones at the end wins. Make sure they only take one cone. You can add penalties such as taking 5 off a team if they take more than 1 at a time.

2) Place 4 hoops around the hall / playground, one for each colour cone. Have a good team and a bad team... the good team has to run out collect one cone and put it in the correct colour hoop, the bad team has to run out collect one cone and place it in a different colour hoop. When they have all gone from the middle, the good team has to try to sort the cones out into the correct colour hoop and the bad team has to mix them up. Only one cone can be pickd up at a time and if a cone is picked up it must be put into a hoop (you can not just pick up a cone and throw it out

Games - Duster Hockey

Duster Hockey

Age Range: 5 to 11

In the hall / gym, split the children into two groups then number them. For example if there are 20 children in the group split them into groups of ten then number each child from 1-10.

Have them sit on opposites sides of the hall / gym, then call out a number i.e. 3

Both number threes will get up and run to the middle of the hall where a duster (preferable a soft one not one with a hard back) and two newspapers rolled up (the hockey sticks) are waiting. Each child takes a newspaper stick and tries to hit the duster into their goal.

If someone scores another number is called out and the next two will have a go. If no one scores after a few minutes to make sure everyone has a go call out another number and the ones playing must drop their "sticks" where they are and the next students have a go.

This can also be played in pairs when the teacher calls out two numbers etc.

Kids Alive! Resources available

Kids Alive! - the UK's only weekly Christian comic - is filled with jokes, competitions, Bible-based cartoons and much more...

This fantastic resource is available to any christian group including the CLCGB. Kids Alive! will send you a complimentary copy. To find out more click here to download the information.


 

New materials in our resource sections

We have been busy uploading more materials into our Christian Resource library and also our Games library.  To view these resources click here and log in using your website username and password.

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