VERY YOUNG CHILDREN
Dress up
Play and explore different seasons and times
Create a dressing-up area with clothes for different seasons and events. These could include hats and scarves, sun hats, sports outfits, Christmas items. As the children dress up, chat about the different times you would wear these outfits.
Draw to explore
Think about special times in the year
Sit together and provide lots of crayons and sheets of paper. Talk about the things everyone enjoyed over the past year (holidays, birthdays, Christmas). Encourage the children and leaders to draw these as they do. Peg the pictures up on a washing line in time order, emphasising that everything has a time.
0-5s song(s)
A time for everything, Elevation Music, Kerpow! Vol. 2 (lyrics; video)A sending out prayer for children
New year, new start, new days ahead.
Send us now with love and strength in everything we’ll do.
Help us, dear Lord, every day to stay close to you.
Amen.
FOR CHILDREN
Prayer prompter W S
Make a reminder to pray
You will need: 8cm squares of thick card (one per child), blunt pencils, pens, pointed screwdriver or awl, blob of sticky tack.
- Invite everyone to write ‘THANKS’ along one edge of their card, ‘SORRY’ along another, ‘PRAISE’ on the third and ‘ASK’ on the fourth. Place the completed card square onto the blob of tack and use the awl to make a hole in the centre of it. Push a pencil down through the hole to make a spinner.
- Twirl the pencil top to make the spinner turn. Whichever way the edge lands, is a prompt for prayer.
Sing
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'Living and Learning' - FREE! download(s) from Same Boat Music. |
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Find more suggestions on the Hymns, songs & music page.
0-5s
A time for everything, Elevation Music, Kerpow! Vol. 2 (lyrics; video)
5-11s
A time for everything, Owlegories
Seasons for growth, Fischy Music
12+
Come, now is the time to worship (video; chords)
Talk together and talk to God
Use these questions to discuss the Bible passage and then bring your thoughts together by praying to God.
Talk together
- How do you feel at the beginning of a new year?
- What surprised you most about today’s Bible passage?
- What do you think God would like you to do in 2023?
Talk to God: Tower of prayer E S A
Pray for healing and building this year
You will need: JengaTM bricks.
- Have the tower ready-assembled. Invite the children to take turns to withdraw a brick as they name something in the world that needs to be healed or repaired by God. Continue until the tower collapses and then invite everyone to pray:
‘Into your hands, O God, we offer our prayers.’ - Invite the children to rebuild the tower, taking turns to say something they want to thank God for or by adding a way to praise God. Continue until the tower is complete and then invite everyone to pray:
We praise you, O God, for all your goodness.
Help us to build good things this year.
Amen.
Activity sheet
Stop-motion emotion
Explore different emotions E
You will need: phone timer or similar.- Explain there will be an opportunity to think about a wide range of emotions that everyone feels from time to time. Emotions are part of what makes us human. There will be 30 seconds to think about each emotion as it is named, and 30 seconds to plan how to freeze-frame their response at the signal. When the alarm goes, everyone takes up their pose. Ideas for emotions to act include: laugh, weep, hate, love, lose, fear, joy, anger, hope.
- Older children will enjoy discussing each other’s responses. Remind them that it is good to be able to identify emotions in themselves and in other people.
Let’s remember 10 mins E S
Review the past year as preparation for 2023
You will need: a timeline drawn onto a long sheet of backing paper and divided into the 12 months.
- Invite everyone to remember different things that happened in 2022. They will come up with a mix of national, school, group and personal memories. Write/draw these in the appropriate place on the line as far as possible.
- When lots of memories have been recorded, ask whether all the memories are happy. It may be necessary to remind the group of less comfortable things that happened.
- Refer to the Ecclesiastes reading with the different events and feelings that it mentioned. Point out that God promises to be with everyone, whatever happens to them.
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Timeline reflection 10 mins E S
Reflect on memories from the past year
You will need: sticky notes, pens, long length of string; A5 cards – each with a name of a month with repeats for January, February and March; copy of Revelation 21.1-6a.
- Stretch the string along the floor and place the month cards along it in order. Invite everyone to write notes for things they remember about each month and place them along the line.
- Put positive memories above the line and negative ones below. Are there any common themes and the balance between good and not so good memories? Point out the ‘pairs’ in the Ecclesiastes reading, and read Revelation 21.1-6a to summarise.
Time to build 5 mins S
Explore what it is time to build now
You will need: range of building/junk modelling materials; tape measure.
- Divide the young people into small groups round the room. The aim is to build the highest structure using the materials available in the centre. Only one person per group can collect one item from the supplies at a time. The rest of the group builds the construction. Measure the height of the structures to determine the winners.
- Ask: What good things can we build up in our own lives and for the wider community?
In perspective 5 mins E
Reflect on God's glory
You will need: copies of Psalm 8.
- Invite the group to lie on their backs and imagine looking up at the night sky. Then read Psalm 8 as a prayer.
Play the track ‘Times Like These’, The Foo Fighters on 00020225. (video; chords)
Check-in: Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues
Available by 10 am on Thursday 29 December 2022.
Power of now 10 mins S A
Consider what it is important to do now
You will need: scissors, copies of Ecclesiastes 3.1-8 (see Highlights).
- In small groups, invite the members to sort at least nine of the highlighted statements into an order of action to focus on now. They can cut out the ones they need. Discuss which statements each group has put first and why.
| Spiritual styles abbreviations W Word E Emotion S Symbol A Action Read our Spiritual Styles articles |