This is what we did 

We opened with prayer, no child volunteers. When asked, the children said that they did not pray at home. Said that the next few weeks, we will be concentrating on prayer to help them with being able to pray.

Looked at the Prayer Board to talk about answers to prayer.

Played Simon Says – need to listen to play the game; listening is an important part of prayer.

Looked at the story of the Lord’s Prayer being given to the disciples. Explained that we are not alone in finding prayer difficult.

Made the Prayer circle to help them think about what to pray for. If anyone is not there, they can get one of these from me if they wish.

Gave out the children’s Lord’s Prayer to learn as a memory verse. Read out each line, and the children repeated this, speaking, whispering and shouting.

 

How can parents help children?

It would be good if parents could encourage their children to pray ( before going to bed?).

Use the prayer circle to give the children things subjects if they are unsure what to pray for as most are.

Parents could say the Lord’s Prayer with them and help them to learn it.

This is what we did 

A brief update of what children learned in sunday club on past Sunday.

What is prayer?

The children were asked to describe prayer in one word. They came up with words like praise, worship, forgiveness, and asking. The leader explained that prayer is talking to God, and that He doesn't always give us what we want, but He always gives us what we need.

 

Prayer positions

The children played a game where they had to sit in a circle and copy each other's prayer positions. This game helped them to understand that there are many different ways to pray, and that there is no one right way.

 

Praying for others

The children read the story of Abraham praying for the people of Sodom. This helped them to understand that prayer is not just about asking God for things for ourselves, but also about praying for others.

 

Prayer game

The children played a prayer game that they could take home. This game was a fun way to learn about prayer and to practice praying for others.

 

Simple prayers

The children looked at a book of children's prayers and a sheet of real prayers made by children. They were encouraged to write their own simple prayer on the back of the sheet and bring it next week.

 

The Lord's Prayer

The children said the Lord's Prayer out loud together. They also received prayer journals if they hadn't already received one the previous week.

 

Finishing with prayer

The leader prayed at the end of the class, but the children were encouraged to suggest what to pray for. They prayed for school, enjoying the week, encouraging others, parents, and the world.

 

How can parents help children?

Parents can help their children to learn about prayer by playing the prayer game, talking about times when prayer is easy or hard, encouraging them to use their prayer journals, helping them to write a very simple prayer to bring next week, and helping them to learn the Lord's Prayer.

This is what we did 

Theme was the Lord’s Prayer (part 1)

 

• Children drew their own pattern using a pentagon shape as a stencil. All patterns were different, illustrating the that the Lord’s Prayer is a pattern and many different prayers can come from using it as a framework.

 

• Story of the disciples asking Jesus how to pray. We all need help with prayer.

 

• Looked at each phrase of the Lord’s Prayer From Our Father to  Your will be done, thinking about what each line means in our prayers. Made a prayer ring with each line, to be continued next time.

 

How can parents help children?

No one bought their own short prayer from last week; parents could encourage their children to do this. Also, promote the use of their Prayer Journals. Some of the older children were finding this useful. A game sheet was given out for the children to do at home. Parents could help their children fill them in.