January - March 2018 Weekly@ has activity suggestions for all ages from crèche to youth groups and with the Response section, children and young people should all be able to find ways to engage with the Bible text. We suggest that you start and end with the green sections, and select other activities to suit your group, offering them in any order you wish.
Explaining the Response Section The Response Section creates an opportunity in your group time for the children to think about what they have heard and how it makes them feel, which means they can start engaging with the Bible passage and the lesson in a deeper way. You may want to set the Response Activity up in the same area of your room every week, or maybe you would like to be creative and move around each time. It is entirely up to you how you present it; we will provide the framework and you can design it to fit your group. You may want to play some background music during this section to encourage an atmosphere of personal reflection. This activity will work for all ages. For younger ones it s recommended that you give them some space initially, but if you see that they are unsure, help them by asking questions which will guide them to their response. Reassure everyone that there is no right or wrong answer and often you won t know who has said what. Colour Codes Weekly@ is categorised into colour codes which represent the different ages that we feel an activity is suitable for. You will find Under 5s and Over 12s alternatives each week, so you can now run a Weekly@ session with any of your Sunday groups. The colour codes are just our suggestions, so if you feel an activity aimed at one age group would work well for a different age group, then please do feel free to use it with them too. You may find that some weeks have more All Age activities than others. Some activity headings might be split colours, meaning they are suitable for the two age groups they represent. Under 5s All Age 5-11s Over 12s Suitable for those aged 5 and under, typically those in crèche. Suitable for all groups, from crèche to youth group. Suitable for those aged 5-11. Suitable for Sunday youth groups.
Set the Scene Focus Mark 8:31-38 You will need: Compass, telescope, sat nav, binoculars. What do these items have in common with these items? It s that they can help us to see or focus on where we are going. Aim: To learn what it means to take up our cross and follow Jesus. Game Spinning Bean Bag Target Make spinning targets similar to these https://frugalfun4boys. com/2016/11/10/make-nerfspinning-target/ with the first letter of each of the following Christian values on them; Forgiveness, Love (for God and for other people), Generosity (time and money), Honesty. Instead of using nerf guns we will use bean bags. Ask the children to take it in turns shout out a value, then throw a beanbag to try and hit the matching target. Response Focus Response Print off the target reponse chart (attached) and give the children some coloured sticky dots. Encourage them to place the appropriate coloured dots in the area on the target that best represents their feelings. Discussion On a big piece of paper draw a circular target, like those used in archery. Ask the children to think about the things that they want to do in life and write them in blue on the target with the best things closest to the bullseye in the middle. Then ask them to think about the things that God wants us to do in life. Write these on the target in orange, with the most important things closest to the bullseye. Ask the questions: Do the things that we want to do, and the things that God wants us to do, match up? Do we need to change our priorities so that we re aiming for the same things that God wants from us? In our Bible passage today, Jesus says that we have to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. This means that we have to give up some of the things that we want so that we can prioritise doing what Jesus has taught us, and practice making good choices. Our focus should be on Jesus; our blue should match the orange. Is this easy or hard? What can make this difficult? Today we re going to look at some small steps that we can take to help us focus more on Jesus. Under 5s Create a spiders web discovery basket, similar to this: https:// thetraindriverswife.com/2014/07/01/spiders-web-discovery-basket/ Invite the children to take turns in focusing on (choosing) an item and trying to get it out of the basket. Remind the children that although things sometimes get in our way (like the web), our focus should always be on Jesus. Prayer Lord Jesus, help us to ignore the things that stop us focusing on you so we can take up our cross and follow you. Amen. Song All That I Am - Rend Collective https://youtu.be/iucg_flh68o Activity Follow the instructions to make a bead cross: http://www.catholicicing.com/ how-to-bead-a-cross-fun-christian-craft/ Ask the children to choose the beads that represent promises that they would like to make, to help them focus on Jesus: Blue = Be Honest, Yellow = Be Generous, Red = Love God, White = Pray More, Green = Forgive Others, Purple = Praise God. Take Home Have a face painting session (obtain parental consent first). When the children walk out of the church they will look different. Remember that when we follow Jesus we live differently because the love of Jesus is shining out of us!
Focus WEEKLY@HOME To learn and share from each other Mark 8:31-38 Focus WEEKLY@HOME To learn and share from each other Mark 8:31-38 Ask your child what they did during church Tell them what you learnt during church Ask your child what they did during church Tell them what you learnt during church Do you find it easy or hard to prioritise? What things are usually at the top of your priority list? Do you find it easy or hard to prioritise? What things are usually at the top of your priority list? How can you make sure that Jesus is a priority in your life? How can you make sure that Jesus is a priority in your life? Family Prayer A little something to do together Take some time to think about those who make Jesus a priority even when it isn t easy to do so. You could take a look at Christian Solidarity World Wide (http://www.csw.org.uk/home.htm) or Open Doors (http:// www.opendoorsuk.org/) to find specific Christians to pray for. Dear Lord, we pray for strength and comfort for Christians in*insert place*. Help them to keep priortising you even though they are treated badly for doing so. Amen Family Prayer A little something to do together Take some time to think about those who make Jesus a priority even when it isn t easy to do so. You could take a look at Christian Solidarity World Wide (http://www.csw.org.uk/home.htm) or Open Doors (http:// www.opendoorsuk.org/) to find specific Christians to pray for. Dear Lord, we pray for strength and comfort for Christians in*insert place*. Help them to keep priortising you even though they are treated badly for doing so. Amen