Below is a selection of different prayer activities. Perhaps as a family, you could choose a different prayer activity to share in together each day during the week. Some of the activities will be familiar to the children and they may already have their favourites. Some will be new activities. All of the ideas require very little preparation. If you do try out some of the ideas, please share with us how you have got on.
Yours in faith,
Mrs Nickless
Rosary:
Pray together a decade of the rosary. Begin with one Our Father followed by ten Hail Marys and finish with the Glory Be prayer. On Wednesdays we reflect upon the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary so you could reflect upon on the story of the Resurrection (the 1st Glorious Mystery). If you have a children’s picture Bible you could find a picture of the resurrection to focus on. If you do not have any rosary beads you could find ten small objects to use to keep track of the Hail Marys or you could make your own small rosary using ten beads.
Action prayer:
Say together the Lord’s Prayer. Can you think of any actions to accompany the prayer? Share the prayer together again using your new actions.
Would we find it in the Old or New Testament and how do you know?
Why do you think there are some characters that are coloured and others that aren’t?
Why do some characters change colour?
If you were in the story would you be coloured or uncoloured? Why?
Watch it for a second time and discuss what you think the characters might be saying.
Sign of the cross:
Practise making the sign of the cross together. Ensure the children start by toughing their forehead, then heart, school badge (left shoulder) and then right shoulder. Discuss what the cross symbolises (Jesus dying on the cross and we also acknowledge God in the three persons of the Trinity). Why do we make the sign of the cross at beginning an end of each prayer and each Mass?
You will need a pot of soap bubbles (or you could make your own with washing up liquid). You might want to do this outside! Jesus promises to hear our prayers and act on them. Think of someone (or a group of people you want to pray for). Blow a bubble, and say Jesus, be with…(name)Â’ - Watch the bubble as, just like our prayers, it rises and vanishes.
Lego Prayer:
You will need: One Lego or Duplo brick per person Hold your brick. Pray for yourself. Thank God for the things he has given you. Ask Him to bless you and to help you to bless others. Count the bumps on your brick. For each bump on your brick, pray for a different person- friends or family members. Ask God to bless them this week. Find someone who has a different colour brick to you.
Thank God for making each person special. Thank him for the things that are different but special about other people. Pray that we will learn how to celebrate and understand people who are different to us. Find someone with the same number of bumps on their brick as you. Thank God for families and friends and all who care for us. Pray that He will help us to be friends to those who are lonely. Swap your brick with someone. Thank God for the person you swapped with and ask God to bless them this week. Put all of the bricks together and build a structure or tower with them. Thank God for the church and the communities we live in. Pray that He will help us to include others and to help people know that they are loved and valued.
Hands of Prayer:
Draw around one of your hands (you could cut them out too). Either choose 5 people to pray for (one for each finger) or pray for 5 different intentions (see the ideas below). Younger children could draw the people they want to pray for on each finger or write their prayer intentions.
Pray as you go:
Go to the ‘Pray as you go’ website. Use the reflection for Easter Sunday. Listen to this together. Consider dimming the lights and lighting a candle (with adult supervision) to create a sense of calm.
Lectio Divina:
Using the scripture reading for Easter Sunday from your Bible, choose someone to read the passage out loud several times. Focus on a particular word or phrase that stands out to you in the passage. Share the words/phrases with each other. Younger children could draw or colour a picture of the story whilst listening.
· Read: Read the passage out loud.
· Meditate: Read the passage a second time. Listen for a word or phrase that speaks to you.
· Pray: Read the passage a third time. Reflect on how God may be speaking to you through that word or phrase.
· Contemplate: Read the passage a fourth time. Reflect on how God may be calling you to act through the word or phrase that spoke to you.
· Act: Close with your own prayer of gratitude and response to God’s invitation.
Write your own prayers (you could put on some quiet music whilst writing the prayers). Share the prayers that have been written. Consider dimming the lights and lighting a candle (with adult supervision) to create a sense of calm. You could say or sing the following response ‘hear our prayer, hear our prayer, God of mercy hear our prayer.’
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