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Easter Countdown Calendars

Easter Countdown Calendar – Godventure – A calendar with stories of Jesus and stickers to count down through Lent.

Lent Prayer Garden – Hope and Ginger – A calendar aimed at slightly older children than the one from Godventure, who already know the Easter story. There are still stickers and an opportunity to pray each day.

Shrove Tuesday

The Big Pancake Party Church Urban Fund

Pancake Prayers Godventure

Shrove Tuesday ideas Roots

Pancake Party Resource Scripture Union

Ash Wednesday

A great resource for early years groups from Diddy Disciples.

What is Ash Wednesday? video for young children from the Church of England

Ash Wednesday Liturgy Prayers & Craft Flame

Ash Wednesday Collective Worship 2 SPCK Assemblies

Prayer for Ash Wednesday

Hot Cross Bun Demonstration

Claire Nichols (Children and Families Worker from Uffculme) aka Exeter Diocese’s Mary Berry has made this video step-by-step guide of how to make the perfect Hot Cross Bun!  Here is a recipe card with the equipment and ingredients you will need to follow along with Claire at home.  We have made this pack of activities for you to do whilst your buns are proving to explore the Easter story. We have heard of some churches planning on gifting ingredients packs with recipe cards to their communities as an Easter gift. What a lovely idea!  Also some churches are planning on going into their local schools to run a cookery event with the children to help them explore the Easter story.  The baking can then lead on to instructional writing in literacy.

Helping with Collective Worship in Schools this season?

Some helpful Worship video resources (Primary / Secondary) are available from the Church of England and can be accessed here.

Find primary aged resources for Lent here and Easter here and

secondary school resources for Lent here and Easter here.

Lent

Lent in a Bag (watch a reflection on the value of Advent Bags)

Lent Around the World focusing on Mardi Gras SPCK Assemblies

Make Room – A child’s guide to Lent and Easter by Laura Alary

From Lent to Lent: A Year of Small Steps.  This is a resource to help us take a journey of small steps to become greener in our daily lives and help us to grow our awareness of how we can protect God’s creation.  This document outlines small-easy changes we can make to be more environmentally friendly month-by-month.  Download a pdf here.

Sun Hats & Wellie Boots – Looking for simple activities to explore with children this Lent? Then this booklet is for you! Packed with creative ideas for all ages, this free booklet takes you from Ash Wednesday through to Easter Day.  Exploring Lent with children can be a little challenging, especially when in the past it’s been a time to give something up, but for Catherine Beane, Lent is a journey full of adventure, with so many opportunities to discover God’s blessings along the way.

New Lent Resource – Way Maker from the Archbishop of York Youth Trust – With 6 weeks of content, Way Maker takes pupils on a journey through Lent, reflecting on Jesus’ ministry and his example of being a ‘Way Maker’ and serving others.  The 6 sessions help pupils to explore what it means to be: servant hearted, compassionate, accepting, bold, forgiving and a light in the darkness.  It helps pupils consider what these examples mean for their own lives and the practical actions they can take to become way makers in their community.  This resource can be used in the classroom or in collective worship.  Watch the introduction video to the resource here to find out more.

Engage Worship Resurrection People Resources

Engage Worship Lent Resources

A Resources to make Prayer Stations for Lent

The Church of England Live Lent for Children Booklet gives a fun daily action to help children and their families explore how we can live well together, as well as a weekly reading and prayer. Each week follows a different thread through the many stories of justice in the Bible to explore how God brings justice, wholeness and salvation to all. The booklet is supported by a wide range of free digital resources.  Click here to access

Colouring sheets to buy Illustrated Ministry

Family Lent Ideas Flame

Two Paper based activities 40 days of Lent Muddy Church 

Lent Play & Pray Stations for Under 5s Spiritual Child network

Lent Pinterest Debbie Hill

Lent Pinterest 2 BDBE Inspire 

Collection of Lent Ideas The Reflectionary 

40 Nature activities for Lent for young children Sunhat and Wellie Boots

Rejoice in Hope Create a household plan for Lent  Sacraparental

Jesus In the Wilderness SPCK (with video and PP slide links)

This article suggests 10 fun, creative ways for families and children to engage in a dynamic spiritual journey leading up to Easter.

This delightful book is an easy read and contains lots of simple, spiritual activities for Lent and Easter – not complicated and all aimed at helping you cultivate meaningful moments during Lent and Easter.

Easter and Lent Outside

From Sun Hats & Wellie Boots: Dotty the Donkey is back with a brand new outdoor trail for Easter! Following the same format as Dotty’s Christmas adventure, this interactive trail takes children through the key events of Holy Week with a range of engaging activities to explore.  Designed for use in churchyards & other outdoor spaces, this trail needs no prep or extra materials, it can simply be printed out & used straight.

In Search of Easter is a trail-based treasure hunt for children and families, using a series of videos and activities to encourage conversation and help crack a code.  Clue posters offer activities and QR codes for accessing videos, as the groups explore the local area.  It is a fun activity to help children and their families explore the Easter story and consider who Jesus really is.

This is a lovely Easter Scavenger hunt to be set up at home to show children parts of the Easter story and remind them that Jesus’ love never ends. Encourage families to use this hunt on Easter morning and share photos of the hunt in action on social media.

Muddy Church have a whole host of trails available for use including: Barefoot Sensory Trails, a window egg hunt, a trial for Palm Sunday, Forty Finds for Lent (40 things for children to spot in the natural world. A nice activity for the Easter holidays?), and much, much more. Here is a video round up of the Muddy Church resources.

Wonder Walks Scottish Bible Society

Easter trail from Foundation Stones Resources (TatH)

Holy Week Activities Easter Explorers Blackburn Diocese of Education

Nature Easter Eggs Sprouting Wild Ones

Easter Amble trail resource faithinkids

Why not encourage people on their daily exercise walk to try this this Easter scavenger hunt from Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education?

Easter

A collection of resources from Together@Home

Go Team All Things Lent and Easter

A Bible Chat Mat for families to use at home over Easter: It’s Easter!

Coventry Diocese – From the excitement of Palm Sunday to fear and sadness as Jesus is arrested and killed and then joy at his resurrection. The Easter story of a rollercoaster of emotions. Delve into the story and jump up with your own thoughts and ideas.  Includes resources for home, collective worship, services/small groups and a community trail.

A really useful collection of resources for in-person and online outreach to families, children, and young people at Easter.

Lena from St Matthias Church, Torquay has produced some super Godly Play sessions for YouTube: ‘King Jesus’ for Palm Sunday, the ‘Mystery of Easter and the ‘Faces of Easter’ on Easter morning.

Bible Society Resources – many including: Wonder Walks, The Greatest Miracle Of All booklet and Pop-Up Easter service, The In-between Time group/family resources and the Pop-Up Pentecost service.

LecDeck, year-round Lectionary based resource includes good ideas for Easter discussion starters with young people, available as cards and app.

Here Comes Easter assembly SPCK – How is Easter celebrated around the World?

Faith in Kids EASTER Resources: 23 excellent Easter options to choose from on the website; resources for use in church, school and at home.  Easter lessons and assemblies, family devotions and Sunday materials, community outreach ideas and an Easter bake along.

Diocese of York have created an ‘Exploring Easter’ – This flexible resource is designed to be used in a variety of ways by churches and schools. For each session there are a variety of resources available.

Easter Gardens

Easter Gardens (various designs) Spiritual Child Network

Would you like an Easter Garden but aren’t green fingered? Here’s the No Grow Easter Garden.  This is a fun activity to do with your children of any age, chatting about what to include and why.

Gillian (Children and Families worker from Fremington) has produced this wonderful series of videos enabling children to build an Easter Garden bit by bit, a part a day, during Easter week.

Ideas from Sun Hats & Wellie Boots

Palm Sunday

A Bible Chat Mat for Palm Sunday

Claire’s Nichols (Children and Families worker from Uffculme) has produced this wonderful Bears and Prayers Palm Sunday session.  Please encourage people to subscribe to her YouTube channel to see her regular Bears and Prayers and Bible Story Club videos.

Scroll down this page to find Diddy Disciples Palm Sunday resources.

Palm Sunday in Rocks Video Patti Rokus

The Clipclop Beat Song -Palm Sunday Bob Hartman and Sam Hargreaves

Palm Leaf Prayers for children to colour for Palm Sunday from Sun Hats and Wellie Boots

Holy Week

Claire’s Nichols (Children and Families worker from Uffculme) has produced this Holy Week Bears and Prayers session.

Holy Week Easter Story Lego Brick Challenge

The Rev’d Jo Wetherall, the Children and Families Officer from the Diocese of Gloucester, has produced this lovely Godly Play retelling for Holy week.

Reflections through Paintings Holy Week Imaginor

Bethan Fogell, Youth and Children’s Work Adviser from the Diocese of Portsmouth, has produced a fantastic holy week resource called journey to the cross.  Download it from this page and share with families so they can mark Holy Week together in their homes.

Holy week at home from the Diocese of York 

Godventure – Holy Week box

Good Friday

Good Friday for under 5s from Parenting for Faith

This is a short video of Traci Smith offering families a way to talk about Good Friday with children. It’s one of six videos outlining simple faith practices at home.

The Crucifixion in Rocks Video Patti Rokus

New Beginnings with Jesus at Easter assembly BRF

A 4 minute video – Why is Good Friday called Good Friday? The meaning of Easter for children and families

Easter Sunday

Easter Resurrection in Rocks Video Patti Rokus

For Schools…

Easter in a Box Bristol Schools Connection For children to look at 5 scenes in the Easter story through the lens of creating a movie and is a way of churches engaging with their local schools.

PopUK is offering schools free resources to help them with their teaching of the Easter story – Palm Sunday, Good Friday & Easter Sunday.  The engaging songs & teaching videos help children explore and understand the central themes of Easter.  To access you need to register – this is free.  Each song is taught by a tutor with easy-to-learn actions.  The lesson videos are to be used in sequence, giving children an understanding of the timeline of events.  Register and access the song bank here for a range of free songs and accompanying resources about specific festivals, and to reinforce the ethos and values of your school.

Easter Crafts

A video on using playdoh to explore the Easter story. Flame: Creative Children’s Ministry: Play Dough Mats

Bead and Clay Crosses That Artist Woman

Pinterest Lent & Easter Messy Church

U5s Easter Crafts Let Their Light Shine

Easter Pinterest Debbie Hill

Shaving foam marbling for Easter Eggs Messy Church

Easter bracelet Engage Worship

The Craft Train

Baker Ross have some lovely Holy week craft supplies

Have fun sharing the Easter story using easy-to-make puppets

Easter Telling the Story / Films and Animations

Printed and digital resources are available from Lifewords to help you share the Easter story with your church and community.

Godventure: toys to tell the Easter story 

Easter Story cards Flame Creative

Sensory story talk and activity Flame Creative

Resurrection Eggs Spiritual Child Network

Interactive Holy Week Building Faith

The Easter Donkey God Who Speaks

The story of Easter beautifully told by the children of Christ Church Tunbridge Wells.

The picture story book, The Story of Easter by Alexa Tewkesbury, is  good for younger children.

Jesus Died For Me? is a poetic retelling of why Jesus died, how he rose from the dead and how he did it all for us. It features stunning line illustrations for children to colour in while reflecting on the words.  There is a downloadable resource pack designed to help you easily and effectively incorporate the Jesus Died For Me? book and animation into your activities with children this Easter!  Your FREE pack will include: Suggestions for using Jesus Died For Me? at your Easter celebration event (for children aged 8 to 11); A Jesus Died For Me? group session outline (aimed at children aged 5 to 11, with suggestions for including under-5s); A Jesus Died For Me? assembly outline (for children aged 8 to 11); A PowerPoint to compliment your event / activities

Jerusalem Free Download Go Chatter

The Easter Story Video J.John

The Easter Poem Video Bob Hartman

Easter Song -Remember Me! Friends and Heroes

The Christian Story of Easter

The Easter story in sand

The Story of Easter (Jesus’ Sacrifice)

Animated the Easter Story

The crucifixion of Jesus

The Easter Story told from Palm Sunday to Easter Day using pictures, music and puppets.  A simple but effective way of getting a good overview of the whole Holy Week story.

Dave the Donkey is a fun take on the story of Jesus, told from the perspective of an old donkey who was there when Jesus was born and a younger donkey who carries Jesus into Jerusalem.

The Way of the Cross is a simple telling of the Easter passion story, using the stations of the cross as a structure. It’s not gruesome, and very suitable for young children.

An excellent 4 minute Animation of the Easter Story using Lego

Toddler Resources

This is a super Easter Toddler service which you could share with your networks created by Claire Nichols (Children and Families worker from Uffculme).

Toddler crafts from Happy Toddler Playtime

Mainly Music – Are you wondering how to bring the MESSAGE of Easter into your toddler group environment?  Using the song and story of 5 Little Ducks (a modern parable), or the story of This Big, This Much, each package provides you with THREE sessions. Each session plan includes prompts for Circle Time and the Craft Activity. You’ll also find in this package three songs you can use for the sessions and generally for your group. Each pack contains five copies of the book ensuring you use one for reading and four to give away to families at Easter.  You’ll receive Session Plans, with suggestions for three sessions focusing on the message of Easter, Craft Activity suggestions for each session, Three song files (5 Little Ducks: 5 little ducks, Where is Thumbkin?, Skinnimarinki) (This Big, This Much: What shall we do when we all go out?, Thank You God, Skinnimarinki), Five copies of the book, 5 Little Ducks or This Big, This Much.  Click here to buy.

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Send A Cow have a harvest celebration youth climate action resource to learn about the Bible and support a family in Africa. Click here.

All things Harvest have creative ideas for celebrating harvest at home or church, Click here.

Young Church Mag have produced a harvest edition with word searches, colouring activities and prayers for children available to print here.

Sun Hats & Wellie Boots have created an autumnal Bible-based trail for children all about scarecrows!  Read more and find out how to set up a trail in your parish.

John Hardwick has produced a Harvest Messy Church Online Celebration. It is a 20 minute Family Celebration including: 1. Charlie the cheeky Monkey Puppet Introduces Harvest (Juggling Fruit); 2. A Little Kids Song; 3. Simple Harvest Illustration; 4. Feeding 5000 Song and Bible Story; 5. Harvest Song – Keep Growing!  Watch and share with your community.

The Church of England’s Harvest Festival Service celebrates God’s creation with calls for climate change action. It is led by the Bishop of Ripon with contributions from farmers from the Diocese of Leeds.

Take a listen to the Faith in Kids podcast on Harvest. It talks about cultivating thankful homes and hearts. It includes practical tips for how to pray at home as a family.

Harvest themed Bible Chat Mat from the Diocese of Bath & Wells

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Over the years many parishes have held light parties in October bringing light and joy to many families. As an adaption, you could host a ‘Light Trail’, it is a simple way to invite families in your community to follow a trail of light around your neighbourhood, reflecting on the light of Christ in a gentle, fun and accessible way. It is perfect for sharing with Sunday School, Children’s Groups and Messy Church Families.

Create up to 10 simple light stops in windows or gardens to bring fun and joy in the darkness. All you need to do: 5 or 10 households in a walkable distance from each other create a light display in a front window or garden, using the simple templates. Each light stop links to a Bible verse.

Use the template to create a downloadable booklet, and invite families to take part. In the resource: All the templates you will need to create a customisable light trail A draft risk assessment for you to customise A ‘how to stay safe on your light trail’ (PDF) All the information you need to get going.

To get the resource: Contact Emma Sargeant at emmas@cofebirmingham.com

A Pinterest board of craft ideas

Ideas from the BRF

Gift ideas for teens to make

A whole compilation of craft and card ideas on this site

Mothering Sunday Resources from Home for Good

Today is about You Free video from Go Chatter

Mothering Sunday Resources from the Mothers’ Union

U5s Mothering Sunday Card  Let Their Light Shine

Decorate a Votive Hearts and Crafts

Salt Dough Candle Holders Learning and Exploring through Play

Mothering Sunday Pinterest Debbie Hill

Mothering Sunday Special People Assembly  SPCK

The Children’s Society has released a free Mothering Sunday resource for churches

Nick Harding has written this prayer for Sunday 27 March, fourth Sunday of Lent:

Loving, caring, and nurturing God, we know your love in our lives,
and we give thanks for all that your love means.
We thank you for mothers who have loved and cared,
nurturing their children and covering them in hope and protection;
Giving them confidence, hope, and faith.
We seek your help for all mothers who, for whatever reason, feel they failed,
and did not care and nurture as they hoped;
Give them a will to seek forgiveness and wholeness in you.
We seek your help for all who were not mothered well,
and whose experience of being loved is limited and mixed with pain;
Give them security, vision and healing.
We thank you for those who have taken on responsibility for children,
through fostering and adoption, support and projects;
Give them the desire to help the young through their dark times of memory and pain.
Loving, caring, and nurturing God, we know your love in our lives,
and we give thanks for all that your love means. Amen

Telling the Story
Lego Events of Pentecost (stop go motion) BHCM Schools team 2 minute video
Blowing Wind & Tongues of flame Song Rhyming Bible (tells the story of Pentecost)
Animated video of Acts 2 (read from bible) Catholic Kids Media
Godly Play style Storytelling
The Journey of the Early Church in 3 and a half minutes Bible Society
Story of Pentecost Re:quest
Reflective Story of Pentecost BRF

The Power Cut is the final Cheeky Pandas session and it’s based around Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:1–4.  Watch here.

Prayer & reflection ideas
Thy Kingdom Come-Bright ideas for Churches -lots of ideas based on theme of flames of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and related imagery of light.
Thy Kingdom Come-Bright ideas for Families At Home – creating a space at home to remember to pray for your ‘5’ and ideas to adapt for groups
Imaginor Painting – In conjunction with Acts 2 Imaginor template
Looking at colour and movement, using template to pick out word Joy or design your own template in this style with a different word.
Pentecost Lego Youtube
Prayer Stations for Church BuildFaith

Assorted craft and session ideas
Pentecost Ideas Debbie’s Pinterest (different categories)
Pentecost ideas to craft, pray Flame creative
Simple Make-Gyrocopters  The Reflectionary
Games and Craft ideas Children and Youth.co.uk
Pentecost wind twirlers Danielle’s Place
Colour In sheets  What’s in the Bible
Lots of ideas from Going 4 Growth
Pentecost twizzle stick  Flame Creative
Make an Origami dove Youtube video Tavin
Candle decorated in different languages Sunhat and Wellie Boots
Pentecost Pinterest Messy Church
Pentecost Pinterest for Messy Church Mina Munns
Lord’s Prayer Using Rainbow Point Kids Video idea for using the colours of the rainbow for praying the Lord’s prayer during Thy Kingdom Come
Colouring in (flame) Illustrated Ministry

Trails
Pentecost Trail Muddy Church
Pentecost trail 2 (indoors) Spiritual Child   Designed for school classes but can be adapted
Ideas for an outdoor trail Goldthorpe Community Church
Find the symbols trail  Messy Church

Service ideas
Pop Up Interactive All Age Service Bible Society
Pentecost in a Parcel Flame Creative

For Schools…
Understanding the symbolism of the dove  SPCK
Journey into Pentecost  and Image files Shahne Vickery
Class assembly-tell the Pentecost story using percussion instruments BRF
Seven signs of the spirit-a reflective story BRF
Pentecost and the Holy Spirit (using candles) SPCK
You won’t believe what happened at this Pentecost party! BBC
Pentecost and the apostles BBC