I was given this wonderful book to read, Offering the Gospel to Children by Gretchen Wolff Pritchard. I was so drawn to her idea of creating bible play sets for our kids, but they are hard to find and can be expensive. I began to wonder if I could create our own play sets!
I shared my ideas and was met with so much enthusiasm by the Jacob Well's kid's community. There was a big need for things the kids could hold and touch and play with!
We started by creating story sets for Daniel in the Lion's Den.
After sharing the story in different ways each week, we sent the kiddo's off to workshops, one of which was story telling. We handed out our little play sets, in baskets, to groups of kids and then guide them in retelling the story in their own words.
The things we heard were so beautiful! And so funny! The kids all had different ways of telling their stories, and they made so many discoveries and connections for themselves.
One little girl laid Daniel and the King on the prayer blanket together at the end of her story. I asked what they were doing. I thought maybe they were sleeping. She informed that they were praying together!
Love it!
Other kids put their faces in the dens they had just made and got a sense of what Daniel must have felt like. "It's dark in here!" "These stones are so cooooold!"
My personal favorite was some of the conversations I overheard between the lions and Daniel! "Don't cry Daniel. I'll hug you."
Ps. You can flip the lions. They have a hungry side and tame side. :D
This month we will be presenting Jonah and the Whale. And these sets promise to be just as great for the kids as Daniel!
I'm hoping to create a tutorial for each set, so that other faith communities and families can create them, too! And I'm actually really excited about starting on Jesus sets, which I will also be glad to share!
Praying we can encourage each other with creativty for the kids!
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