Click any image above to download your pack pdf

Step back into the wonderful days when we all played card games and relive the fun of Top Trumps with our very own version “Hope Tumps”

Featuring all the characters from the story of the first Christmas – including some you might not expect! You can download our game FREE and print it onto card (back to back printing will ensure they look best), cutting each card out to form a pack. Then give the packs away to your families to play at home over the Christmas holidays. 

This game is a great age leveller and so a wonderful way to encourage intergenerational connections in your church over advent. You could give out packs to your congregation and have a “Trump-Off” competition at the end of a service. ..be careful how you explain that title though, you could end up with a very different take on how to win!  

 

Click the first image above to download the Escape Room pack with instructions

Halloween can be a tricky time to navigate in the Church, but we believe that it is a prime opportunity to speak light and life into the lives of our Children and Families. Holding a Light Party gives your church family the opportunity to stand out from the rest of the community and provide an alternative to the horror and fear that will dominate most of the other parties and events at the end of October.

To help you, we have created a Light Party Escape Room – a set of challenges for your children/families to complete before ending with party food and fun as the prize. The challenges are pitched for children aged 7-12, but you could have family groups competing – as long as you explain to adults that they are only allowed to give support and guidance when children are stuck, they are not to give the answers away!

The message of this escape room is that we are called to shine the light of God’s love in this dark world.

The aim is to get participants to read Bible verses that focus on Jesus being the Light of the World, trusting in God and victory over darkness.

Practically the aim is to light up a darkened room gradually. This happens each time a team completes a challenge – once each challenge is solved they should be instructed to turn on a light source of some description for example a battery-powered candle. What you choose to bring the light will depend on your location and budget.

We would love to see any images of the escape room in action, so if you do use this resource please do send photos to cfm@ireland.anglican.org

Click the image above to try the trail yourself, or click the poster to download the explainer pdf and QR code to give to the families you work with

It is an inescapable fact that we live on a very wet island! But sure, it is part of our charm, and without it we could never have held on to the beautiful title of “The Emerald Isle”

However, as beautiful as the green fields are, when you are stuck inside with even just one young child it can seem as though the rain is some kind of sploshy prison guard keeping you from the outside world!

So, to help restore the balance, and reclaim the fun when there is no sun, we have created an interactive virtual rain trail which you can share with your families. It is aimed at adults with children aged 2-8. It could also be used on the whiteboard in school if the teacher looks at the challenges ahead of time to prepare enough resources for the whole class.

After the opening page viewers can choose to explore one of three rainy options: Puddles, Rain or Rainbows.

Each section begins with a fun fact, then viewers can choose either an indoor challenge or an outdoor challenge.

These challenges are simple activities grown ups and children can do together. They use items commonly found around the house and help children to explore and use different skills.

Once they have read the challenge there is a brief Bible verse and thought which connects with the chosen element.

Viewers are then taken back to the choice page where they can choose a new option to read.

Click the image above to download the pack

This is a new resource you can give to your families or school, offering a fun alternative to the pesky Elf!  

Hide and Speak is an advent challenge that tells the whole Christmas story day by day. Every day from December 1st adults hide the relevant card along with a treat of choice – chocolate, fruit or whatever the child loves. The child seeks out the card, reads the verse and enjoys the treat. You could even involve the Elf in the hiding if you wanted!

The cards can then by stuck or hung up on a wall or the fridge so that by December 24th the whole story can be read together.

Download the full pack by clicking any image above. 

If you are based in a rural parish, chances are you have some fantastic farming families in your congregation. Whilst we celebrate their hard work in our Harvest Festivals we wanted to find a way to engage all our children and help them see God in the farm’s everyday life no matter the time of year.

Whether it’s tractors, sheep, beef or tillage each session brings God’s word to life through games, discussions, crafts and food.

These sessions can be used in Sunday Clubs, Intergenerational Church Services, School lessons or Holiday Clubs – however you wish!

There’s Stock Judging, Machine Making and even Bull Building!

Click on the image of the pot to download the pdf

It’s hard to escape the little fella and his pot of gold during St Patrick’s Day, but how can we turn the wee man into a helpful teaching tool ?! 

Well, we’ve had a go at least! Based on the verse Luke 12:34 

“Where your treasure there your heart will be also.” This resource uses the pot of gold and the coins to help teach about what is truly of value.

Asking the question what things are most important / special to you? It could be toys, sports, tv, devices, make up, animals etc. The children take a coin for each thing they love and write it down, then stick it on the pot of gold.

We can then explain that while these things are all good in their own way, Jesus taught us that God’s love is far more precious than anything on earth and that we should make sure we don’t allow the things of earth distract us from spending time with God. His love is a far greater treasure and lasts for eternity.

Taking a simple old game and making it new! This game requires little prep and can be done even with just one child.

Having read the nativity story, place a variety of characters from the nativity either ornaments or printed, place them on a tray and allow the children to view them, touch them and identify who is who. Then cover with a cloth so none can be seen and without showing the children, remove a character. Lift the cloth and ask the children to guess who is missing.

When they have identified the missing character chat together about what you each know about them – what part did they play in Jesus’ arrival? Wonder together about how this character would have felt when Jesus was born, how did their life change? Return the character to the tray and go again until you have chatted about all the characters on the tray.

Click the image to download the pdf.

This is a noisy and very active game that needs a good bit of space – can be played inside or outside. Can be used as part of the teaching about Pentecost and the wind of the spirit blowing through the room. Acts 2

Arrange the chairs or have the children sit on the floor in a circle, facing the middle.

An adult stands outside the circle and calls out “A great wind blows for everyone who….”, fills in the blank with a statement that will affect some of the group (see ideas below). Anyone who is affected must stand up and find another chair which is at least 2 chairs away from their own.

If a large group of children stand up, the adult should quickly remove one of the chairs from the circle as soon as the kids stand up and begin moving. Any child who cannot find a chair moves outside the circle and helps the adult come up with ideas for the next “great wind blows”.

Here are some ideas:

• A great wind blows for everyone who has a little brother
• A great wind blows for everyone who has a big sister
• A great wind blows for everyone who has been to France
• A great wind blows for everyone who has a dog
• A great wind blows for everyone who ate cornflakes for breakfast this morning
• A great wind blows for everyone who likes (celebrity)

This game works even if you only have two people!

You need two large pieces of card / newspaper / paper plates per team. Make sure they’re not too slippy if playing on a wooden floor.

Each player must race to the turning point and back, stepping only on their newspapers.
They step on one, lay the other in front of them step on it, move the first forward, and steps on it and so on until the first person reaches the finish line. If more than two are playing then once the racer reaches the finish line they run back with their paper and gives it to the next person in their team – first team to complete all members running is the winner.

Teaching points – run with endurance the race set out for us. Hebrews 12 v 1-2