Creative Christmastide Prayer with Children

I want to share an idea for children's prayer that I saw recently. After Christmas, we happened to pop into the Zionskirche, the church where Dietrich Bonhoeffer taught confirmation classes, while taking a walk. Near the altar, they had the following set-up for spontaneous prayer. My children were immediately drawn to it and so was another child who happened to be in the building. 

There was a nativity scene with a basket full of tea lights and a candlelighter nearby. The children were encouraged to light a candle, say a prayer, and then set the candle among the nativity landscape. This is especially meaningful if the children have spent time on passages like Isaiah 9:2 ("The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light") during Advent. 

The second part of the prayer set-up involved placing a written or drawn prayer in the holes of cinder blocks. My daughter, who can't yet write, drew a picture. 

This type of prayer is great for both younger and older children, because it allows them to express themselves verbally or non-verbally, depending on where the child is developmentally. It also particularly appeals to children who tend towards the spiritual style of symbolism.

I would definitely like to do something 

like this next year! 

Drawing Prayers with Children

I am always trying to find ways to encourage my children to connect with God and pray on their own rather than just at certain "official" times (i.e. before bedtime, family devotions, etc.) with Mommy and Daddy. Several months ago, I read this post at Watkins Every Flavor Beans about drawing prayers with children after Emily had read a book called "Praying in Color" by Sybil MacBeth. Since I know through my work with Godly Play and Montessori that children are intuitive rather than verbal and how drawing pictures can help younger children better express their thoughts, I was intrigued by the idea.

So I hung a large piece of paper in the hallway and wrote "Dear God . . . " on it.  I explained to the my kids that they could draw a picture of anything that they wanted to say to God at any time they wanted to.  For a couple of days, the paper stayed blank, perhaps because my children didn't really understand what it was all about.  Then, I drew a picture of a carrot, because I was particular pleased with some carrots I had bought that day and wanted to thank God for creating such yummy things to eat.  My kids wanted to know right away why I had drawn a carrot. Then, they started drawing their own pictures:

Some of the drawings above are requests, some express thankfulness, and some are there just because the kids thought God would like them. I don't all the reasons or specific prayers behind the drawings, but God does and that is all that matters.: )