Jesus Without Language

 

This a different sort of play post. This lesson is designed to be more theatrical and exploratory than the others and so here are a few free form play ideas for you to work with. These ideas are mostly designed to be used after the story.

 

Cornflour goo mixture – mix cornflour (sometimes known as corn powder, a very fine white powder) and warm water to create a colloid which you can use as a liquid and a solid. If you fill a seed tray with the mixture then you can walk on the ‘water’ (jumping is even easier) as long as you do so with conviction and speed, just like with Peter, walking knowing God’s supporting you means you can do it, when you stop you sink! Alternatively you can fill a baking dish and place it on a towel and let the children play using their fingers or if you have them – dolls. It’s a very safe mixture, often used in nurseries. If you want to you can dry it out after use for storage but it does tend to smell after a couple of uses.

Role play – as we are building a ship for the story add some nets or fishing rods (small sticks with string) and let the children play act being on the sea. For most children being on a boat is a quite unusual and sometimes exploring the location is a great and simple way to reinforce the story.

Water ribbons – if you have a large space this can be quite popular. give the children long strips of tissue paper, or fabric scrap ribbon attached to cardboard or plastic rings. encourage them to act out the storm, how would the waves and the wind have behaved. using a stormy classical piece of music is a good auditory way to do this.

Parachute story – this is simply one of the easiest things to do with a parachute. Sit the children round the edge of the parachute holding the sides with both hands (don’t use handles). Put a toy boat on the parachute and get the children to make the storm, starting with small waves, it won’t take a lot of movement. you can make the boat move quite easily round the parachute. After some time remind the children that Peter walked on the water, Jesus called Peter and he came, when you call somebody they can go walking on the ‘water’ and try and reach the boat. Use the words “come on then” followed by a name to imitate the story.

Sail away– Found a lovely idea the other day for having a simple boat race. You just need a tray of water, a couple of straws and some origami boats. fold the boats in advance if you have younger children and then get them to race by blowing through the straws. I would change it a bit and use wheels, either by tacking the boats to small toy cars or using something like lego. That way you can avoid the water and even play across a classroom table.