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Miscellaneous Ideas, Activities, and Resources for the Lord's Prayer

Post your Sunday School miscellaneous ideas, activities, and resources for the Lord's Prayer.

  • Please include a scripture reference, supply lists, sources, suggested age range. age modification, etc. 
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Lord's Prayer - Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 11:1-13, Our Father, who art in heaven, Kingdom come, How to pray, etc.


Children's Fellowship Time

Posted by Neil MacQueen

The following lesson ideas come from my church's children's fellowship lesson time which is taking on the Lord's Prayer and prayer in general over a five-week period. Hopefully, you'll find many ideas in it adaptable for Rotation. <>< Neil

Goals for our Lesson Time:

  1. To make sure each of our kids has a working memory of the Lord’s Prayer.
  2. To teach them about the meaning of the Prayer.
  3. To encourage their own prayer life.


In addition to this page, another page is provided to all team leaders, worship leaders and lesson helpers that briefly discusses the Lord’s Prayer, kid-friendly, age-appropriate definitions of concept and vocabulary, and suggested discussion questions for use during the following times.


Week 1: Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer

  • Fric & Frac “Reader’s Theater” introduction to the prayer by Neil and Robin MacQueen.
  • Show the video clip of Jesus teaching the Prayer to his disciples (Matthew Video in “Visual Bible” Series).
  • Discussion in small groups about what various words mean. “Basic vocabulary check.”
Posted by Chris Himes -
Memory and vocabulary: I wrote portions of the prayer on large index cards and then had the class put the prayer in order. We did this several times (they were having fun!) and then talked about different parts of the prayer and the meanings of words.



Week 2: Prayer Tree

Prayer is asking and working for God’s kingdom to come.

  • Discussion in teams about praying for others. How prayer sensitizes us to act in his name.
  • Creation of prayer concerns, both local, personal and global on ribbons which will be tied to a tree outside.

The hanging of prayer ribbons on trees is known in many cultures and has been adopted by many churches. The American tradition of hanging yellow or red/white/blue ribbons on trees is part of this cross-cultural phenomenon.

Posted by Neil MacQueen -
Our golden ribbons are still flying on the tree outside the sanctuary.  Look great.

Posted by Chris Himes -
We talked about the different kinds of prayers and then wrote prayers on plastic surveyor's tape and tied them outside to a tree.



Week 3: Prayer Rocks!

Prayer is making time for a personal relationship with God.

  • People need to make time in their life for prayer. (Discussion in team groups. Notes to be provided).
  • Making of “large pillow prayer rock” as a reminder to pray. (Will include names so that we can pray for each other). The Prayer rock is a large smooth flat-ish stone on which we can put stickers, draw symbols, and everyone can sign their name on one side. It goes on a child's pillow. I've been told there is a POEM that goes with it.
The poem is included in the Art Lesson by Carol Hulbert, FUMC using Prayer Rocks and includes a printable version, as well.



Week 4: Prayer Cookies

Prayer is “daily bread” to our souls. Prayer is a way God reminds us of our obligations to others and to ourselves.

  • After team discussion, kids will create fortune cookie prayer slips, place in fortune cookie dough and bake. Finished fortune cookies will be separated into bags marked with dates when they are to be opened. One will be the date of Thanksgiving. Another will contain prayers for self, and another, prayers for others.
  • It will be announced that after worship, students can meet with a prayer adult to work on memorizing the Lord’s Prayer before they leave that evening.


Week 5: Wrap-up Party on the Lord’s Prayer

Olympic Relays featuring GAMES that illustrate a phrase in the Lord’s Prayer. On this evening too, students can individually recite Lord’s Prayer to an adult prayer partner and receive a special token of appreciation for trying their best to remember the prayer.

During Kids Worship Time we'll conduct various styles of prayer both as an act of worship and demonstration. We'll also sing the Lord's Prayer and other prayer related songs.


Interactive Prayer Banner
Neil MacQueen 

We just did several weeks on the Lord's Prayer in our Wednesday Fellowship. Coming up with different words: What could you say other than "hallowed"? The kids really responded to this activity.

WISH we had followed it up with an idea I did in another church where we wrote their "new" words individually on construction paper (one phrase at a time) and made on a huge long wall display and then each kid used their own color of yarn to create their own personalized "yarn line" through the phrase choices. The large display and yarn allowed others to see which word combinations you chose. The yarn really helped them get into it.


Prayer Wall
Julie Burton

For each type of prayer ("ACTS") I had the definition and had a different color paper behind it. I also had sticky notes that were the same colors so people could post the prayers in the appropriate areas.

I also had meditations that I pulled together from various resources.

Prayer of Adoration: This is deep love and admiration for God which inspires us to express praise and worship. This means we joyfully accept God's love and love God back. (I used yellow paper-a bright, happy color!)

Prayer of Confession: Sin throws a roadblock in our relationship with God. Confession means acknowledging our sins and asking God's forgiveness. When we confess our sins, we can be confident of God's loving response. (blue)

Prayer of Thanksgiving: Thanksgiving is the discipline of recalling the good things God does for us and expressing our gratitude joyfully. As we grow in faith, we can learn to be thankful in good times as well as difficult times by seeing and acknowledging God's power at work. (green)

Prayer of Supplication: Supplication means asking God to meet our needs and the needs of others. God knows our needs before we ask but still wants us to ask. Why? Because when we ask, we acknowledge our dependence on God's provision. Asking places us in a humble relationship with our all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful God. Supplication is seeking God's will. (pink)

By the end of Lent, there were many prayers on the wall, and I heard lots of compliments. I plan to do this again, plus other things that will enhance the congregation's spirituality.

Last edited by CreativeCarol
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Poster Board Tool - Learning/Understanding the Lord's Prayer

For the Lord's Prayer, I took two large pieces of posterboard and put them together to form one large poster (a left side and a right side).

On the right side, I printed the Lord's Prayer -- using debts as is our tradition but you could change this to sins or trespasses.

For the left side of the poster, I printed out -- in 20th century parlance -- what each part of the Lord's Prayer really means. I got this interpretation from a Web site that I liked.

For the modern printouts, I attached velcro to these (and placed corresponding velcro on the posterboard) so that as we went recited the Lord's Prayer, the kids would stop and read the "20th century" interpretation and then attach it to the left side of the poster.

I made enough of these large posters for all 4 workshops that we were rotating through so that the kids would recite the prayer and read the interpretations for the four weeks they were rotating through the Lord's Prayer.

They liked reading and interpeting the prayer in this manner. If you'd like my "interpretations" or more information, send me an email.

[This message has been edited by WAM (edited 04-21-2001).]
Post edited for clarity by Exchange Volunteer.


Resources (compiled from this site)

Books / Curriculum

  • Hey, God, Let's Talk! by Charles L. Terrell, Abingdon Press, 0687033772.   I was able to get some wonderful ideas from this!  Another member said, "a great resource!"
  • Jubilation Station The World of the Lord's Prayer published by Cook Ministry Resources, downloadable only product.
  • "Learning the Lord's Prayer" by Phyllis Vos Wezeman and Judith Chase Harris (Active Learning Associates). Very helpful In developing our plans.  (3 resources provided by New Yorker Guest - May 24, 2001.)
  • "Gateways to Worship" suggestion by Anne Camp: Carolyn Brown has written an excellent book called "Gateways to Worship", designed specifically for introducing kindergarten & 1st graders to worship experiences, including the Lord's Prayer. She devotes the six weeks of Lent to taking it apart for them, etc. We have used this material several times with this age group and been happy with the results. We have also incorporated the Lord's Prayer into our closing ritual for all classes, every week. Most people do actually learn the Lord's Prayer that way, and we are not dependant on a single unit for teaching it. But the unit teaching of this prayer does help avoid the "Harold be thy name" mistakes.
  • Cornerstones has ten workshops on the Lord's Prayer.  [Update 2016: In the past year or so, the founders of Cornerstones retired. Their website and materials are no longer available. ] For the Lord's Prayer we used *Bedouin Encampment, Moved by the Spirit, Faith Issues, and Mary and Martha's Bed & Breakfast. At the end of each month I give the leaders an evaluation and suggestion sheet to fill out so they can let me know what changes they would make to their workshop if we teach them again. In general, everyone says the lessons are too hard for the younger children. I suggest that you go over each workshop and see what may need to be changed. A lot of our leaders are quite adept at adapting the lesson plan for the younger children. However, the newer lessons that are being written have adjustments for the younger children. Also, a lot of the supplies needed for Cornerstones workshops need to be secured well in advance (or ordered from someplace else) because Cornerstones material is older curriculum, and some items cannot even be purchased or obtained anymore. So again you need to plan for these workshops well in advance and maybe make changes in the supplies you use. Some of the suggestions I received from the leaders:
    • *Bedouin Encampment: make the holy places more creative, more exciting; Mary & Martha's B&B - have preprinted items to paste in the children's journals; Moved by the Spirit - cutting the footprints from the sponges was difficult. (the leader suggests smaller ones, pre-cut)
  • Covenant People Curriculum (PC-USA) Year 1, Unit 7, provides a five- session study of the Lord's Prayer for children from ages 3/4/5 through Grade 4. We adapted for our local church use.

Anne Camp - posted:

The Lord's Prayer:

The overall purpose of the rotation is to help every student pray the Lord's Prayer confidently and to explore the meaning of various phrases in depth.

Basic Belief: In life and in death, we belong to God.… We trust in God, whom Jesus called Abba, Father. A Brief Statement of Faith, lines 1, 27-28

Beginner's Catechism Question 46. Why do we pray to God? Because we were created to live with God, who desires the prayers of our hearts. Our hearts long for God, for we need God's help and guidance every day. Question 47. What do we do when we pray? When we pray, we adore God, we confess our sins, we give God thanks, and we pray for the needs of others and ourselves. Question 48. How did Jesus teach his followers to pray? He taught them the words of the Lord's Prayer.

Memory Verse: Matt. 6:7-9 7"When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the show-offs do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9Pray then in this way: Our Father …."

Art Workshop:
"listen" and "talk" with great works of art, what prayers do they inspire? explore the overall question of what is prayer; explore "God is like ..." statements

  1. Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.
  2. Deuteronomy 32:11 The Lord was like an eagle teaching its young to fly, always ready to swoop down and catch them on its back.
  3. Isaiah 66:13 The Lord will comfort you like a mother, comforting her child.
  4. Hosea 13:8 The Lord will protect you like a mother bear robbed of her cubs.
  5. Psalm 18: 2 The Lord is my mighty rock, my fortress, my protector, the rock where I am safe, my place of shelter.
  6. Jeremiah 18:6 The Lord has power over me and forms me, just as the potter shapes the clay.
  7. Psalm 103:13 Just as a father is kind to his children, the Lord is kind to all who worship him.

Drama Workshop:
with a partner, say the Lord's Prayer and have one partner be God, answering each phrase (switch); insure that the prayer is not "rote," that each phrase has a lively meaning! We also used "When Do You Talk to God?" a picture/story book that suggests different locations and situations for prayer. Volunteers were asked to pray their own prayers in each situation mentioned.

Computer Workshop:
Life of Christ Lesson 40.
2020 Note: Discovery Interactive’s "Life of Christ" CD.


Puzzles Workshop:
reinforce knowledge and understanding of the Lord's Prayer: used cards to assemble phrases sequentially; used cards again matching activity to pair prayer phrases with contemporary translations

Cooking Workshop:
make pretzels with refrigerated bread sticks; talk about the pretzel as a Lenten food and a reminder to pray; and read "God Speaks to Us in Feeding Stories"

AV Workshop:
illustrate each phrase of the Lord's Prayer on the overhead projector; this was a particularly successful activity: each class completed a wonderful presentation which we then used in children's worship

Exchange Volunteer edited topic title for clarity and added bolding, etc., also moved here to consolidate posts.



Prayer Pals:

DebeNelson - posted:

An idea I've been playing with the last couple of days is Prayer Pals. (I got it from a list-serv in my email)The idea is to connect students with adults in the congregation as prayer pals, getting them together a few times a year in a big group gathering for support. I'm going to add a globe to my storytelling area on Sunday to start the prayer process. For the younger kids, I'll have them take turns each week spinning the globe, stopping on a random place to pray for. Before they take their turn, the older two groups - Middle and High School will be each given a current newspaper and marker. Their task will be to take a few minutes to peruse the newspaper and come up with a prayer concern or thanksgiving from each group. While they are searching the little ones can spin globe and choose their place to pray for. We will have a chalk board and chalk available for the kids to write prayer suggestions on at any time. My goal is to teach prayer, encourage prayer, and then after a few weeks, introduce the prayer pals idea. (I just started at this church) Any suggestions to alterations are welcome, as always!


Memorization:

Janet - posted September 16, 2001

I was hoping our church would be using the rotation model, but they aren't. Today was our first day of Sunday School and the K-3 class was so big I volunteered to teach K-1. I hope to sneak the rotation model in.

Here's my question: Today I learned that one of the goals for the year is to learn the Lord's Prayer. I hate learning by rote and the language of the Lord's Prayer is so difficult. I'd like to do a rotation and help children focus on what the prayer means. Does anyone have any ideas?

One more thing. I was so inspired by the rotation model that I had an idea that we will be using in a few weeks: we will go apple picking! I may focus on Genesis that day or the "give us this day our daily bread" part of the Lord's Prayer. I live across the street from an apple orchard and when I visit it and the trees are full of apples, I really see God's abundance.

Thanks for any help!

Memorization Response

Neil MacQueen - posted September 20, 2001

I used to think memorization was da devil. But then came to realize that all learning starts with what you KNOW (ie, what's in your memory) and that kids like gaining mastery over certain information if presented well.

The problem is HOW the memorization process is handled and how much LIFE APPLICATION you include with them memorization.

Some kids can't memorize as well as others, so leave the candy prizes behind. Reward effort.

As for vocabulary.... I'm not sure most adults fully understand the implications of the Lord's Prayer vocabulary! It's the same thing with the stories we teach kids. There's no way they can fully understand what every word or phrase means. But we teach the story into memory so that the content is there to grow with them as their intellectual and spiritual capabilities grow.   Hope this helps


Rewriting The Lord's Prayer:

Our older kids rewrote the Lord's Prayer last summer

They liked their version so well they actually made a painting to hang in their SS room. They have already requested we keep it and hang it in our Worship Workshop.

I do not remember all of it but it started: Our heavenly Dad we honor and praise your holy name. Help us bring your kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our "Onie" bread. (Onie is an elderly member of our church who makes wonderful bread for the bake sales. Everyone rushes to buy Onie Bread before it is all gone.) I was really struck when the children used Dad. I thought it was awesome. Others actually protested and tried to get the prayer removed from the wall. Anyway just an idea.



Other stories that emphasize the importance of prayer:

Cindy LB - posted August 10, 2002

Our church-wide theme for this year is "Seeking the Lord in prayer". Has anyone used the Prayer of Jabez or other scripture prayers for rotations, other than the Lord's prayer. What about Jesus' prayer in John 17?  Looking for some good stories that really emphasize the importance of prayer. Thanks!!

julie burton  - posted August 19, 2002

How about the story of Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel;Daniel prayed several times a day, refusing to bow down to the edict banning prayer. The Believers Prayer - Acts 4:23-31; Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives - Luke 22:39-45

CreativeCarol - posted September 26, 2003

Jan has posted material on a prayer labyrinth with the Daniel lessons. Look for it at Labyrinth post.

Last edited by Luanne Payne

Different translations of the Lord's Prayer

originally posted by member Janet Chisolm 

 

Lord’s Prayer—Luke 11:2-4
Good News Bible, Today’s English Version

 

Father:
May your holy name be honored;
may your Kingdom come.
Give us this day by day the food we need.
Forgive us our sins,
for we forgive everyone who does us wrong.
And do not bring us to hard testing.

 

 

Lord’s Prayer—Matthew 6:9-13
Good News Bible, Today’s English Version

 

Our Father in heaven;
May your holy name be honored;
may your Kingdom come;
may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need.
Forgive us the wrongs we have done,
as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.
Do not bring us to hard testing,
but keep us safe from the Evil One.

 

 

Lord’s Prayer—Matthew 6: 9-13
The New Oxford Annotated Bible, New Revised Standard Version

 

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.

 

 

Lord’s Prayer—Luke 11
The Message, Eugene H. Peterson

 

Father,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
Lord’s Prayer—Matthew 6
The Message, Eugene H. Peterson

Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

 

 

The Prayer of Our Savior from Many Cultural Traditions
Resources to Lift Up Our Voices
Council of American Indian Ministries

 

Our Father who art in heaven,
Great Spirit, whose teepee is in the sky
and hunting ground is the earth,
Hallowed be Thy name;
All afraid of You and mighty are You called;
Thy kingdom come,
Ruler over storms, over people, and birds,
and beasts, and mountains,
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;
Have Your way over all,
over earthways and skyways;
Give us this day our daily bread;
Find us this day our meat and corn,
that we may be strong and brave;
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;
And put aside from us our wicked ways, as we
put aside the bad of all who do us wrong;
And lead us not into temptation;
And let us not have troubles
that lead into crooked paths;
But deliver us from evil;
But keep everyone in our camp from all danger;
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
For Yours is all that is: the earth and sky,
the streams, the hills, and the valleys, the stars,
the moon, and the sun; all that live and breathe.
Wonderful, Shining Mighty Spirit!

Last edited by Rotation.org Lesson Forma-teer

The Lord's Prayer

"Prayer Panel" Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

In this workshop the children will learn that there are many different ways to talk to God. They will understand that God desires to hear what is on our hearts.  Adults and teens come into the class and the children can ask them questions about prayer.

(See questions listed below)


Supplies List:

  • Pretty paper on which the children can write their prayers. Be sure the paper has been punched to go in their journals.
  • A list of questions for the moderator to ask the guests;
  • a dry erase board and markers (or a poster board with markers);
  • a watch or clock to keep on schedule with the speakers;
  • a bulletin with a meditation prayer printed in it. 
  • Adults willing to be speakers and be questioned about prayer by the kids.


Teacher preparation:

  • Write the Lord’s Prayer on a dry erase board or a poster board.
  • Underline the words that might be confusing for the children.
  • If working with poster board, create strips of paper to tape over the existing words. Have in mind some replacement words in case the children need guidance.
  • If working with a dry erase board, you can just erase and write the new word. Each class will come up with their own list of words.
  • Read through the list of questions that you will be asking the guests.


 Presentation

Opening-Welcome and introductions:

Greet the children and introduce yourself. Remember that you are interacting with a different group of students each week--some may not know you. Wear your nametag and make sure that the children are wearing theirs.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Explain to the children that today they will be learning about prayer. Ask the following questions (Accept any answers. The answers in parentheses are possible answers to help guide them. You may have others to add):

  • Why do we pray to God? (We need God’s help and guidance every day and God wants to know what is on our hearts.)
  • What do we do when we pray? (When we pray, we give God thanks, we pray for the needs of others and ourselves, we adore God, and we confess our sins.)
  • How do you pray? Are there any special prayers that you say at your house?

Explain that Jesus had many people that followed him and listened very carefully to what he was teaching. One day, he taught the people about prayer. He told them that they didn’t need a bunch of fancy words to talk to God. They didn’t even have to have their prayers memorized. They just needed to tell God what was on their hearts. Jesus showed them what he was talking about by saying a prayer for them We call this prayer the Lord’s Prayer. Ask them if they remember hearing this prayer during our worship service? Have them stand up and come look at the prayer that is written on the board. Have someone read it. Explain to them that even though some of the words may look confusing to us, in Jesus’ day these were very simple words. Ask if there are any words that they don’t understand. Together come up with another word or words to replace the difficult word.
For example, art could be is, was, are, and shall ever be; hallowed is holy, awesome, sacred, incredible; thy is your.
After you have explored the Lord’s Prayer, have the children sit down. Tell them that everyone has different ways of praying.

 Today, we will hear from several people about how they pray.

Tell the children that you have several questions that you will be asking each person.

Ask the children if there are any questions that they would like for you to ask the panel members about prayer, making sure you add the children's questions to cards.

Introduce your volunteers.

 After they come in, explain to them that you are learning all about prayer and would like to ask them a few questions.

Refer to the attached list of questions.

Closure:
After all the volunteers leave, ask the children what they learned today. Explain to them that praying is talking to God. Tell them they everyone prays differently because everyone has different things that they want to say to God. Although some people feel more comfortable memorizing prayers and saying them, God loves to hear from us personally. God likes to hear about what we are thinking and what is on our hearts. Tell them that today they will have the chance to write a prayer telling God what is on their hearts.

Journal Time:
You should wrap up the workshop by 10:15 to allow time for journal writing. Explain to the children that today they will have a special journal time. They will need to use their best handwriting so that others can read it. Pass out the special paper. Their journal time today will be writing prayers that will be used during worship. They will be prayers for meditation on the front of the bulletin that are silently read before the service begins. Show them a bulletin that has a prayer printed. Note: The younger children may need some help. Have them say their prayers and write them on another sheet of paper. Have them copy their prayers on their special paper.

Closing:
Have the children stand or sit in a circle. End with a “popcorn” prayer: the teacher starts with a few words and then each child says a few words as it continues around the circle. The prayer continues once or twice around the circle. If no one ends the prayer, then the teacher should end it by thanking God for caring for us and listening to our prayers.

Dismissal:
Have the children help you tidy up the workshop space. Dismiss them with instructions about where they are to go.


References:

  • some suggestions made by the Covenant People curriculum of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

 

Attachment—Questions for Panel Discussion

The following are some suggestions for questions to ask your volunteer panel. They are divided into two different age groups, but you may use any of them at any time. Be sure to watch your time.

Beginners:

  • How old were you when you started praying?
  • Are there any prayers that you have memorized from when you were young?
  • Do you still say these prayers?
  • Does your family pray together?
  • Who says the prayer?
  • When do you pray?
  • What do you pray about?


Primary/Juniors:

  • Do you pray prayers that are memorized or do you just make them up as you go?
  • How do you know what to say when you are praying?
  • Do you pray out loud in front of other people?
  • Who taught you how to pray?
  • Is there a right or wrong way to pray?
  • Do your prayers ever get answered?
  • Do you like to pray?
  • How often do you pray?

 

A lesson originally posted by Jan Marshall, Brookhaven Church

 A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Last edited by Luanne Payne

Forgiveness & Gratitude:This activity came from the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh (secular folks understand the power of forgiveness, too!).

Seeds of Change: Write or draw about something someone did that made you mad or sad. Then rip up the paper and mix it in a seed and dirt mixture to make seed balls.  Plant them and watch them grow, showing how something beautiful can grow from forgiveness.

Idea about demonstrating "how the Spirit can fill us in Prayer" - SCIENCE OR OBJECT LESSON

CONTRIBUTOR: Kirsten Frietag (Moved by volunteer to consolidate topic)

SUMMARY OF LESSON ACTIVITY

Conduct an experiment to blow up a balloon by combining baking soda and vinegar to form a reaction that results in carbon dioxide; discuss how we, like Jesus, can be filled by the Spirit in prayer.

Gather the materials and practice the experiment ahead of time. Many variations of this experiment can be found on the Internet with varying amounts of baking soda and vinegar. Sometimes water is added to the vinegar.

Materials List

  • Balloons
  • Baking Soda, 2-4 Tablespoons
  • 2 Funnels
  • Measuring cup with pouring spout
  • Measuring spoons
  • Newspaper or towels to protect the work surface
  • Soda bottle – clean, empty, single serving size with a narrow neck
  • White Vinegar, 2-4 Tablespoons
  • String to tie the balloon(s) [Optional]

Instructions

Measure and pour two tablespoons of vinegar into the soda bottle. (A funnel will be helpful.)

Place the neck of a clean funnel inside the neck of the balloon. Slowly pour baking soda into the balloon. Remove the funnel.

While being careful not to let any of the baking soda fall into the bottle, carefully stretch the opening of the balloon and attach it to the soda bottle neck. The weight of the baking soda will cause the balloon to hang down the side of the bottle.

Carefully lift up the balloon and allow the baking soda to fall into the bottle, shaking the balloon as needed.

Hold on tightly to the neck and the balloon as the vinegar and baking soda react to create carbon dioxide, and the gas produced begins to blow up the balloon.

When the balloon is nearly full, remove the balloon and tie a knot in the end. Or tie a string around the balloon just above the top of the bottle; then slip the balloon off the bottle.

SOURCE

Balloon experiment adapted from  https://www.ehow.com/how_21080...oon-baking-soda.html

Last edited by Luanne Payne

A graphic from my files. Don't know where I got, but it would make a great teaching activity and memory device.

See my Lord's Prayer idea below for this graphic.

hands-for-prayer



To adapt it for teaching about the Lord's Prayer, you could have the kids decide which line from the Lord's Prayer most closely matches each finger, then write that line on their printed graphic.

You could also write the Lord's prayer in "ten lines" -one for each finger/thumb. Yes, actually write it on their hands. But instead of writing the full line, use abbreviations as a memory device and space-saving device. Discussing certain appropriate abbreviations is also a teaching moment.

  1. Our Father who art in heaven
  2. Hallowed be thy name
  3. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done,
  4. on earth as it is in heaven.
  5. Give us this day our daily bread
  6. And forgive us our debts
  7. As we forgive our debtors
  8. And lead us not into temptation
  9. But deliver us from evil
  10. For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory Forever. Amen  

For line 10, write "KPG Amen."  (To this day that's what pops into my mind --the way I was taught to remember the correct order of the last line. Kingdom, Power, Glory = "KPG."

"Irv Tingley's Lord's Prayer"

a way to say the Lord's Prayer different each time
that helps you pray fresh meaning into it

(a technique that I still use to this day)

by Neil MacQueen (an excerpt from my longer "Teaching About Prayer" article)

I don’t remember a lot of what Irv Tingley my old Sunday School teacher taught us, (Irv was so old! –he was probably at least as old as I am now, hahaha), --or at least I don't remember that it was Irv who taught it to me!   BUT... I have never forgotten “the trick” Irv taught me about praying the Lord’s Prayer fresh every time.

We were a bunch of 5th graders complaining about how “BORING” it was to say the same thing over and over again in church and at the beginning of class. And that’s when Irv taught us his trick:

Every time Irv prayed the Lord’s Prayer, Irv would emphasize different words in each phrase or line.

One week in the first line he’d emphasize, “Our FATHER who art in heaven”
and the next week he’d emphasize, “OUR Father who art in heaven”
And the next week he’d emphasize “HEAVEN” etc.

He would do this for each line of the prayer.

I now realize Irv was teaching us a way to "game" the saying of the prayer. But this way of "gaming" doesn't diminish it, in fact, it makes the Lord's Prayer even more powerful to say, and here's why...

Irv said, “Your mind can think amazing thoughts in the blink of an eye, right in the middle of that prayer before you get to the next word.” It can think about what emphasizing “DAILY” instead of “bread” might mean to you. It’s like slowing down time.”

Our class started practicing it with him, and immediately I could see that Irv Tingley was right!  We formed a circle and started saying the Lord’s Prayer -one line at a time until each person had said it –and said it with different EMPHASIS. It was almost like a game –how many different inflections can you give the phrase “give us this day our daily bread.”

Example of how you can emphasize different words:

GIVE us this day  ~   Give US this day   ~  Give us this DAY
OUR daily bread ~our DAILY bread ~ our daily BREAD.

(we did this with EVERY line until we finished the prayer)

Here are some of the thoughts that can go through your head when you emphasize different words. Irv taughts us some of them, and many more have popped into my adult brain over the years.

OUR --what does God give all of us, not just me? 
DAILY --what should I expect or need or savor today?
BREAD --what can God remind me to do today that will feed my spirit?

After we got through the prayer once, Irv had us do it a second time, only this time each student was assigned a different line, got to choose the way they wanted to say it, and knew that Irv was going to stop them after they said it to ask them what thought or meaning did their inflection/emphasis give to the line? i.e. what new meaning might mean.

Irv also took the time to help us THINK about what those different emphases might mean. He primed our thoughts so those thoughts could fire in the blink of an eye as we emphasized different words. (In brain science we’d say he was teaching us to harness the power of our associative memory.)

And this is still the way I pray the Lord's Prayer out loud to this day.  It has never grown old, and I've had many new thoughts about what it means to emphasize "our" instead of "bread" for example. (Yes, my brain still works fast, just like Irv said it would.) 

Ever since that day in Irv’s class, when I pray the Lord’s Prayer I still consciously emphasize different words and phrases, and I can hear my mind conversing with those different emphases in that moment of frozen time. “OUR Father …not just my Father, we are all God’s children, this is my family.” “Hallowed be THY name …and my own not so much!”  “THY will be done… not MY will.”   Yes, even to this VERY DAY, this is what’s going on in my brain and voice when I say the Lord’s Prayer.

I've even done it while leading the Lord's Prayer in worship, though I tend to emphasize them more in my head than confuse the congregants! 

I’ve adapted Irv’s lesson for my computer lab teaching too.  I’ve had my kids type lines of the Lord’s Prayer emphasizing different words with different fonts, bolds, capitalizations, etc, …and include their thoughts on what the new meaning of their emphasis might be. We’d hear each computer speak it out loud, then discuss it. We'll use the "talk back" feature in Let's Talk software (the computer will emphasize whatever we spell in all caps, for example.) Fun. 

 Note: Let's Talk software is FREE to supporting members, Learn more here!

I have taught Irv’s technique to a dozen Confirmation classes, and hundreds of Sunday School kids over the years. In addition to Irv's technique described above, I will often teach it this way:

I speak a line of the Lord’s Prayer in a flat monotone, then point to someone who would repeat it with one word emphasized. then I’d point to another student who would have to emphasize it differently. Then another. Then another.  Then we’d backtrack and I’d ask the kids to chime in with what they thought the new spoken emphasis brought to the Prayer. It was powerful stuff.

Irv died many years ago, but I think of him every time I pray this prayer. Thanks Irv!

Neil MacQueen




See my idea over in the Lord's Prayer Bible Skills and Games Workshop for turning this technique into a game.

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Last edited by Luanne Payne

A printable illustrated children's version of the Lord's Prayer

A Free Handout from Kemp and Gunther, Lambsongs.co.nz

The language/translation is kid-friendly and has some nice life application phrasing.

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Partial Screenshot:


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