Family Fun for Summer: 30 holiday activities for families to share
Jane Butcher BRF, 2012 £4.99
An excellent resource that really impacted my ministry
This is a short book with 30 holiday activities suitable for use in the summer, although the ideas are adaptable for other times. The book could also be plundered for ideas by children’s workers. Some of the activities are marked with a ‘£’ to indicate that they are not expensive to do, whilst others have a clock face to show that they are quick.
The activities could be worked through in any order, or children given the choice. Some require more preparation than others but they are all accessible, with many featuring a biblical reference linked to the activity. I particularly liked the tip of writing down where you hide things for a treasure hunt, which works well when children do the hiding! There are activities here that I will use in church events, including Messy Church. For £5 it’s a bargain and would make a good gift for anyone with children.
Louise Warner is a children and families officer in the diocese of Leicester
Everything I Know about God, I’ve Learned from Being a Parent
Veronica Zundel BRF, 2013, £7.99
An excellent resource that really impacted my ministry
This fascinating and thought-provoking book explores how the journey through parenthood can reveal a wealth of insights about the nature of God. It’s not a practical guide to parenting – and for this I am thankful, as there are many of those books available. It does consider how knowledge of God may influence our parenting, but the main focus of the book is instead to think about how our parental experiences reveal more understanding of who God is. It allows you, the reader, to take a step back and reflect upon God as a loving parent. The author includes some very honest and poignant reflections on personal experiences, including infertility, late motherhood and parenting a child with additional needs. What lets this book down, however, is its title, which implies that only a parent can have a full understanding of the nature of God.
Sarah Holmes has worked with children and families in a variety of settings over the past 15 years. She is mum to two pre-school girls
Saint Joseph
(CTS Saints for Kids series) Catholic Truth Society, 2013 £2.95
Worth your time - a solid resource
There are many resources for children and young people produced by the evangelical stable – but organisations like the Catholic Truth Society are also producing strong resources. These short books explore the stories of Saints (so far in the series, Saint Therese, Saint Anthony, Saint Francis, Saint Lucy and most recently, Saint Joseph). Each book is beautifully illustrated and the straightforward text makes this ideal bedtime reading for 4 – 7 year olds. My only concern would be the inconsistency in terms of how each book is concluded. Some incorporate a thought, others a couple of prayers the saint wrote. At the end of Saint Joseph’s book, the prayer is to the Saint (which might be a problem for some). However, these colourful books bring some of the ‘great crowd of witnesses’ to life and should inspire children and adults alike with their stories of faith and holiness.
Ali Campbell is the youth and children’s adviser for the Diocese of Chichester
Schoolswork Playing Cards
For use with 7-13 year olds Schoolswork.co.uk, 2013 £8.50
A few good ideas but also some major flaws
This pack of playing cards are well made and simply presented. Sadly, that’s the best thing I can find to say about them. They include questions to provoke discussion with 7-13 year olds, but would have been better if they had been colour coded for the four different types of questions. The age spread suggested on the packaging was large and it may have been better to target a single key stage. It desperately needed an accompanying sheet of ideas of how and when to use the cards as teachers need ‘Tired Teacher’ proof resources that can be used without having to think things through. Although the joker in the pack pointed you to the website, that proved to be confusing and difficult to navigate without any supplementary resources to use with the cards. What at first seemed to be a good idea soon became a missed opportunity.
Simon Shutt spearheads the work of the charity Faith Awareness in Children Trust (FACT)
