Decorated stones
You will need: stones, paint, permanent markers
Jacob lays down to sleep with his head on a stone and then uses it to mark the place where he encounters God. This craft helps children to think about using a stone as a reminder of God’s presence with them. Let children paint or decorate the stones in a way that reminds them of God, what they know of holiness or a key feature of the story that stood out to them. They might use colours and shapes which have personal significance or they might want to use words that describe God or what they have felt when they have known his presence. This is a fascinating conversation opener if you want to help children explore their own concepts of what God is like.
Ladder building
You will need: paper, newspapers, lolly sticks, sticky tape, scissors, matchsticks, boxes, straws, collage materials
This is a construction activity to reflect Jacob’s dream of the ladder that stretches between heaven and Earth. Give the children free reign and see what happens! Present children with the materials and ask them to build a ladder that reflects what they think the ladder in Jacob’s dream looked like. It might help if you show them ways they can roll the paper to make ‘sticks’, though some will choose to do something entirely different! Use the time to chat to them about their ideas about heaven, the differences between heaven and Earth and what a connecting ladder would look like. You could do this as a whole group activity or children could make individual ladders.
Angel stencil painting
You will need: angel-shaped cookie cutters or an angel template, card, paint, scissors, brushes, paper
This craft, suitable for under-fives, is likely to get a bit messy and certainly won’t look perfect or neat at the end, but it is a great way to help younger children explore the concept of angels moving up and down the ladder! Before the children start, an adult will need to prepare the stencils by drawing round and cutting out angel shapes (cookie cutters are good for this). Show the children how to place the stencil on the paper and use a brush to paint around the outline. Remove the stencil and see the angel shape. The paint outline around the stencil gives a bit of a ‘glow’ to each angel shape, which helps to reflect the ‘holy’ presence that Jacob feels. Continue using different colours to cover the paper. If the angels overlap, that only adds to the effect of movement!
Holy ground tissue painting
You will need: white card, tissue paper, spray bottle filled with water, scissors
This craft helps to establish the idea of the holy ground that Jacob finds himself sleeping on. Get the children to cut shapes out of tissue paper and to use colours that, to them, reflect ‘holiness’ or God. Arrange the shapes on a piece of card (make sure that the table underneath is well covered!) and then spray the card with water from the spray bottle, making sure that the tissue paper is thoroughly soaked. Carefully peel the wet tissue paper off the paper and you will see the coloured imprint of the shapes that you soaked. The holy ground that Jacob lay on had the presence or ‘imprint’ of God, even though he couldn’t see it at first. Use this craft as a stepping stone to help children to talk about places where they have felt God’s presence and special places where they might go to pray.
Mina Munns is the founder of Flame: Creative Children’s Ministry
