Explore & respond with children
Do, Make, Pray and Sing activities based on Matthew 18.15-20
Choose from these ideas to help the children make connections between the Bible reading and their lives
Do
Don’t get mad, be forgiving 
5 mins E S
Play and think about ‘putting things right’
You will need: a simple balance scale (you can make this by hanging a yoghurt pot off either side of a wire coat hanger and hanging it on a rail), different sized stones.
- Place a big stone in one side of the balance scale and challenge the children to add stones to the other side to make it balance.
- Talk about how difficult this is, and how the easiest way to balance the scale would be to take all the stones away.
- It’s like this when someone does something that upsets us – trying to take revenge will never achieve balance. Forgiveness is the only way to put things right.
Gathered groups: the leader could demonstrate this.
Pairs quiz 10 mins W E
Think about what it means to be responsible for one another in community
You will need: age-appropriate quiz questions for your group, a score sheet, some pre-prepared forfeits.
- Divide everyone into pairs for a quiz. In this quiz, each person’s score depends on their partner.
- If someone’s partner gets a question right, they will score a point. If their partner gets the question wrong, they will have to do a forfeit, e.g. stand on one leg for one minute.
- Discuss with the children what it felt like scoring or doing a forfeit based on someone else’s performance. Talk about our actions affecting other people in the communities we are part of.
Gathered groups: keep 2M apart.
Building up a team 10 mins W E
Work together as a team
You will need: equipment for your chosen game.
- Play a team game, such as football, rounders or hockey. This would also work with a really simple game, e.g. balloon volleyball. Brief the teams on the game’s rules.
- Afterwards, ask each team to discuss what helped ‘build up’ the team. How did they encourage one another? How did they deal with something that went wrong? Then discuss whether this is the same as being part of a community: what is different from being in a team? What is the same?
Unsuitable for gathered groups unless you can play football ensuring social distancing.
Make
Beauty from brokenness 10 mins E S
Make a symbol of restored relationships
You will need: a pack of different coloured paper, glue.
- Give each child a different coloured piece of paper. Ask them to think of times they have been wronged or upset by other people, and to tear a piece off their paper for each one.
- As they do this, begin to gather everyone’s torn pieces of paper together.
- When everyone has reflected on how others have upset or hurt them and ripped up their paper, ask the children to work together, using all the pieces of paper to create a mosaic of something beautiful, e.g. a flower, a heart or a butterfly.
- After they have finished, talk with the children about how beautiful things can come from dealing with things that have upset us. Ask: have you ever experienced something like that?
Gathered groups: prepare kit for individuals/household groups 72 hrs in advance.
Pray
Together again 5 mins E S A
Pray for relationships that need mending
You will need: zips (available from craft or sewing shops).
- Give each child half of a zip and ask them to find its ‘partner’ to put it together again. First, demonstrate how this works.
- Wait until everyone has found the matching zip and then, as they zip it up, say a simple prayer, e.g. When we hurt or upset one another, help us, God, to come together again. Amen.
Gathered groups: the leader could demonstrate this.
More prayers are available via the Prayers page.
KEY
Sing
Under 5s
God loves you, and I love you
This little light of mine
Under 12s
I am the church! You are the church!
The Spirit lives to set us free
12+
Rend Collective, Build Your Kingdom Here on Homemade Worship by Handmade People
We really want to thank you, Lord