About The Prayer Arrows
Albert used to be Kay’s main puppet. He is a chimpanzee and has been with her for more than 35 years.
He is Allergic to bananas but loves beef burgers. (Yes I know he’s a puppet – but children love a back story!)
He has been everywhere with Steve and Kay and was best known in Whizz Kids at Spring Harvest, where Kay and her Hubby led the 5-7’s work for over 14 years.
Back in the 2000's we wrote a little booklet for 5-7's called 'Albert's Prayer Arrows' and these prayers are based on that, but they are now more of a teaching aid for home or church groups.
Why Arrows?
When Kay worked with Scripture Union, her mentor used arrows to explain prayer to children.
With permission, we took that idea and expanded it. We used the final resource all over the place and often received requests for a format that others could use.
So, we produced the Albert’s Prayer Arrows book with the help of Spring Harvest, and a friend (Neil Crook) who did the fabulous art work for us – based on Albert the Puppet.
The book is very basic; a Bible verse, a three line explanation and of course – the wonderful pictures. We would do the booklet differently now, and would probably add one more (lament), but they work well as a memory tool for children and adults alike.
The activities seem a little ‘wordy’!
As I said, the little book just explained different aspects of prayer very simply.
What we have done here is take it one step further and give an activity alongside.
They are designed for "going deeper" into what each arrow means.
These work better as a church based activity, but could work in a family setting. We have done these with children aged 5 up to 11, and all coped (including those with additional needs).
The activities here would normally sit within a longer teaching session with lots of space to creatively explain what each arrow means – one per session. We even did a whole camp using these as the basis for the daily teaching!
The words in the different arrow activities are the basis for the grown ups to use/read with the children in their care, but children are more than welcome to read it themselves if they want to!
As the grown up, you know the children in your care – we have never met them. So we need you to take those words and put them into a form your child(ren) will relate to and is within their own experience and ability.
We recognise that some of these may be a little abstract for some with additional needs, therefore we give some ideas for how to make the activities more accessible.
(C)2003
All of the arrow prayers are copyright of Pondering Platypus Resources (Previously Oriana Training and Resources).
Please attribute if you use them in any setting outside of the home.
