Twelve children eagerly gathered at Camp base ready for Blast Off! So began the journey for this year’s Children’s Circuit Camp which was held recently at Lindley Methodist Church.
Why Space you may wonder? There are no rockets or astronauts in the stories from the Bible. In fact Space travel as we know it does not seem to feature at all. But what is interwoven throughout the stories in the Bible, our Christian faith and our everyday lives is the journeys we take.
We began our Camp journey by thinking about what preparations we’d need to make for a journey into Space. This largely resulted in one of the children being suited up, complete with Space helmet, oxygen tank (a little imagination required), map, Space food etc. Following a quick burst of Space Academy (Camp song) training and together with the rest of the crew we were ready for Blast Off!
From the launch, the children then embarked on an exciting program, throughout the day, packed with lots of fun activities. There was a Space treasure hunt around the church; the children had to find clues and answer questions about the planets, earning planet cut-outs which were later assembled to make a Planets mobile.
Artistic and creative skills were deployed to decorate cakes that were out of this world! Rolled icing, lettering and star cut –outs were all used creatively to give birth to planets and the starry skies of the solar system. A collaborative Space collage was put together depicting planets, rockets, spaceships, moon and stars – all in glorious technicolour and 3D.
Of course no Space trip could be complete without some science experiments – fizzing planets (bath bombs), galaxy jars and making slime. The slime was an instant hit with the children! Provided with a slime base, they were able to choose a colour and scent to add (glitter optional) and then spent time manipulating it to get the slime consistency just right! Meanwhile the leaders became adept at making bath bombs under expert guidance!
The Saturday evening concluded with some Godly Play, the story of the Great Family – the journey of Abraham and Sarah. As part of our wondering, we wondered whether we were anywhere in this story or if any part of this story was about us….
Some of the children then went home, but for those children (and leaders) who were sleeping over, we enjoyed watching the original Toy Story movie.
Children’s Camp continued into Sunday, being very much part of the worship lead by Rev Sue Taylor. During the service, the children talked enthusiastically about what they had been doing and shared some of the things they’d made (including a quick slime demo)! The congregation were then invited to join in with the Space Academy Camp song (with actions) – a fun challenge to start the day! The Camp theme continued with further support from the children, acting in a short dramatized Bible reading and helping with the footprint prayers.
Our Camp weekend came to a close with everybody sharing in a faith lunch after worship.
A big thank you to all the leaders for your support and to Lindley Methodist Church for hosting to help make this year’s Children’s Camp a success!
Suzanne Bridges
Why Space you may wonder? There are no rockets or astronauts in the stories from the Bible. In fact Space travel as we know it does not seem to feature at all. But what is interwoven throughout the stories in the Bible, our Christian faith and our everyday lives is the journeys we take.
We began our Camp journey by thinking about what preparations we’d need to make for a journey into Space. This largely resulted in one of the children being suited up, complete with Space helmet, oxygen tank (a little imagination required), map, Space food etc. Following a quick burst of Space Academy (Camp song) training and together with the rest of the crew we were ready for Blast Off!
From the launch, the children then embarked on an exciting program, throughout the day, packed with lots of fun activities. There was a Space treasure hunt around the church; the children had to find clues and answer questions about the planets, earning planet cut-outs which were later assembled to make a Planets mobile.
Artistic and creative skills were deployed to decorate cakes that were out of this world! Rolled icing, lettering and star cut –outs were all used creatively to give birth to planets and the starry skies of the solar system. A collaborative Space collage was put together depicting planets, rockets, spaceships, moon and stars – all in glorious technicolour and 3D.
Of course no Space trip could be complete without some science experiments – fizzing planets (bath bombs), galaxy jars and making slime. The slime was an instant hit with the children! Provided with a slime base, they were able to choose a colour and scent to add (glitter optional) and then spent time manipulating it to get the slime consistency just right! Meanwhile the leaders became adept at making bath bombs under expert guidance!
The Saturday evening concluded with some Godly Play, the story of the Great Family – the journey of Abraham and Sarah. As part of our wondering, we wondered whether we were anywhere in this story or if any part of this story was about us….
Some of the children then went home, but for those children (and leaders) who were sleeping over, we enjoyed watching the original Toy Story movie.
Children’s Camp continued into Sunday, being very much part of the worship lead by Rev Sue Taylor. During the service, the children talked enthusiastically about what they had been doing and shared some of the things they’d made (including a quick slime demo)! The congregation were then invited to join in with the Space Academy Camp song (with actions) – a fun challenge to start the day! The Camp theme continued with further support from the children, acting in a short dramatized Bible reading and helping with the footprint prayers.
Our Camp weekend came to a close with everybody sharing in a faith lunch after worship.
A big thank you to all the leaders for your support and to Lindley Methodist Church for hosting to help make this year’s Children’s Camp a success!
Suzanne Bridges
