Faith Curriculum Library: Tapestry of Faith: Spirituality and the Arts in Children's Programming: A Resource for Religious Educators

Connecting to a specific story of a person's life

  • Find an interesting person to present to the children and connect an activity to that life.
  • Example: Buckminster Fuller, a Unitarian who created the geodesic dome
  • To create sacred space, gather photos of various natural or human-made sacred spaces. and a photo of a geodesic dome. Ask the children what makes a space "sacred" and which of the photos are sacred space for them. Their answers will vary depending on their ages and how you talk about the word "sacred." For younger children you may wish to build a tent or other special structure for them to sit in. Play music to begin the session while they sit in the tent together.
  • Assemble activities for children to choose from and work on individually or if with a partner, and play soft music as they create.
  • Making a collage of sacred spaces with images from magazines
  • Drawing a picture or design of a sacred space
  • Creating a 3-dimensional sacred space with marshmallows or soaked peas and large toothpicks
  • Building a sacred space out of boxes, blankets, or table cloths
  • Have children set up their sacred spaces or pictures of sacred spaces where they can easily be seen.
  • Walk around as a group having children only say what they like about the design.
  • Have children who made a design or collage say something about what is sacred for them.
  • Talk briefly about Buckminster Fuller and his designs.
  • Close with a song.