Tapestry of Faith: Faithful Journeys: A Program about Pilgrimages of Faith in Action for Grades 2-3

Alternate Activity 1: Meditation Paintings

Activity time: 25 minutes

Materials for Activity

  • A copy of the guided meditation in Activity 3, Story Basket and Guided Meditation
  • Large roll of paper and markers
  • Optional: Water-based paints, paintbrushes, newspaper, containers for water, and paper towels for clean-up

Preparation for Activity

  • Identify a large, clean floor space where all participants can work on their body outlines.
  • Distribute markers (and/or paint and paintbrushes) in multiple locations, so that after the meditation children will find what they need close at hand.

Description of Activity

Instead of using the guided meditation to help children get centered for hearing the story, use it as a lead-in to this activity. Trace an outline of each participant's body on the paper and help children cut out the outlines and write their names on the back. If children will use paint, spread newspaper under each body outline.

Then, gather children in a circle where they can sit comfortably, with their eyes closed if they so choose. Read the guided meditation to the group.

When you are done, direct the children to paint their vision from the guided meditation, painting flames or pictures of things they imagined themselves doing. Optional: Display the meditation paintings in your meeting space.

Including All Participants

If any participants cannot lie on the ground, represent all the children with a standard head-and-shoulders tracing.