Praying in the Classroom

Here are some wonderful ideas for praying with children in the PREP classroom that I heard from several of the fabulous speakers at the Catechist Formation Day on August 14, 2010, specifically Roseanne Bowen, Kate Ristow and Anne Boshinski. I plan to implement as many as possible! If you heard other ideas or have some of your own, please share them with all our 5th grade catechists.

Create a beautiful and deliberate Sacred Prayer Space in your classroom. You can do this by the way you decorate it and by the way you always reverence this sacred space. (RB)
Teach the children to ‘focus’ and ‘concentrate’. Do this activity to teach what it means to focus: Say, “Let’s see who can look at this candle the longest without talking or turning away!” Have a contest. …. “Now let’s see if we can focus on God. That is what we want to do each and every time we come to our sacred space to pray.” (RB)
Roseanne recommends the catechist read over the Scripture that is going to be read at the prayer table and then TELL the students what it says in her own words first. Then she will read the Scripture verse (s) prayerfully and reverently, unless a student has practiced and can read the Scripture very well. (RB)
Kate Ristow encourages catechists to teach the students to reverence the Bible by touching it carefully, making the sign of the cross on it or even kissing it. (KR)
One way to show great reverence for the sacred prayer space/table is to have a procession to the table. Perhaps this could be done occasionally throughout the year for special occasions. Have each student carry some item in a solemn procession: the prayer cloth, the candle holder(s), the little candle(s), the holy water bowl, holy water, a cross or crucifix, the Bible stand, the Holy Bible and any other signs or symbols, prayers or images you have to put on your Prayer Table for that day. This procession can be started outside the classroom (like near the side exit door) to be even longer and more special.
Roseanne always puts on ‘prayer music’ to tell her students it is time to gather around the prayer table. There are lots of choices to use. She prefers the same music each week and she uses Gregorian chant music. (RB)
I also like the idea of having music on when the students first come into the classroom. They can quietly bless themselves with the holy water and silently read/pray a prayer you have placed on the Prayer Table. Then they can take their seat and begin your ‘welcoming activity’.

Early on it is good to teach the children the ACTS formula of prayer: ADORATION: Praising God for who He is. “We adore you, O Lord & we bless you!” CONFESSION: Telling God we are sorry for offending Him. “Dear Jesus, I am sorry for…” This is especially good for children to pray at night with their parents, a sort of examination of conscience. THANKSGIVING: Thanking God for our gifts & blessings. “Thank you, dear Father for…” SUPPLICATION: [Def: to make a humble, earnest entreaty, esp. by prayer.] Asking God for something. These are prayers of petition & intercession. “Dear Jesus, please help my Grandma during her surgery”…. “Please help me on my test this week.” After presenting this technique, you could take one part of it each week to pray. At the beginning or end of your prayer service/time, you could ask each student to pray a prayer of ‘Adoration’. The second week you could go around and have each child say, “Dear God, today I am sorry for ……” (they could bow their heads and say this part silently) and so on.
Heart to Heart: Share with the kids prayers that you have prayed and how God answered you prayer, especially if it was in a surprising way. (RB)
On The Spot: If a child comes to you with a need or burden, stop and pray with them on the spot. “Let’s pray with (or for) Tommy right now. Dear Jesus, we ask you to be with Tommy’s sister and help her to feel better and know that you are with her. Amen.” Roseanne continually teaches students to ‘take it to Jesus’ whatever their need. (RB)
Newspapers: Utilize the Georgia Bulletin in your classroom, even asking students to read it and bring in various articles. (Anne Boshinski) In addition to that, you can also bring in the GA Bulletin or the daily newspapers to have the students read, cut out articles and then pray aloud for the children and people in that country. (RB)
Pass the Ball: Play music and pass a ball. When the ball stops, it is that students turn to pray. If they prefer not to, that is always acceptable. You can put a prayer starter on the board to encourage a specific kind of prayer. For example: Heavenly Father, I praise you for… Dear Jesus, please help me to follow you more closely this week by… Dear Holy Spirit, I want to grow in (name a virtue, or gift or fruit of the Holy Spirit). (RB)
You can have little crosses cut out of paper. Have the students write a sin(s) on it. Then ‘nail’ the crosses to a big (poster board) cross and pray a prayer to thank Jesus for his forgiveness and salvation. (RB)
Thanksgiving Basket: Put various items or pictures of objects or people you are studying about in a basket. Then pass the basket around and each person takes out one item and then makes up a prayer of thanksgiving regarding that item. (RB)
Walk & Talk or the Prayer Walk: These two ideas were similar. Just walk around, inside or outside, and thank God for things you see or people you meet. Prayer can be silent or spoken.
Inflatable Globe: Blow up an inflatable globe. Using music, have the students throw the ball to one another. Stop the music. The person with the ball chooses a spot near their thumb, finger, first place your eyes fall on or whatever, then prays for the children in that region of the world.
“What was the best part of today’s class? Let’s thank God for that!”
Pray over children: Again, if a child has a need or it is their birthday, just lay your hands on their head and say a simple prayer for that child. Psalm 5:12, Numbers 6:25
Have the students write the names of those who are ill on a band-aid. (One name per band-aid.) Attach all the band-aids on a poster of a cross or a picture of God or the Blessed Trinity. Make a title or write an appropriate prayer for this activity. (RB)
Difficult Students: If you have a child who is not cooperating have them choose one of the following three choices: 1. Stay with the group and do the activity 2. Go with an adult out of the classroom to do something else (usually a walk to the restroom, chapel or church with a little talking can take care of the problem) or 3. Go to the Sacred Space and observe the ‘sacred rules’ until they are ready to rejoin the group. (RB)
God CAN! Have a God CAN that is about the size of the old Boy Scout popcorn cans. It can be decorated and placed on the prayer table. Tell the children that what we cannot do, God CAN! Students are encouraged to ‘hand over in prayer’ the situations they have difficulty dealing with or burdens or conflicts they are unable to resolve…thus the name--God CAN! Students can invite their parents and friends to put something bothering them into the God CAN. Have little slips of paper for people to write their prayer requests. (RB)
Prayer Chain: Have paper strips available for the students to write their prayer needs on. Have a stapler nearby so they can staple their prayer request on a chain. This chain can be sitting on your prayer table each week. Kids can write their needs down as soon as they enter the classroom. When you go to your sacred space to pray as a class, hold the prayer chain each time as you pray and ‘lift up’ all the needs therein. Soon the chain will double and triple as it is being held by the group. (KR)

Blessings to you all as you pray weekly with your students! ---Katy Samaha