Resources for use in Times of Transition
The following resources can be used for times of transition. Whilst many of them had been especially written with transitioning in/around the Coronavirus school closures in mind, they can also be used back in schools with the pupils present with the teacher. They are also suitable for use in youth groups and at home.
10 Must Know Bible Stories’ Moving On: Daniel and the Lions’ Den resource is written for times of transition (written for Early Years and Primary). It explores themes of what is important and what to hold onto in times of change. 10 Must Know Bible Stories have also written some prayer/reflective spaces material to help young people reflect on the process of transitioning to/back to school buildings to or from primary, including new prayer/reflective trail resources for nursery – P7 written in summer 2021. These include helpful teachers notes and videos to watch before and after completing the trail.
Scripture Union Scotland‘s ‘Move‘ is a series of three short films; the videos are accompanied by icebreaker activities, group discussion questions and personal reflection sheets, which give young people the opportunity to consider this change through the key themes emotions, foundations and growth.
Scripture Union England and Wales’ ‘It’s Your Move‘ booklet is a very popular choice for churches and youth groups to gift to P7 classes in school or church.
Out of the Box Scotland has additional materials for It’s Your Move materials. It uses stories from Joshua to highlight changes, challenges and choices young people face as they move to Secondary school.
Spinnaker has produced a helpful two-page poster called ‘Care in the Classroom‘ and it can be used by any adults in school settings. Spinnaker is a Christian charity based in England which supports voluntary chaplains in schools. The resource is mainly for Primary school but the relevance would be for older children also, and even adults. It has concise ideas to help with pastoral issues that may be arising and activities which can help.
In Steve Younger’s Seasons book of 24 Time for Reflection events there is an outline and ideas for a Time for Reflection event for moving from primary to secondary school. A video for broadcast to a school/class/group could be made based on this resource.
Fischy Music have over the years produced various songs for different aspects of moving on, to help children nurture their emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing through song, e.g. ‘We’re Going on a Journey’, ‘Seasons for Growth’, ‘We’re On This Road’ and ‘Just One Life’. These can be found on the Fischy Music website.