Storytelling with Shapes is a new (and old) way of telling, hearing, and shaping some of the core stories of our faith. Communities of all ages will enjoy the colorful shapes, engaging narratives, and creative problem-solving that come with these storytelling tangram puzzles.
Are you curious about using Storytelling with Shapes: Christmas with your congregation and want to learn more about how it works? Have you already purchased this resource and are looking for some creative inspiration to get started? We’re here to help.
- Click here for more fun and engaging ways to use this resource with all ages.
- Click here for crafty, DIY inspiration to create your own shapes for storytelling.
We reached out to our friend Sean Williams, Children and Youth Minister at First Baptist Church, McMinnville, OR, to share his experience using Storytelling with Shapes. Here’s what he had to say!
Which Storytelling with Shapes resource did you use?
I used Easter Storytelling with Shapes.
I’ve used a lot of IM resources over the years, and I always enjoy getting the regular emails to check out the new, creative things they’re offering. With Storytelling with Shapes, I knew almost immediately when I saw it in the email (and definitely once I had clicked on the link and checked all the details and images) that this was something I wanted to use at my church.
How did you use Storytelling with Shapes with your congregation?
We decided it would work best during the Children’s Time in our worship on Easter. As the children gathered on the steps at the front of our sanctuary, I began our time by sharing this with them: When things seem to go wrong in life, you might be surprised to see how they turn out quite well in the end.
From there, I transitioned to the legend of the tangrams, which I appreciated being included in the IM resource since it was brand new to me. In that story, something went wrong (the broken glass), but it ended up being great (a new way to tell stories with shapes). This is also how it is with the Easter story. Jesus dying was not what anyone planned or wanted—it seemed to have gone horribly wrong. But on Easter morning, Jesus was alive, and things turned out better than anyone could have ever imagined. So, to re-share that Easter story with them, I used the text and images from the Storytelling with Shapes resource.
How did you prepare and share the materials?
I had a full-page print of each image to show the children and the same image on the screens in our sanctuary for the whole congregation to see. Following the Children’s Time, I had a half-page printout of the story and the eight images, along with a set of tans for every child (and adults, too!) to enjoy during the service and take home with them.
How did your community respond?
People loved it! With each part of the story, they loved seeing the tans rearranged so creatively to form a new tangram; often, as a new image appeared, there were audible sounds of surprise, joy, and amazement at seeing this traditional story in a whole new way.
Throughout the rest of worship, I watched children recreating the different tangrams, adding their own tangrams to the story, and even crafting tangrams of themselves!
Anything else you want to share?
In case it’s not obvious, I love this resource and highly recommend it.
We’re excited about more Storytelling with Shapes from IM—we have even bought several sets of wooden tangrams to use in our children’s space! Thanks to IM for this great idea and product and for all you do to support and resource churches in such creative, positive, inclusive, fun, and meaningful ways!
How have you used Storytelling with Shapes in your community? Let us know in the comments!
And if you’re looking for a new, fun, and engaging way to tell the Christmas story this year, check out our Storytelling with Shapes: Christmas resource.
Graham Van Keuren says
What is the lower age range for effectively using storytelling with shapes? Can it be used productively by a group of 5-7 year olds?
Thank you for your advice!
Adam Walker Cleaveland says
Yes, definitely! I was showing the shapes to my daughter (who is 7) last night and she could figure out what all of them were. She really loves these resources.
Graham Van Keuren says
Thanks so much. I’ll give it a go!