Storytelling with Shapes: Holy Week and Easter

Sharing the events of Holy Week can be overwhelming and confusing, no matter the age of your audience. That’s why Storytelling with Shapes: Holy Week and Storytelling with Shapes: Easter offer a tangible and colorful alternative to an abstract and, at times, dreary story. Using narrative tangram puzzles, these resources create space for all ages to play, imagine, and move through these important stories.

Storytelling with Shapes: Holy Week and Easter provide everything you need, so don’t worry about purchasing additional materials. With multiple shapes, stories, and puzzle formats, there are endless possibilities for sharing these resources with your community:

• Turn it into a lesson! Tell the stories and solve the puzzles with children/youth during Sunday School.
• Bust out your flannelgraph! Cut the seven tangram shapes out of felt and tell the story during children’s time in your worship service.
• Send it home! Make packets to share with your families. Telling these stories together is a fun way to promote faith formation at home during Holy Week.

Storytelling with Shapes: Ideas for Children

These resources are perfectly designed for use with children. The bright colors and tactile experience will engage all ages and attention spans. Creativity is encouraged when using Storytelling with Shapes: Holy Week and Easter. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Print, laminate, and bind the Shape & Story pages into a booklet. You can even laminate the shapes to use again and again during Sunday School or Children’s Church.
• Print the shapes on watercolor paper. Provide paint brushes and watercolors for each participant to create fun colors and patterns. Once dry, cut out the shapes (or have volunteers cut them out) and take turns telling the story.
• Solve the puzzle, then decorate the shapes. Print and cut out shapes on blank paper, one set for each story shape. After solving the puzzle, glue the shapes in order on a separate piece of paper. Then, draw and color the shapes to more closely resemble the picture they made—for example, color beautiful, symmetrical designs on the butterfly wings. Or imagine what the disciple’s clothes looked like and color them in.

Storytelling with Shapes: Ideas for Youth

Need something for youth group during Holy Week? We’ve got you covered. The variety of puzzle formats could be an exciting challenge for middle or high school students. Or try one of these ideas: 

• Make life-size shapes out of cardboard. Then, invite your group to work together to solve the puzzles.
• Cut out shapes from sheets of foam. Then, place them in a tray of water and try to solve the floating puzzle.
• Dust off your overhead projector! Tell the story with shapes and shadows.
• Turn it into a performance. If you have a large group, consider dividing them into smaller teams. Give each team a story puzzle to solve, then invite them to retell their story to the group—moving their shapes as they go (this would be fun with the projector or life-sized cardboard shapes!)

Storytelling with Shapes: Ideas for Intergenerational Fun

Many churches gather together for Maundy Thursday or Good Friday services. If you have a group of all ages, here are a few unique ideas to engage the whole community:

• Bake tangram cookies! Cut the shapes out of sugar cookie dough and bake. Once cooled, decorate the cookie shapes and tell the stories. Of course, the last step is to eat and enjoy.
• Inspire creativity. Set out an array of craft supplies and have a DIY tangram party. 
• Transform them into a fidget activity. Create small, portable tangram sets and make them available during your Holy Week services for intergenerational fidget activities.

Be sure to check out our Pinterest board for more ideas and inspiration! We can’t wait to see all the wonderful ways you use Storytelling with Shapes: Holy Week and Easter.

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