Plan a Kindergarten Retreat

Retreats are quiet reflections to help Christians become closer to God. Achieving this quiet reflection time is difficult with younger children, especially kindergarteners. A kindergarten retreat needs to focus on quiet time but should also include fun activities to help children remember the reason for prayer. I have participated in several retreats for children and put together the ideas and activities that work the best. This retreat plan is designed for kindergarteners but it can be used for any children's retreat.

Kindergarten Retreat Planning: Begin with a Mass or Prayer Service

A Mass or prayer service is always the best way to start off a day-long retreat. Younger children who are attending retreats need this because the act of going to Mass sets the tone for the day. Plus, a blessing or two never hurts, especially for the adults who are running the retreat.

Kindergarten Retreat Planning: Keep the Groups Small

Divide the kids up into smaller groups. You can use colored nametags made from heavy card paper or foam. Cut the nametags into the shape of a cross or simply make ovals. Write each child's name on the nametag. Tie some yarn onto to the nametags and distribute them at the start of the retreat.

For my retreat we used four different colors and each color group moved from station to station to hear the different lessons. This broke the kids into smaller groups and made each lesson easier to manage.

Do NOT let the kindergarteners create their own name tags. The kids will argue over which color nametag they want. If the nametag already has their name on it they are more accepting of whichever color they get. Also, kindergarteners do not have the best handwriting and you may not be able to read some of the names.

Kindergarten Retreat Planning Lesson: The Burning Bush

The Burning Bush is an excellent lesson to teach children at a retreat. You can find it in Exodus 2. Use a children's bible and read the story. The kids are always fascinated with a talking tree that's on fire so it usually keeps their attention.

After you read the story you can do a short review by asking: Who was speaking through the bush? Who was God speaking to? Did Moses want to follow God's instructions to lead the Israelites to the Promise Land? Why did Moses finally agree to follow God's instructions?

The Burning Bush story emphasizes the need to listen when God speaks to you even if you don't want to do what he is asking. God will help you do the right thing and will always be by your side.

The Burning Bush Craft: For this you will need crayons, white card stock paper or construction paper, cut up red tissue paper, and glue. After the story and the discussion have the kids draw a tree then glue the tissue paper on to symbolize the burning bush. Remind them that every time they look at their project it means to listen when God speaks to them.

Kindergarten Retreat Planning Lesson: Bible Symbols BINGO

For kindergarteners the bible BINGO game should be religious pictures instead of numbers. You can purchase these picture BINGO cards online or at Christian bookstores. Have the kids cover their symbols with Smarties instead of trying to keep track of BINGO markers. If you want to give prizes you could use candy or religious stickers.

Bible BINGO is more of a fun activity but you can bring the game into line with the retreat by discussing each symbol and what that symbol means.

Kindergarten Retreat Planning Lesson: The Pretzel

There are numerous Christian and Catholic stories regarding the pretzel that can be easily woven into a kindergarten retreat. One story is that a monk used the pretzels as a reward when his students had learned the bible lessons. He would pray by crossing his arms and placing both hands on the opposite shoulder. This prayer position helped him concentrate on his prayers.

You can use a pretzel to also signify the Holy Trinity. Each pretzel hole represents The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Using the pretzel will help younger children remember this lesson. See retreat planning during Lent for additional pretzel ideas.

Pretzel Activity: Have several small containers of clay or play dough available. Have the children roll out the dough and make their own pretzel. You may also want to give the kids pretzels for a snack.

Kindergarten Retreat Planning Lesson: Prayer Stones

The prayer stone is one of my favorite kindergarten retreat activities. Give each child a stone and have them hold it. It may be difficult to keep them from playing with it but most kids do get the message.

Say a short prayer and remind them that every time they hold their prayer stone that they should pray quietly and then silently listen. The stones are a tangible way to help teach kids to reflect.

Kindergarten Retreat Planning: Plan it during Lent

Lent is an excellent time to have a kindergarten retreat because you can include other activities that lead up to Easter.

Colored egg activity: Cut out colored eggs from card stock paper. Cut out a basket from the same type of paper. Each color symbolizes a different aspect of the Easter story. Have the kids put together their Easter baskets.

You can also do this with real baskets and plastic eggs. Put a piece of paper inside the egg that explains what the color means.

Lenten pretzel story: The Lenten story of the pretzel is based on fasting. Early Christians sacrificed by not consuming milk, butter, cheese, eggs, cream and meat. They made small breads of water, flour and salt, to remind them that Lent was a time of prayer and fasting. They shaped these breads in the form of crossed arms. The pretzel symbolizes arms crossed in prayer, reminding us that Lent is a time of prayer.

Kindergarten retreats are not always quiet retreats. These activities will get noisy but the kids will have fun and take away some lifelong lessons about prayer, reflection, and listening to God.