Making our own labyrinth

So I (Red) have been thinking for a while about creating our own labyrinth. Prayer labyrinths have been used for centuries for quiet contemplation, walking slowly along the paths, in meditative prayer. Well, it's unlikely my kids will do anything slowly but I thought we could do our own version and give it a go. So with a roll of lining paper (£1 each, bargain!) and some sellotape, we made a path round the downstairs of the house! 
I got them doing this as I thought it would be fun but they did need a bit of assistance and it took a bit longer than we thought... But with our tempers intact (almost..) we managed it and then we created a few key spots to stop along the way.
 
As I said 'slow' doesn't really come into their vocabulary so by creating a few spots to stop, it encouraged them to stop and be quiet for a while. I let them choose freely what to write for these spots and they came up with some good ones like 'say sorry', pray for your best friends and what are you thankful for. Plus I put in some scriptural things to look up (which also slowed them down!!)

There's a short video at the bottom showing the whole thing, but I apologise for the quality as it was shot on my mobile in one take with kids interruptions, hiccups and an appearance of my hideous slippers!

It's funny how praying with them I have noticed how some things really appeal to each of them. Actually 'the seagull' as he has chosen to be known on here, my son, is always racing round at 100 miles an hour but he seemed to really embrace the slowed down pace of the labyrinth and the time to just sit and be. But Bluebell really just wanted to get to the end and draw, which was the spot she had designed! That's ok though because I think I just want to teach them about prayer and faith, and then they have the tools when they need them. And I guess we all have ways in which we feel most comfortable approaching God or praying so I want to allow them to do that too.

I think we might try this again when its warmer, in the garden, perhaps using chalk on the patio, or even grass clippings to create paths... we'll see!