The run sheet
A 30-minute worry-and-fear lesson
An adult-led, non-clinical lesson that rehearses a trusted-adult route without asking for private stories.
Hold this while you teach
30 min totalWelcome and choice
“You may listen, draw, move, use your device, or pass. You never have to tell this group a private worry.”
Instead: Offer the stop card, a quiet seat, or the named safe adult before the story begins.
Read Matthew 6 in context
“We will notice what Jesus says about care and also keep making wise plans when something is unsafe or hard.”
Instead: Use a short adult paraphrase when the chosen Bible cannot be printed; keep the reference visible.
Remember Hannah's honest prayer
“Hannah is deeply distressed, brings her pain to God, and is met by someone who listens.”
Instead: Show one picture or let children listen while an adult tells the story in original words.
Rehearse a trusted-adult route
“Choose a fictional worry, one helper icon, and one next safe step. You can leave every box blank.”
Instead: Use pointing, AAC, partner dictation, or a neutral drawing page instead of writing.
Ask text-grounded questions
“You can point, draw, use AAC, or pass. We will not go around the circle requiring an answer.”
Instead: Invite a second adult to model an answer about a fictional character.
Offer optional prayer or drawing
“You may look at the path card, draw, listen while I pray, or pass. We will use ordinary breathing.”
Instead: Keep eyes open and allow movement, headphones, or a neutral parallel activity.
Close with care and take-home
“If something makes you or someone else unsafe, tell a trusted grown-up. Adults will follow the safety plan.”
Instead: Give the caregiver page to the adult and let the child leave or return without explanation.
Objective and materials
Objective
Children may point to a story detail, choose a general feeling word, and select one trusted-adult or practical help step without sharing a private worry.
Materials
- · World English Bible or a licensed family Bible
- · Visual schedule: welcome, read, activity, questions, optional prayer, close
- · Stop card and listen, draw, move, ask, pass choice strip
- · Worry-to-caregiver sheet with a fictional cloud, helper icons, and one next safe step
- · Pencils, crayons, large-print copies, AAC or pointing version, fidgets, and headphones
- · A neutral drawing page and a named trained safeguarding adult
Scripture and context
Reference: Matthew 6:25-34
Jesus speaks about God's care for people who are worried, while the whole paragraph keeps ordinary needs and trust together.
Read the full teaching; it is not a scolding instruction aimed at a distressed child.
Reference: Psalm 56:3
The psalm names fear and turns toward trust without pretending fear has never arrived.
Use the reference as a short prayer line, not as a demand to feel different.
Reference: 1 Samuel 1:9-18
Hannah brings deep distress honestly to God and is met by a person who listens.
The story leaves room for lament and does not require a cheerful answer before someone is heard.
Reference: Philippians 4:6-7
Paul invites a church to bring requests to God with thanksgiving while they continue faithful care.
Keep the invitation beside practical help; do not present it as a way to erase a feeling.
Activity cards
Worry-to-caregiver sheet
7 minUse a blank cloud labelled for a fictional worry, three helper icons, and one next safe step. The sheet rehearses a route to care; it is not a place to collect a child's story.
Draw a new place, a loud sound, or a hard question. Point to trusted grown-up, school or health helper, or safety adult. Leave the boxes blank if you prefer.
Choose one: Say or point to a helper icon. · Draw a fictional cloud or move to the safe-adult card. · Listen while the adult reads and pass without explaining.
Choose a helper for a character
4 minPlace cards for a trusted grown-up, school or health helper, and practical safety adult beside a fictional character. Let more than one helper fit.
Ask which helper a fictional character could choose when a worry keeps returning.
Choose one: Point to one or more helpers. · Draw a path from the character to a helper. · Listen to an adult example or pass.
Discussion and optional quiet
- 01
What does Jesus notice about food, clothing, birds, or flowers?
Optional response: Point to a picture, draw an observation, or listen while the adult answers from the passage.
- 02
What does Hannah do when she is deeply distressed?
Optional response: Say that she prays honestly and is heard, or pass without comparing her story to your own.
- 03
Which helper could a fictional character choose when a worry keeps returning?
Optional response: Choose one or more cards; a caregiver, school helper, health professional, pastor with safeguarding training, or emergency service may fit the situation.
- 04
What is one difference between a feeling and a danger?
Optional response: A feeling can be named; danger calls for an adult safety action. No personal example is needed.
You may look at the path card, draw, move, listen while an adult prays, or pass. Keep eyes open and breathing ordinary.
Take-home strip
When a worry shows up
- · Notice: something feels hard. A feeling is information, not a fault.
- · Choose: listen, draw, move, pray, ask for help, or pause.
- · Name a trusted grown-up, school or health helper, safeguarding lead, or emergency service when danger is immediate.
- · Choose one practical next step together. Do not expect the worry to vanish.
- · Optional prayer: God, stay near us as we tell the truth and take the next safe step.
LISTEN · DRAW · MOVE · SPEAK · AAC · PASS
Our paraphrase, not Scripture text. Exact wording: World English Bible (public domain).
Keep the scope safe
Section 01
This is a Bible lesson about worry and fear, not a mental-health assessment. The words may describe ordinary or serious experiences. The group will not label a child, request a disclosure, or promise that a verse removes a problem.
Preview the packet with your safeguarding lead and local support pathway. Name the stop card and trusted adult before beginning. Prayer can sit alongside listening, school support, health care, counselling, and safeguarding action.
Read the whole paragraph
Section 02
Read Matthew 6:25–34 in context, then invite observations about food, clothing, birds, and flowers. Add Psalm 56:3, Hannah's honest distress in 1 Samuel 1, and Philippians 4:6–7 as reference points rather than isolated slogans.
Jesus' teaching is not a rebuke aimed at a distressed child. Keep trust, lament, practical help, and the difference between a feeling and a danger visible in the same conversation.
Rehearse a help route
Section 03
The worry-to-caregiver sheet uses a fictional cloud, three helper icons, and one next safe step. Children can point, draw, use AAC, accept partner dictation, or leave every box blank. The goal is to practise a safe route, not gather private information.
A trusted grown-up, school or health helper, safeguarding lead, or emergency service may be the right route in different situations. Adults carry sensitive follow-up privately under the host organisation's policy.
Keep sharing optional
Section 04
Use fictional examples such as a new place, a loud sound, or a hard question. Ask what a character might need rather than who in the room feels that way. A child may listen, point, draw, move, use AAC, or pass.
If a child stops, lowers demand and offer a parallel activity. If a child shares that they are unsafe, listen calmly without leading questions, do not investigate, and follow the trained adult's safeguarding or emergency process.
Seek qualified human care
Section 05
When worry persists, keeps returning, follows a frightening event, or interferes with sleep, school, play, or relationships, invite a conversation with a pediatrician, school counsellor, qualified child mental-health professional, or pastor with safeguarding training.
Immediate danger, self-harm or suicidal thoughts, serious breathing trouble, or an unsafe disclosure calls for local emergency and safeguarding services. In the United States, call or text 988; local services govern elsewhere.
Safeguarding
The first two lines are words you can say. The third is your own next step.
Stop · words to say
You do not have to keep going. We can stop, move, draw, keep eyes open, or sit with a trusted grown-up.
Adapt · words to say
You can listen while I read, draw, move, use AAC, ask a question, or pass. An adult can carry the prayer and the next step.
Get help · your next step
If distress persists, affects daily life, follows a frightening event, or includes danger, self-harm or suicidal thoughts, serious breathing trouble, or an unsafe disclosure, contact a pediatrician, qualified child mental-health professional, safeguarding lead, or local emergency service. In the United States, call or text 988; local services govern elsewhere. Do not investigate or promise secrecy.
Do not
Do not ask for a private fear, diagnosis, family story, or safety disclosure in the group.
Sources
| Publisher | What it supports | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| World English Bibleebible.org | Matthew 6:25–34 reference and surrounding teaching | 2026-08-03 |
| World English Bibleebible.org | Psalm 56:3 reference for honest fear and trust | 2026-08-03 |
| World English Bibleebible.org | Hannah's distress and honest prayer in context | 2026-08-03 |
| World English Bibleworldenglish.bible | Philippians 4:6–7 reference alongside practical help and care | 2026-08-03 |
| NIMHnimh.nih.gov | When persistent distress needs qualified human assessment and support | 2026-08-03 |
| American Academy of Pediatricsaap.org | Expected anxiety, signs of impairment, and pediatric care context. | 2026-08-03 |
| CAST UDL Guidelines 3.0udlguidelines.cast.org | Choice of communication, movement, drawing, AAC, and participation modes | 2026-08-03 |
| UNICEFunicef.org | Safeguarding response and referral boundaries | 2026-08-03 |
Frequently asked questions
- Is this a lesson about anxiety disorders?
- No. It uses everyday words and keeps the lesson outside clinical assessment. A qualified clinician decides whether symptoms need assessment or ongoing support. The lesson rehearses listening, a trusted-adult route, and practical care while leaving personal stories private.
- Should children share their biggest fear?
- No. Use fictional examples, drawing, pointing, AAC, or passing. If a child chooses to tell a trusted adult something sensitive, the adult listens without investigation or secrecy promises and follows the host organisation's safeguarding pathway.
- Does Matthew 6 tell a child to stop worrying?
- It is Jesus' teaching about trust and God's care, not a rebuke that makes distress disappear. Read the whole paragraph, name ordinary needs, and keep practical safety and support beside prayer. A child may listen or pass.
- Can this be used in Sunday school?
- Yes, when a trained leader follows the host organisation's safeguarding, visibility, adult-ratio, and reporting rules. Preview every prompt, name the safe adult, avoid round-robin sharing, and provide a quiet exit before the lesson begins.
- When should a caregiver seek help?
- Seek a pediatrician, school counsellor, qualified child mental-health professional, safeguarding lead, or emergency service when distress persists, impairs daily life, follows trauma, or raises immediate safety concerns. Prayer may accompany that care but cannot carry it alone.