Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Puzzlify is our product, so weigh what follows with that in mind. We've tried to make this useful even if you never use it. We're not affiliated with any parish council, parochial church council, diocese, church, chapel, circuit, school, charity, sponsor, council or community organisation.
It's ten past ten on a Sunday morning, and halfway through the first hymn a small line of children follows Ruth out of the side door and across the car park to the church hall. There are eleven of them this week, from a three-year-old holding her big brother's hand to two eleven-year-olds who are slightly too cool for it but come anyway. Ruth has taught Sunday school here for nineteen years. She has a plastic crate in the hall cupboard with glue sticks, felt tips with the lids lost, a roll of lining paper and a biscuit tin of animal stickers. This term they're doing Noah, so the wall is covered in a paper ark, with pairs of animals that the children have coloured in, slightly wonky, with a giraffe that is taller than the ark. Martin helps on alternate weeks; he does the story with a puppet and the voices. At twenty past eleven the children troop back into church for the blessing, holding up their pictures, and a few of the older members of the congregation, who went to the same Sunday school sixty years ago, smile. One of the eleven-year-olds once told Ruth that Sunday school was "basically the best bit". She wrote it down.
Sunday school teachers give up the service they came for, every week, to sit on tiny chairs with glue on their fingers. If you'd like to thank the people who teach your children on Sunday mornings, this is a guide to doing it simply and well, with an honest look at whether a photo puzzle is a good idea.
Who we mean
Every church calls it something different: Sunday school, junior church, children's church, kids' club. The people we mean might:
- plan the story, the craft and the song for each week
- lead the children out during the service and bring them back for the blessing
- keep the crate of crafts stocked, and buy the glue sticks out of their own pocket
- run the nativity play, the Easter garden or the harvest display
- remember every child's name, and the name of their dog
- help with the register, the safeguarding paperwork and the allergy list
- welcome the new family who don't know where the toilets are
- stay behind to sweep the glitter off the hall floor
Why a thank-you matters here
Children's work in a church is one of the hardest rotas to fill and one of the easiest to take for granted. The teachers miss most of the sermon, most of the singing and often the coffee afterwards. They hear about it when there's paint on someone's Sunday best, and rarely when a child comes home and tells the story of Noah all the way through lunch. A thank-you from a parent, a grandparent, a child, the clergy or the congregation tells them it matters.
A little honest background
Churches have their own safeguarding rules for children's work, and they matter. Follow them, and don't share photos of children without the church's and parents' agreement. If you'd like to help, ask what's actually needed; often it's someone to take a turn on the rota, not a new idea for the curriculum.
A thank-you gift is personal and separate from the church's finances. Keep it small; it should never feel like payment. If you'd like to give in their honour, ask the church how they'd prefer it, for example towards new craft supplies, rather than handing money to one person.
What makes a good photo
- the paper Noah's ark on the hall wall, with its wonky giraffe
- the tray of glue sticks, felt tips and stickers on the little table
- a row of tiny chairs in a circle, before the children arrive
- the Easter garden or the harvest display the children made
- the puppet Martin uses for the stories, sitting on the piano
- a child's drawing of the teacher, if the family agrees
A few practical points:
- Keep children's faces out of the photo unless the parents and the church have agreed. A photo of the craft, the wall display or the empty chairs is usually the kindest and safest choice.
- Close-ups make better puzzles than wide shots. Bright felt-tip colours and paper animals give every piece something to hold on to.
- Natural light is better than flash. A hall window on a Sunday morning works well.
- Ask before photographing anything on the wall; it's the children's work.
- Choose a photo the teacher will recognise straight away as theirs.
Picking a piece count
| Pieces | Good for |
|---|---|
| 24 | a quick, cheerful puzzle on a phone, or one a child can do with the teacher |
| 48 | a relaxed ten minutes with a cup of tea after the service |
| 80 | a good evening's puzzle for someone who likes a challenge |
| 130 | a detailed photo, like a busy wall display full of animals |
| 252 | a real project, best on a tablet or computer, for a long winter evening |
If you're not sure, 48 is a safe choice for most people.
When and how to send it
Good moments include the end of term, the Sunday after the nativity, the week a child moves up to the youth group, or when a long-serving teacher finally steps back. Make the puzzle, write the note, publish the link, and send it by email or message, or print the link as a QR code inside a card the children have signed. The recipient doesn't need an account or an app, and the note appears when the last piece clicks into place. If they don't use a smartphone, a card with the QR code and a handwritten message works, or skip the puzzle and just give the card.
Note examples
- "Ruth, nineteen years of glue sticks and stories. Thank you for every Sunday."
- "From Amelia, aged six: the giraffe was the best bit."
- "Thank you for remembering our dog's name every single week."
- "To Martin and the puppet: our son still does the voices at bedtime."
- "From the parents: thank you for giving up the sermon for our children."
- "You taught my mum, and now you teach my daughter. Thank you."
What it costs, plainly
The preview is free, so you can see how it looks before deciding anything. Publishing the link costs one credit (€3.99), or less per puzzle with a bundle. It's a digital puzzle, not a printed or cardboard one, so nothing arrives in the post. If a card and a few sentences feel like enough, they are.
Ideas that are not a puzzle
- a card signed by every child, with their drawings inside
- a new box of felt tips and glue sticks, so they don't have to buy them again
- offering to take a turn on the rota so they can sit in the service now and then
- a few lines in the parish newsletter thanking the Sunday school team
- a thank-you from the front at the end of term, with the children leading the applause
- a donation towards children's work in their honour, if the church welcomes it
Where Puzzlify fits
Puzzlify turns a personal photo into a private digital jigsaw that you send as a link. It isn't a printed puzzle, and it isn't a public puzzle board: only the people you send it to can open it. It's one option among many, and it works best when the photo means something to the person receiving it.
If a photo puzzle feels right as well, choose the paper ark on the wall, the tray of crafts or the circle of tiny chairs, keep children's faces out unless everyone has agreed, pick a piece count that suits them, and write the note in your own words. You can preview it free here.
Whatever you send, the most important part is the sentence that sounds like you, written to the people who leave the service every week with a line of children behind them, and bring them back holding pictures of a wonky giraffe.
Written by the small team behind Puzzlify (info@puzzlify.app). Not legal, religious, safeguarding, child protection, education, data protection, photography permission or gift policy advice.