USING GAMES IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS
1. GOAL
A. PROVERBS 17:22 – GAMES ARE FUN AND EXCITING.
B. YOUR KIDS WILL ENJOY YOUR CLASS AND LOOK FORWARD TO SUNDAY SCHOOL IF YOU USE GAMES.
C. HELPS REVIEW THE LESSON WHILE HAVE FUN.
2. PARTICIPATION
A. USE GAMES THAT LET YOUR KID PARTICIPATE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
B. THE MORE YOUR KIDS PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS OR LESSON, THE LONGER THEY WILL REMEMBER IT AND THEY WILL LEARN MORE.
C. AT TIMES, LET THE KIDS CHOOSE THE GAME THEY WANT TO PLAY.
3. PRIZES
A. PRIZES ARE NOT NECESSARY, BUT IF YOU WANT TO GIVES PRIZES, CANDY AND SMALL TOYS ARE SUFFICIENT.
B. KEEP THINGS INEXPENSIVE. A BAG OF ASSORTED CANDY IS A GOOD REWARD. GIVE A PIECE WHENEVER A QUESTION IS ANSWERED CORRECTLY.
4. COMPETITION
A. PLAY BOYS AGAINST THE GIRLS.
B. PLAY TEAMS WITH TWO CAPTAINS.
5. MATERIAL
A. MAKE YOUR OWN MATERIAL FOR THE GAMES.
B. YOU CAN BUY BOOKS AT THE BIBLE HOUSE ABOUT SUNDAY SCHOOL GAMES.
6. EXAMPLES OF GAMES TO PLAY
A. BIBLE BASEBALL – TWO TEAMS. HAVE 4 CHAIRS SET UP. YOUR QUESTIONS ARE WORTH A SINGLE, DOUBLE, TRIPLE, OR HOME RUN-DEPENDING ON THE DIFFICULTY OF THE QUESTION. IF THEY ANSWER IT CORRECTLY, THEY TAKE THAT MANY BASES. IF THEY MISS IT, THEN THAT’S ONE OUT. THREE OUTS PER TEAM. EVERYONE MOVES HOWEVER MANY BASES THE QUESTION WAS WORTH. (RUNNER AT 2ND, AND A PERSON ANSWERS ONE WORTH A SINGLE, RUNNER AT 2ND GOES TO 3RD).
B. BLINDMAN’S GUESS. PUT BLINDFOLD ON CHILD. THE CHILD MUST FEEL AN OBJECT FROM THE LESSON (BIRD, CANE, TREE, ETC.) AND IDENTIFY THE OBJECT AND TELL ITS’ RELATION TO THE STORY.
C. CHARADES – HAVE TEACHER OR CHILD ACT OUT A PART OF A LESSON AND THE STUDENTS GUESS WHAT PART AND LESSON THE PERSON IS ACTING OUT. (PERSON GIVING DEMONSTRATION CANNOT TALK OR SPELL DURING ACT.)
D. COMPLETE THE SCRIPTURE – GIVE SCRIPTURE AND LET THE STUDENTS FINISH IT. (I AND MY FATHER ARE ONE.)
E. COMPLETE THE SENTENCE – SAME AS ABOVE, EXCEPT USE A SENTENCE INSTEAD OF A SCRIPTURE.
F. CONCENTRATION – TAKE A PICTURE FROM THE VISUALS AND COVER IT WITH NUMBERED SQUARES. AS STUDENTS ANSWER THE QUESTIONS, THEY CAN PULL A SQUARE AND TRY TO GUESS WHAT THE PICTURE IS. SEE WHO GETS THE PICTURE FIRST.
G. FISHING – TEACHER WRITES QUESTIONS ON PIECES OF PAPER. KIDS “FISH” FOR THEM OVER A SCREEN WITH A HOMEMADE POLE. TEACHER BEHIND SCREEN CLIPS QUESTIONS TO LINE. IF THE CHILD ANSWERS THE QUESTION RIGHT THEY GET A PRIZE.
H. GRAB BAG – PUT OBJECTS FROM LESSON (VISUALS PICTURES, ETC.) IN BIG BAG. CHILD TAKES ONE OUT OF THE BAG AND RELATES IT TO THE STORY IT WAS USED IN.
I. HANGMAN – TEACHER CHOOSES A BIBLE WORD AND KIDS GUESS TO SEE IF THEY SPELL IT OUT. AS THE GUESS A LETTER, THEY EITHER HANG A PART OF THE PERSON OR GET ANOTHER LETTER RIGHT.
J. HIDE ‘N’ SEEK – HIDE OBJECTS FROM THE LESSON IN THE CLASSROOM. DON’T TELL KIDS WHAT THEY’RE LOOKING FOR. SEE HOW MANY THEY CAN FIND.
K. JUMBLES – PATTERN YOUR OWN JUMBLE AFTER THE ONE IN THE NEWSPAPER. WRITE IT ON THE CHALKBOARD AND SEE WHO CAN SOLVE IT.
L. KING AND QUEEN – GET ONE BOY AND ONE GIRL AT THE FRONT OF THE CLASS. THE REST OF THE CLASS THEN GET TO ASK THEM QUESTIONS FROM LESSON. THEY REMAIN KING AND QUEEN UNTIL SOMEONE ASKS A QUESTION THEY CANNOT ANSWER. THEN THE PERSON WHO ASKED BECOMES KING OR QUEEN (BOYS ASK THE KING, GIRLS ASK THE QUEEN.)
M. SCRAMBLE – WRITE A WORD OR SCRIPTURE ON A PIECE OF CONSTRUCTION PAPER AND CUT IT UP. HAVE A CHILD SEE IF THEY CAN PUT IT BACK TOGETHER FROM MEMORY.
N. SCRIPTURES SIMILARITY HUNT – GET SOME SCRIPTURES FROM YOUR CONCORDANCE AND HAVE YOUR KIDS LOOK THEM UP AND SEE WHO CAN FIND THE COMMON THEME FIRST.
O. SEARCH – GIVE YOUR CHILDREN SOME WORDS TO FIND IN THE BIBLE. THEY HAVE TO FIND THE WORD AND WRITE THE SCRIPTURE.
P. SWORD DRILL – GIVE ALL YOUR KIDS A BIBLE. GIVE A SCRIPTURE AND THE FIRST ONE TO FIND IT HAS TO JUMP UP AND READ IT.
Q. TIC-TAC-TOE – DRAW A TIC-TAC-TOE ON THE BOARD. DIVIDE INTO TWO TEAMS, X’s AND O’s. ASK EACH SIDE A QUESTION TAKING TURNS. AS THEY ANSWER CORRECTLY, LET THEM PUT THEIR X OR O ON THE BOARD. 3 IN A ROW WINS.
R. WHAT AM I? – MAKE UP QUESTIONS ASKING WHAT AM I? THE PERSON WHO GUESSES RIGHT WINS. I WAS A BIG BOAT THAT SAVED PEOPLE FROM A FLOOD. WHAT AM I? NOAH’S ARK.
S. WHO AM I? – SAME AS ABOVE, EXCEPT USING PEOPLE. I BUILT A BIG BOAT TO SAVE MY FAMILY AND THE ANIMALS. WHO AM I? NOAH. COMBINE THE TWO GAMES AND MAKE 1 GAME IF YOUR WANT.
T. 100 YARD DASH – MAKE A CHART GOING FROM 10 TO 100 BY TENS. ASK YOUR KIDS QUESTIONS AND THEY MOVE UP ACCORDING TO HOW MANY THEY ANSWER. ASK THE SAME CHILD UNTIL THEY MISS. HIGHEST ONE OR THE FIRST TO THE FINISH LINE WINS.
7. MISCELLANEOUS
A. USE THESE GAMES AS HELPS TO YOUR TEACHING METHODS.
B. COMBINE GAMES OR MAKE UP YOUR OWN.
C. SOME GAMES, SUCH AS KING AND QUEEN, CAN BE USED FOR A WHOLE QUARTER. THE KING OR QUEEN WILL BE SURE TO SHOW UP EVERY WEEK THEN.
D. KIDS LOVE GAMES SO USE THEM TO YOUR ADVANTAGE MAKE CLASS EXCITING FOR YOU AND YOUR CLASS.
(The original source and/or publisher of the above material is unknown.)
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