Hobbies And Interests
Review Games
Review games can be used to reiterate details of the Bible lesson in a relatively painless way. Prepare a set of review questions that pertain to the day's lesson for each of these games. "Heads Up Questions" offers an effective way to keep kids focused during review. Holding a large ball, ask the students a question. Toss the ball to the child that you would like to call on for an answer. The child will catch the ball, hopefully give an answer, and then toss the ball back to you.
Another option is to divide the students into 2 teams and play a simple game of tic-tac-toe. Each team sends up one person who will be asked a review question. If the student answers correctly, he can place a mark for his team on a tic-tac-toe grid. First team to get three marks in a row wins.
Try a simple game of Bible Jeopardy to reiterate lesson points. Use quizzing buzzers and make a game board in advance and play the game in teams with students buzzing in to give the question that corresponds with the answer revealed on the game board. This can be particularly effective if used as a reward activity at the end of a series of lessons.
Circle Games
Circle games provide a great way to keep a large group of children entertained and orderly. Have the children sit in a circle and roll a ball across the circle to another person. With each roll, the receiving child will recite one word of the day's memory verse.
A variation of the game "Hot Potato" can help children learn about the books of the Bible. Write the names of the books of the Bible on index cards. Place some of the cards in the center of the circle in the order that they fall in the Bible, leaving spaces for the cards that you don't use. Pass one card around the circle as music plays. The child holding the card when the music stops will take the card to the center of the circle and place it in the correct open space according to the order that the book falls in the Bible.
Another way to help children become familiar with the books of the Bible is this variation of "Simon Says." As the children stand in a circle, the leader stands in the middle and says something like "Isaiah says pat your head." The kids should only obey the command if the name given is a book of the Bible. Change the name given with each command. If a child obeys a command given by a name that is not a book in the Bible, they will have to sit down.
Active Games
If the group is a little smaller, active games provide the opportunity for children to blow off steam. Stage a "true or false" Bible trivia race to get kids on their feet. Have children stand behind a line at one end of the room facing a second line at the opposite end of the room. Ask the students a series of "true or false" Bible trivia questions. Each student should raise her right hand for true or her left hand for false. All who answer correctly may take one small step forward. The first to reach the line at the opposite end of the room is the winner.
A Bible verse scavenger hunt can be a lot of fun. Divide the children into smaller groups and give each group a Bible verse that offers a hint to next clue's location. For example, the verse Psalm 119:104 refers to God's Word as a lamp, directing the players to a light fixture in the room. Each location will give another verse and clue. The first group to find all of the verses wins.
Adapt a game of charades by having participants divide into teams and try to get their teammates to guess which Bible story the player is acting out.
You could also stage a memory verse relay race. Divide the children into two groups. Each team will race, one player at a time, to a table that has a piece of paper and a pencil. Once at the table, the player will write one word of the memory verse and then run back to the starting point to tag the next player. The first team to complete the verse wins.
Quiet Games
There are times when a leader needs to calm things down. Quiet games are an excellent way to shift gears and bring things into focus.
Show seated players a tray containing items that relate to a Bible story such as a small trumpet, a piece of red cord, a sandal, a picture of a walled city for the story of Joshua and the battle of Jericho. Players will try to memorize what's on the tray and guess which Bible story is depicted.
A variation of this theme is the game "What's in the bag?" Fill a bag with items relating to a Bible story. As you reveal the items one at a time, have the kids guess which Bible story the items relate to. For example, the story of Noah's ark can be communicated through a pair of plastic animals, a rain gauge and boat related items such as a miniature anchor or a sailor's knot.