Games are fun, and they’re a great way for kids to expend some energy! Even more importantly, a game is a way to make a lesson more memorable for kids – solidifying the story in their minds.
The good news is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to connect your lesson to a game. Sometimes it just takes a little tweak to a game you already have on hand.
We’ve tried to use games that require minimal contact. If you’re in a rut with games, consider some of these options.
Hot Potato
Two weeks ago I was teaching The Golden Rule from our Sermon on the Mount series. Jesus teaches us to treat others the way we want to be treated because each person is made in God’s image and has value. In the lesson, we illustrate this by calling on a few volunteers to act out different scenarios. Each time, we place a cardboard crown on the heads of these volunteers to remind us that every person is important.
After the lesson when it was time to get some wiggles out, I asked all of the kids to circle up with their small groups. Each group of 8-12 kids had one crown. They were instructed to pass the crown by placing it on the head of the child next to them. I told them,“We want to honor each other. Treat each other as if every person wears a crown.”
We played some fast-paced music, stopping at random intervals, and whoever was left wearing the crown when the music stopped sat out the next round. But they only sit out one round and could rejoin afterward. There you have it - Hot Potato played with an honor crown. The kids LOVED it.
Variations: You could have your kids pass any object that goes along with the day’s lesson.
4 Corners
This Wednesday, after teaching our K-2nd graders what real kingdom fruit looks like with our Proof is in the Pear Tree lesson, I was able to reinforce it with a fruity version of
4-corners. I hung a sign in each corner: “Pray every day,” “Honor others,” “Don’t worry,” “Let go of anger.” I quickly reviewed the rules, asking kids to keep some distance from each other, and I told them that speed-walking was fine but not running.
While I closed my eyes and counted to 10, each child made their way to a corner. Keeping my eyes closed, I called out one of the fruits. Of course, you don’t want to tell kids they are “out” for picking a kingdom fruit, so I told them, “Each time you choose the corner I pick, you get one point. Everyone has to keep up with your own points!” Of course, points don’t really matter; it’s just so fun to play.
I find that any game in which a lot of kids get “out” and have to sit for a while is boring for them, and leads to misbehavior as they try to entertain themselves. So allowing everyone to stay in and gain points is really a win/win.
Variations: I’ve also done this game with places Jesus taught, or names of disciples. You can select any 4 key elements from your lesson.
Other classic games that can be tweaked to enhance your lesson:
Pop Quiz
All the kids start in a squatted position, ready to POP up if you call out a characteristic that applies to them.
Pop up if:
You’re wearing red shoes
You’re a girl
You have a brother
You are a brother
You are in 2nd grade
You have brown eyes
You love pizza
You like to swim
You like math
You were born in another country
You have 4 people in your family
You like broccoli
Etc.
Variations: Use anything you have talked about in your lesson. Ex: If you pray every day, If your Bible is blue, If you were kind this week, If you have seen a real live _____ (animal in creation), etc.
Pet Rock Game
Teacher calls out an animal for the kids to imitate. Call out "Pet Rock" every third or fourth time, at which time kids ball up like a rock (rocks are still and silent).
Let me see a…
Lion
Snake
Pet Rock!
Dog
Eagle
Fish
Pet Rock!
Cat
Giraffe
Pet Rock!
Shark
Kangaroo
Puppy
Pet Rock!
Hippo
Ant
Grasshopper
Pet Rock!
Chicken
Elephant
Mouse
Pet Rock.
Variation: This works great with a Creation lesson, as is. Or you can use characters from any lesson, and don’t worry if characters are limited, they can repeat several times. Ex: Goliath, Israel soldiers, King Saul, David, throw in a sheep and a bird for variety, then Smooth stone! This would be very interesting to do with the plagues!
Change Places
Everyone should stand in a circle of about 12 kids. The “leader” is going to call out a series of statements that may or may not apply to you. For example, the leader will say, “Change places if you’ve ever swam in the ocean!” If that’s something you’ve done before, you will change places so that you’re no longer standing next to either of the people beside you now. If you haven’t done what “the leader” calls out, then you’ll simply stay put.
Change places if:
You were born in another state
You have a brother
You were born in (your state)
You have a cat
You love science
You are the youngest in your family
Your favorite color is blue
Your eyes are brown
You have swam in the ocean
You have a sister
You are a sister
You love recess
You have been to more than 5 states
You love ice cream
You love vegetables
Etc!
Variation: Tell kids to notice who is changing with them. They have something “in common” with those kids. It’s a fun and easy way to find things we have in common.
Heads or Tails
You’ll need a quarter or large coin. All kids stand, and on the count of three, each child will either put their hands on their head (to signify “heads”) or hands on their hips (to signify “tails). After their choices are locked in, kids freeze, then you flip the coin. If it lands on heads, all the tail kids sit down. Keep playing rounds until there's just one person standing.
Variations: Tape a small picture of two things that were in your lesson to either side of the coin. Ex: Darkness and Light. Make up two large and distinct motions for the kids in order to signify choosing one or the other. Then flip away!
Fruit Salad
Assign each child to be a fruit. Assign them the way you would “number off” kids. Banana, apple, pear, banana, apple, pear, banana, apple, pear… (Depending on your group size, you may want 3, 4 or 5 fruits.) All the members are seated in chairs in a circle, but there is one less chair than kids. One child will start off standing in the middle. He/she will call out one of the fruits - ex: “Pears!” When a fruit name is called, the people bearing the fruit name must switch seats; you cannot sit on the same seat you were on. The one who ends up without a seat is the caller next, and he/she calls out any fruit and kids all do the same switch-a-roo and the caller also tries to get a seat. The caller can either call one fruit name or say "Fruit Salad." When fruit salad is mentioned, all kids must switch.
Variations: Can do with animals and yell “Stampede!”; Do with letters and yell “Jumble!”; Do with numbers and yell “Math Quiz!”
Lesson Variation: You could easily substitute elements of your Bible story. Ex: Daniel, King Darius, Royal Rulers, and yell “Lion’s Den!”
Night at the Museum
Everything comes to life when no one is looking!
Dim the lights a bit. One child plays the museum security guard, with a flashlight. He walks around while the others pretend to be statues or artifacts. The artifacts can move, but if they get caught by the guard doing so, they are out.
No one is allowed to touch each other because you can’t touch the stuff in museums! In a large group, you could have a few security guards.
Variation: Spin this to fit a lesson, such as: Night on the Ark (animals are supposed to be sleeping at night. Noah has the flashlight) etc.
Would You Rather?
Divide your room in half. Call out the two choices, designating one side of the room for each choice. Kids should speed walk to the side that they prefer. It’s fun to see kids often show their “degree” of preference by how far they walk to one side or the other, or maybe stay in the middle.
Hamburgers/Pizza
Soccer/Swimming
Cafeteria lunch/Lunchbox lunch
Go to Ocean/Mountains
Math/Science
Cake/Ice cream
Cats/Dogs
Video games/Playing outside
Summer/Winter
Write a story/Draw a picture
Read/Watch TV
Swing/Slide
Chick-Fil-A/Cook Out
Legos/Trampoline
Ability to Fly/Be invisible
Have $10 to spend on yourself/Have $100 to spend on someone else
“If you could” Live on the Moon/Live under the Ocean
Birthday Party (no presents)/ Presents (no party)
Ride on a Train/ Hot Air balloon
Eat dessert “only” for a year/Eat “no” dessert for a year
Variation: You could use this as a lesson review asking multiple choice answers (A or B) or asking true or false questions.
River Crossing
Each child gets 2 paper plates. Designate a starting area and an ending area - this could be from one wall to another, or from a tape line on the floor to another. Ask kids to cross the river using only their “stepping stones” (plates) and see who can get to the other side fastest. Kids will place one plate down, and step onto it. Then they will pick up the plate they were just standing on, move it ahead and step on that one. This continues all the way across. If they fall off their stone they have to start over.
Variation: Kids might be crossing the Jordan River, crossing the wilderness, crossing Samaria, etc.
Spell It Out
Kids can work alone or with a partner. Leader calls out a letter, and kids make the letter with their bodies. They can stand or lay on the ground, however they prefer.
Variation: Have kids spell out several key words from your lesson. For example: First have kids make L. Next, kids make an U. Next make an K. Finally, make an E. What does that spell? Luke!
Tap Out
One player is "it" and stands facing a wall. Other players start at one end of the room, trying to creep up on "it" and be the first person to tap "it" on the shoulder. But "it" can turn around suddenly. Anybody that is moving when “it” turns around must go back to the starting point. No movement can be done while “it” is watching. Whoever touches “it” on the shoulder first becomes “it” for the next round.
Variation: Name "it" as a key character in your story. Tap “Peter,” or tap “Pharoah.” Maybe the Philistines are sneaking up on David. Or the animals are sneaking around behind Noah.
Find a Friend
This one takes a tiny bit of prep work - just printing out some labels. I came up with this game for our KidzLife lesson Words have Power. The memory verse starts out, “Pleasant words are like honey…” so we wanted a game centered on kind words we speak to each other. We came up with a list of kind adjectives, and printed them on stickers. Make sure to have each word repeated 2, 3 or 4 times. To ensure this, take the average number of kids that attend, divide by 3 to see how many words you’ll need, and make 4 stickers each. (For example: If you normally have 24 kids, you’ll choose 8 words. Make 4 stickers each of those 8 different words. This will ensure each word has two or three matches, and possibly four if you have extra kids that day.) As kids arrive, put a sticker on each child. For the game, tell kids to find their matching word. When they find a match, they can come to the front and ring a bell (or maybe give the leader a high five).
Our pleasant words were: Awesome, brave, cheerful, compassionate, courageous, creative, delightful, easy-going, fabulous, faithful, forgiving, friendly, fun, generous, gentle, grateful, graceful, hard-working, helpful, honoring, humble, inspiring, joyful, kind, loving, outstanding, patient, peaceful, real, respectful, trusting, welcoming, wise
Variation: Words could be anything pulled from your lesson.
Dance Party/Freeze
Play upbeat music that goes with the theme of your lesson. Kids dance around as long as the music is on, and freeze when it’s off.
You could play a quiet version by using lights on (for action) or off (for freeze).
Variation: Instead of dancing, have kids act out elements from your lesson. For example, they could act like sheep in a field, or maybe waves in the sea of Galilee, or the crowd waving palm branches.
Games to play when you have limited space:
Charades
On separate slips of paper, write down a handful of keywords from your lesson that can be acted out. Choose kids one at a time to pick one and act it out. The correct guesser gets to be the next actor. Kids will have to recall elements of the lesson as they try to guess.
20 Questions
Think of one thing from your lesson and keep it to yourself. Children have 20 questions to try and work out what the thing is, although you’re only allowed to answer their questions with ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
They may ask things like, ‘is it a person?’, or ‘is it expensive?’. Whoever gets the right answer can have a go at thinking of one themselves.
20 Objects
Place 10-20 objects on a table and give children a couple of minutes to try and memorize them (use objects that have to do with the lesson, such as food found at the last supper, or things found in the Temple). When the time’s up, cover the table with a sheet and get kids to write down as many as they can. Whoever remembers the most is the winner!