More Sunday School Games to Try
5. Lost in the Blizzard (suggested for preschool)
You’ll need a blindfold for each child.
- Toss a blindfold to each person. Say: Here, catch!
- Ask kids to spread out around the room, then blindfold them. Explain that everyone is lost in a snowy blizzard and can’t see. However, kids can yell for help and find others in the blizzard by following the sounds of their voices.
- Say that you don’t want anyone left stranded in the blizzard. So as soon as they find another child, they should hold hands and try to link up with more. (Help hesitant children find the others.)
- When all the kids have linked up together, say: We all found each other! Good! Now let’s take off our blindfolds and see what we can find in the rest of our lesson.
6. Scripture Pop-Up (suggested for K-3)
- Find a simple Bible verse – or one you’re studying — and assign each child a different word from it. If you have lots of students, give several the same word.
- Have kids mix themselves up and crouch down. As you read the verse, children should each jump up when they hear their word. Then have them quickly crouch down again.
- Reread the verse a number of times in several ways — fast, slow, in a high voice, in a low voice. Finally, read the verse and have kids pop up and stand in a line — in order like the verse.
- Then say: Now let’s all pop back to our lesson.
7. Fill Noah’s Ark (suggested for grades 4-6)
You’ll need three empty margarine tubs, about 75 slips of paper and three markers or pens. You’ll also need snacks, such as animal crackers, Teddy Grahams or fish crackers.
- Form three teams. Have them line up on one side of the room. Give each team about 25 slips of paper and a marker or pen. At the other side of the room, place an empty margarine tub for each team.
- Explain that each team should fill its tub (which you call Noah’s ark) with as many different animals as the team can name. Team members take turns writing an animal’s name on a slip and then running to the team’s Noah’s ark to deposit the slip. Team members can help each other think of animals; however, teams can have only one runner going at a time. When a runner returns, another child may run to the ark to drop in an animal’s name.
- Play for about five minutes. At the end, count the number of animals in each ark, discarding any duplicates. Announce the winning team by awarding them the animal crackers, Teddy Grahams or fish crackers. Have them serve the other children, then let everyone munch the goodies.
- After the snack time, say: Now that we’ve filled up the ark and filled up our stomachs, let’s fill up our minds with knowledge from our lesson.
8. Beach Ball Bounce (suggested for grades 4-6)
You’ll need two beach towels and a beach ball.
- Throw a beach towel to a person on one side of the room. Throw another beach towel to a person on the other side of the room.
- Form two equal-size teams by having kids get with the beach towel-holder closest to them. Have team members surround their towel and hold it taut.
- Then give one team a beach ball. Have that team use the taut towel to toss the beach ball to the other team. That team should try to catch the ball with its towel. See how many times teams can toss the ball back and forth without dropping it.
- Start out with teams close together, then move farther apart.
- Finally, say: We had a ball with that activity. Now let’s have a ball with our lesson!
Jolene Roehlkepartain is a writer and educator who has written more than 30 books.
This article about Sunday school games for kids originally appeared here.
