All posts in Games

Easter Activities for Teens

By Lindsey | March 29, 2013 | Games | No comments

Easter is just around the corner and we’re busy planning menus and activities for the kids. In our extended family, the kids are getting older (teens already!) and the Easter egg hunt is just not as thrilling as it used to be! :) So, I set out in search of a few older activities that the kids might enjoy.

Games

There’s nothing like some games to liven up the party, right? Minutes to Win It Style games are perfect for family get-togethers because they are quick, exciting and people can jump in and out with ease. So, I set out in search of Easter-themed Minute to Win it Games. Here’s what I discovered:

Pencil Bounce

Pencil Bounce from Simply Homeschool

The object of this game is to bounce 10 Spring or Easter pencils into a cup in one minute or less. Harder than it sounds!

Jelly Bean Toss

Lifeway Kids has some GREAT games in this post, complete with videos!! I especially love this Jelly Bean toss game, but I’m sure my mom won’t appreciate finding jelly beans all over her floor for weeks!

I think we will give this Peanut Butter whistle game a try — anything for an excuse to eat a peanut butter egg!

You can also score 10 FREE EASTER MINUTE TO WIN IT GAMES from Children’s Ministry Deals!

Check it out here!!

The Egg Drop

This is a game I used to love from Youth Camp. The idea is to build an cushioning system for your (hard-boiled) egg. Everyone drops their egg from a high place (my parents back porch will be perfect for this!) and whoever survives wins! Participants must build with whatever materials they are given. Some ideas include tape, newspaper, old berry containers, or old egg cartons.

Still Thinking….

I’m still thinking of a few more ideas including a reverse egg hunt, but wanted to get you started with some ideas!

What About You?

What kind of older kid activities do you do at Easter time?

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Sunday Snapshot

By Lindsey | December 23, 2012 | Christmas, Elementary Age, Games, Ministry Ideas | No comments

Today, I wanted to cover the Christmas story in a fresh new way, so to begin, we read the Christmas Story from the Jesus Storybook Bible. I’m not crazy about this Bible — I think the authors take a lot of unneeded liberties, but the pictures are very vibrant and this story was accurate, so we went with it.

Afterwards we played Christmas Jeopardy, a favorite among our kids!

In case you can’t see it, the categories are: Songs, Traditions, Events, Places, and Characters.

I made the “Characters” category pretty easy and only allowed 4-5 year olds to pick from that category (we have ages 4-9 in our Children’s Church program). If you’d like all the questions, send me an email or leave me a comment and I would be happy to send them your way!

After the Jeopardy game was complete, I quickly told the kids the legend of the Candy Cane based on this book:

Then we played a little Minute to Win It type of game using Candy Canes, but I’ll have to post more on that later!!

Merry Christmas!

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Planning a Halloween Block Party

By Lindsey | September 20, 2011 | Games, Halloween, Holidays and Events | 3 Comments

As a child, we never celebrated Halloween. We closed the door, turned off the light, and had a family night. I grew up knowing the roots of Halloween are not something to be celebrated, and I still agree with that sentiment. As a parent, I might continue in this tradition. However, I’m not just a parent — I’m also a Children’s Ministry Director, and as such, it’s my job to really shine the light of Jesus into the community.

I was listening to Children’s Ministry Talk last year and they advocated having a block party or driveway party with songs, puppets, and maybe a few games. It sounded like a great idea, but a little tough to pull off as far as drawing crowds in. Our church is pretty suburban and doesn’t draw a huge crowd of kids. However, when I found out that one of our congregation members lives in a cul-de-sac that has around 300 kids stop by on Halloween, I figured we had found our solution.

This year, we’re planning a block party. I’ll admit, I’m a little nervous. When we’ve had a party at the church, we’ve gotten 5-10 guests. But meeting 300 new kids and their parents in one night? And trying to plan and pull off a great party (that leaves them talking) with a limited budget? This is going to be a task!

I picked up the latest issue of Oriental Trading’s Faith and Fun catalog to try to gather up some ideas (Bonus, you get a $10 gift card when you spend $59 or more right now!). At first, I thought about some of the craft kits, but with 300 potential participants, that will rack up the cost fast. Here’s a few other things I thought of:

Pin the Leaf on the Tree Game

Using these self-adhesive foam leaves (no tape, less trouble!), kids can try to pin leaves on a tree drawn onto some butcher paper. Mark an “X’ on one of the branches to give the kids something to aim for. At 500 pieces for $8.00, that a pretty good deal! Make several trees ahead of time in case the branches get too crowded.

Leaf Stamps

You could set up craft table, and let the kids stamp with these leaf stamps. Ink pads might be a little pricey, but if you have leftover paint from other projects (washable!), you could have kids dip the stamps in that for a nice leaf place mat or other piece of art. Also at the craft table could be Halloween or Harvest coloring pages from Ministry to Children. I also searched around for some harvest crafts using toilet paper rolls (did I mention I have an abundance of these due to a little mis-communication?). I found some instructions for a kaleidoscope here and here, but it might be a little complicated for this venue. Binoculars might be a thought.

Matching Duck Game

Using these ducks, kids try to match numbers that are preprinted on the bottom. Grab your kiddie pool and this set for $10 and you’ve got a quick and easy festival game!

*Update: Looks like the original set is sold old. Try one of these sets instead.

Classics

They don’t call them classics for nothing! We might also include some of these games: Bobbing for apples, Ring Toss (using pumpkins as the target), Knock over the Can, Limbo, Eat the Dangling Donut, Guess how much candy in the jar, and other things like this. Family Fun magazine usually has some great ideas including this giant Twister game or giant Marbles game. Minute to Win It Games (at stations) might be good too. If you’re on Pinterest, you can grab some great ideas there too (maybe I’ll post on this later!)

Decorations

You won’t need too much — the activity will draw a crowd, but throwing some of these Jesus balloons around can’t hurt!

Prizes

Of course, you need some kind of prizes for the kids to take home. Candy is an obvious choice (I’d order from here). I also spotted these cool Bible verse coins:

They are $5 for 144 pieces, so it might not be too bad, and the kids would have some Scripture to take home, not just sugar. They also have “He Lives” coins, and Kindness coins if you’re looking for a little variety (same price).

Your Ideas Are Welcome!

What are you planning this year? I’d love to hear about it!

3 Games from Family Fun Magazine

By Lindsey | September 5, 2011 | Games | 10 Comments

While browsing through this month’s edition of Family Fun, I spotted a few fun relay that would be perfect for Children’s Ministry. You can check them out on their website:

Wacky Waiter: A fun relay using paper plates and a ping pong ball
Sneaker Scramble: The kids in our ministry are always taking their shoes off — why not make it a game?
Grab Bag: Get the camera ready!

You can often snag a whole year’s subscription for #3.89 at Best Deal Magazines with a coupon code. I’ll let you know when I see it available again. As it is, I think I have 6 years already. They’ve got great ideas!

Have you stumbled across a great idea? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Back to School Bash!

By Lindsey | August 22, 2011 | Games, Holidays and Events, Ministry Ideas | 8 Comments

It’s that time of year again! Backpacks are flying off the shelves, carts are being filled with crayons, kids are squeezing in last minute trips to amusement parks and swimming pools. It’s coming! Back to School! Of course, any change in the season like this is a great excuse to have a celebration. (It’s also a great time to stock up on your kidmin supplies. I recently picked up an off-brand of crayons at Wal-mart for 19 cents for a 24 -pack box, and K-mart has Crayola 24-packs on sale this week for 25 cents!)

So, what do you have planned for your Children’s Ministry Back to School Bash?

Last year, we did a Minute to Win It theme for our party (here’s some more back-to-school party ideas), but sometimes the kids watching the games get restless, so we thought we’d try something new this year. Check out the schedule below:

Crayon Hide & Seek

Take 5-10 crayons and hide them around a large room or gymnasium. Let the kids run around, searching for the crayons. Whoever finds the crayon hides it next. Non crayon-hiding-kids stay in a side classroom while crayons are being hidden (again). Repeat until kids whine that they are bored. :)

Friend Scavenger Hunt

Using this form, have kids get to know their friends and leaders a bit better.

Tower Builder

Using various school supplies and recycled materials (toilet paper rolls, water bottles, pop cans, etc), have kids work in groups to build a tower. Appoint three leaders as judges and have them declare a winner in the following categories: height, creativity, and beauty.

Lesson: Armor of God

Are the kids in your ministry ready for the spiritual battle that awaits them in school? They better suit up properly with the Armor found in Ephesians 6! Check out the complete lesson here.

Classic Playground Games: Get ready for recess with these fun games!

15 Seconds of Fame: Check instructions here
Jump the Trap: Get instructions here
Sidewalk Chalk: Let the kids loose in the parking lot! (May be a good idea to cone off an area so cars can’t get through)

Extreme Game: Try the Piñaqua: Directions here

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Minute to Win It: Million Dollar Redemption

By Lindsey | June 8, 2011 | Games, Minute to Win It | 1 Comment

In this episode of NBC’s hit game show “Minute to Win It” (Season 2, Episode 30), former contestant Heather gets a second chance at the million. I wasn’t able to catch the first half of this 2-part special, so these games will be a bit harder than usual. Use them for adults or your youth group!

Level 5 Challenge: On the Hook

In this game, contestant must hold a chopstick in their mouth, attached to a string and open paper clip. She has to fish 4 keys of a stand (or stool) in front of her. Heather got a bonus 10 seconds for this game, and it’s good thing too — she finished with just 4 seconds of her 70 seconds to spare!

Level 6 Challenge: Laying Track

In this game, contestant must use staples, flipped upside down to build a track for a marble on a tilted table. The track must go over 3 pairs of erasers and drop into a glass at the end of the table. The lady nailed this one for $75,000!

Level 7: Caddy Stack

Heather is starting to get pretty worked up, but she feels confident about this game. For the next level, she has to stack three golf balls and they have to stay for 3 seconds. Sounds easy right? Go ahead, try it at home! She nailed it quick. Way to earn $125,000! Now, will she go on?

Level 8: Mag-Nutstacker

Of course she will! This classic nutstacker game gets spiced up a bit at this level. Contestant must alternate stacking nuts and magnets with a chopstick. The whole pile must be then moved to a different table before winning a quarter of a million dollars! And she does it again! Amazing! With $250,000 in the bank, of course she’s moving on!

Level 9: Get Forked

In this nearly impossible task, contest must roll a quarter 15 feet towards a fork. The object is to get the coin catch a coin in the prongs of a fork. This tough task did Heather in, but she still walked away with quite a wallet-full.

That’s it for now!

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