Fun & Games are Important! God loves fun – have you ever seen a platypus? watched Otters play? Dolphins? I am convinced that our creator loves fun. Guess what? Kids love fun? It’s been said that if a child is not having fun they are probably not learning. I want kids to love coming to church and looking forward to having fun. That is the idea behind this game book. Our kids love crazy, messy games. Sometimes we use them to teach and most often we use them just to have fun. One of the ways we measure our success in reaching kids is when we find out that kids are begging their parents to bring them back to church. Kids will want to come back to a place that is fun. Games can help new kids feel included right away and that will help to build relationships. Kids who feel connected and have fun will want to come back.
By strategically incorporating games into your kids’ program, you will help create an environment that encourages kids to want to come again. Philippians 4:4 tells us to “rejoice in the Lord always…” God wants us to have fun and delight in His presence. Ecclesiastes 3:4 speaks of “…a time to laugh.” The language of kids is play – their currency is FUN! Things to know about Games • Safety is a top priority. • Always do a test-run before using the game in service. • Have all your supplies on stage and ready to use. • Avoid long instructions – keep it simple. • Do not permit or encourage games that make someone the object of a joke. • When choosing teams be intentional about creating balanced teams. • Be sure the “Game Leader” is a FUN person!
Supplies Needed: 3 Shape Sorter toddler toys 3 Blindfolds How to Play: Blindfold the 3 volunteers and have them race to see who can insert the correct shapes the fastest. Double the Fun: Have some Crazy game music playing on “Go� Athletic headbands make great blindfolds
Supplies Needed: 3 Bags Cheetos 3 Cans of Whipped Crème How to Play: Arrange several pairs of students up front. One partner gets whipped cream spread on his or her face. The other partner stands back about 5 feet and tosses Cheetos on the whipped creamed partner's face for sixty seconds. Whoever ends up with the most Cheetos on his or her face wins. Double the Fun: Have some Crazy game music playing on “Go” Add blindfolds to the tossers. Provide Baby Wipes for easy clean up. (Protective Eye Wear Recommended.)
Supplies Needed: One bag of cookies for each team (Oreos, Gingersnaps or Nilla Wafers work great) One chair for each team How to Play: Select teams of 3 or 4 people for each team. One team members sits in the chair. The other team members are given a box of cookies. Within one minute, the team members must stack their cookies, one on top of the other, on the seated person’s forehead. The team with the most cookies stacked wins. Double the Fun: Have some Crazy game music playing on “Go” Try this game with Starburst
Supplies Needed: 2 Dowel Rods – 3’ long Yarn Powered or Chocolate Donuts How to Play: Attach the same length of yarn to each dowel rod. Tie a donut to the end of each strand of yarn. Select teams of two – one to sit in the chair – one to stand behind the chair and hold the rod. The donut is to be held out in front of the kids sitting in the chairs. The first one to eat the donut wins. No hands allowed. Double the Fun: Have some Crazy game music playing on “Go” Have extra yarn pre-cut to replace the yarn after each round Provide Baby Wipes for easy clean up.
Supplies Needed: 1 Jar of baby food for each team member 1 Box of plastic spoons How to Play: Before the game begins, rip the labels off of several jars of baby food. The baby food jars do not need to be the same for all groups. When the leader says go, the team members will work together to taste their assigned jars of baby food. The group that guesses the most jars of baby food correctly wins. NOTE: Make sure you devise a “key” to determine correct answers during and after the game. The easiest way to do that is to use a marker to write a number on the jar that matches a corresponding key sheet with the correct baby food flavor. Double the Fun: Have some Crazy game music playing on “Go” Provide baby wipes and a drink for each contestant after the game.
Supplies Needed: Two Ho-Ho’s for each player 1 Glass of Milk for each player How to Play: Bring 4-6 students up front. Give them each one (or two) Ho-Ho's and a glass of milk. Let them know that this is a simple contest of "the first one done with the Ho-Ho's and milk WINS!" Yell "Go!" and let the games begin! Double the Fun: Have some Crazy game music playing on “Go” Be sure you have the kids open their mouth to show that the food is GONE
Supplies Needed: 9 Rolls of Toilet Paper How to Play: Pick three groups of three people each. Give each a roll or two of toilet paper. Make sure you give each team the same amount. Two people wrap up (like a mummy) the third person in the group. The object of the game is to: See who can wrap up their "mummy" first or who does the best job with their "mummifying". Double the Fun: Have some Crazy game music playing on “Go� Choose a team of kids to wrap an adult leader
Supplies Needed: 3 Plungers with double heads 3 Tennis Balls String How to Play: In most hardware stores you can buy the pink plunger part separate from the stick. So get two plunger ends for every stick. Put one plunger end at each end of the stick. Tie a tennis ball by about 2 feet of string to the middle of the stick. Choose six students, in order to make three pairs. On "go", each pair has to hold the plunger between their heads, with the ends on their foreheads and together they have to wrap the tennis ball around the stick without using their hands (other than to hold the plunger to their heads). The first team to wind the tennis ball all the way to the top wins. Double the Fun: Have some Crazy game music playing on “Go� Use a sixty second clock if no one completes the contest
Supplies Needed: 3 four foot long pieces of string Bag of large marshmallows How to Play: Choose 3 pairs of kids to play and give each pair a four foot long piece of string and two marshmallows. On "GO" the pairs tie one marshmallow on each end of the string. Player A in each pair holds one marshmallow in his/her mouth while standing facing the front of the room. Player B stands to the side of player A at an arm's length, looking toward player A. Moving only his/her head, player A begins to swing the string back and forth like a pendulum while player B attempts to catch the swinging marshmallow in his mouth. Both players may move only their head, no bending over. The winner is the first pair in which player B catches the marshmallow. Double the Fun: Have some Crazy game music playing on “Go� Have several pre-cut lengths of string to allow for additional rounds of play
Supplies Needed: One banana per participant How to Play: Bring up 4 students, have them take off their shoes and socks, and hand each of them a banana. Make sure the crowd can see them really well; if available, use a live video feed. When the leader says go, the contestants are supposed to peel the banana with their feet as quickly as they can. They can use both feet to accomplish this task. Judge the winner by speed and final condition of the banana. Double the Fun: Have some Crazy game music playing on “Go� Assign teams to root for the contestants Provide Baby Wipes for easy clean up.