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You can use games to teach Bible stories and truths to children in
your Christian Preschool or Children's Ministry Sunday School class. Games are also a good way to learn the Memory
Verse or Challenge
Activity.
General Guidelines for Playing Games.
 | The reason for playing the game is to help all the
children learn about God and the Christian way of life, not to identify the smartest, most outgoing, most
aggressive, or most competitive child in the class.
 | Be sensitive to newcomers that do not know the
materials. |
| Be sensitive to shy children that know the
material but are too shy to try. |
| Do not tolerate children criticizing or making
fun of a child that does not know the answer or is too shy to say what
they know. |
| It is the teacher's responsibility to ensure
that each game builds the self-confidence and knowledge of each child in
the class. |
| The children face competitive pressures every
day in school, sports, etc. Children should learn in Sunday School
that in God's eyes, everyone is equal.
Use your time with them to build their self-confidence. |
|
| Repetition is good. Use games that give each
child an opportunity to repeat the verse a number of times. |
| Show the Memory Verse
or Challenge until
all children have taken one turn. The next turn, they say it from
memory. |
| Rewards, such as candy are not necessary. Play
for points or just for fun. |
| Avoid playing games which are designed to make
children feel left out, such as musical chairs. |
The Games
Games appropriate for all ages are described below.
The difficulty level of the games increases as you go down the list.
Musical Colors.
| Arrange a chair for each child in a circle.
Each child will have a chair throughout the entire game. |
| Cut up pieces of different colored paper and
tape the pieces to the back of the chairs. Each color should be
taped to at least three chairs. |
| Start the music and the children walk around the
chairs. |
| Stop the music and the children stop and sit
down. |
| The teacher names a color. Everyone sitting in
a chair that has that color of paper taped to it stands up and recites the Memory
Verse or Challenge
activity. For
example, if the teacher names red, everyone with red paper taped to their chair stands up and
recites the verse. |
| Repeat several times. |
Bible Bingo.
 |
| Or you can create your own bingo game using the Clip
Art found on this site or clip art from a CD you can buy in a
store. Put six different pictures on each card. You can also
find Bible based bingo games in religious bookstores. |
| You need a card for each child, beans or small squares of paper, and
an individual picture of each image that appears on the cards. |
|
| Ask the children to find the picture on the bingo cards as you hold up
the individual picture. |
| The children use the beans or squares of paper to cover the picture on
the card if it matches the picture you hold up. |
| Play until a child covers the pictures on all four corners, or all the
pictures in a row, or all the pictures on the card. You decide. |
| As you hold up the picture, ask a question or remind the children about the story the picture
portrays. |
Name That Animal.
| Print pictures of animals using the Clip
Art found on this site or cut out pictures from a magazine. |
| Mix up the pictures and put them in a hat or a
bowl or something. |
| Ask a child to draw a picture from the hat and
act like the animal on the picture. |
| Ask the rest of the class to Name that Animal. |
Disappearing Words.
| Write the Memory Verse
or Challenge
activity on the chalk board. |
| Have the children recite the verse. |
| Ask a child to erase a word and ask the children
to repeat the verse. |
| Continue until all the words have disappeared
and the children are saying the verse from memory. |
| If a chalk board is not available, write each
word of the verse on a different piece of paper and ask the children to
remove one word at a time. |
Verse Hunt.
| Write each word of the Memory Verse on a separate piece of paper. |
| Hide the individual words around the room. |
| Ask the children to find the words and lay them out
in the correct order. |
| Recite the Memory Verse. |
| Repeat several times. |
Matching Game.
| Variation 1.
| Print two copies of the Clip
Art and cut out the individual pictures. |
| Mix up the pictures and place them face down in several rows. |
| A child turns over two cards. If the cards match, the child
takes the cards and takes another turn. If the cards do not match,
return the cards to a face down position. |
| Another child takes a turn. Continue until all cards have been
taken. |
| The child with the most cards wins. |
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| Variation 2.
| The whole class can play at one time as a review game. |
| This is the same as Variation 1 except the cards serve as a review of
lessons or Memory Verses or
Challenge
activities learned. For example, write a question on one letter
size sheet of paper. Write the answer on another sheet of
paper. Or write the first half of a verse on one piece of paper
and the second half of the verse on another piece of paper. |
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| Variation 3.
| This is the same as Variation 2 except write the things to be matched
on a chalk board instead of separate sheets of paper. |
|
Feather Relay.
| Divide the class into two or three groups. |
| Have the groups stand in lines at one end of the
room. A teacher will stand at the other end of the room. |
| Give the first child in each line a paper plate
holding a feather or die-cut shape made from tissue paper. |
| When the teacher says Go!, the children with the
plates walk to the other side of the room, recite the Memory Verse to the teacher, return to the original
line, and pass the plate to the next child. If the feather or shape
falls off the plate, the child starts over. |
| Continue until all have learned the Memory Verse. |
Heir to a Christian Fortune.
 |
| Use a spin board to play this game. |
| Divide the class into two or three teams. |
| Select a Bible verse, a key word or definition from the lesson, or a
phrase. |
| On a chalk board, draw a blank for each letter of each word in your
selection. |
| Below the blanks, write the alphabet. Cross out each letter as it is
guessed by a team. |
|
| A team spins and guesses a consonant or a vowel. Fill in the blanks
if the guessed letter appears in the selection. The team gets points
equal to the number of points spun multiplied by the number of times the
guessed letter appeared in the selection. If the guessed letter does
not appear, the team gets no points. |
| A team can also "Lose a Turn" or "Lose All Points". |
| A team can choose to solve the puzzle any time during its turn. The
team solving the puzzle keeps its points. The points for the other
team go to zero. |
| Each team gets only one spin and then the next team takes a turn. |
| The team with the most points after all games is the winner. |
Quick Draw.
| You will need a dry erase or chalk board or large pieces of butcher paper
and chalk or markers. |
| Make cards with subjects you want the children to draw. |
| Divide the class into two or three groups. |
| Have one child from Group 1 select a card and draw the picture. |
| As the child draws the picture, Group 1 tries to guess what the picture
is portraying. |
| You may want to set a time limit for drawing the picture and guessing what
it is. |
| If Group 1 cannot guess what the drawing is before time expires, another
group can guess. |
| Rotate so each child in each group has an opportunity to draw. |
Alphabet Cereal Scrabble.
| Divide the class into two or three groups. |
| Give each group a cup of alphabet cereal. |
| Ask the children to use the letters in the
cereal to make words from the story, Memory Verse or Challenge
activity. |
| The group that makes the most words wins. |
Word Scramble.
| Divide the class into two or three groups. |
| Write each word of the Memory Verse or Challenge
activity on a separate piece of paper. |
| Mix up the words and ask the children to put the words in order. |
| First group finished wins. |
Mancala.
 |
| Mancala is a board game that was played during biblical times. |
| Use plastic bowls (or masking tape) to set up a
large Mancala board on the floor. The board is divided into two rows
of 6 bowls each with two large bowls on each end. You will need 48 rocks or marbles to use for stones. |
|
| Divide the class into two teams. |
| Each team has one row of 6 bowls with the larger
bowl to the right of the row serving as that team's mancala or scoring bowl. |
| The game begins with 4 stones in each of the 12
small bowls. |
| Ask a team to recite
a Memory Verse, or
Challenge,
or answer a review question. |
| If the team answers correctly, that team, or an individual on that team,
can take a turn. |
| To take a turn, pick up all the stones from one of
the bowls. Put one stone in each bowl, including your mancala but not
the other team's mancala, going in a counter-clockwise direction. |
| If you put the last stone in your mancala, take
another turn. If not, the other team takes a turn. |
| If you put the last stone in one of your bowls that
is empty, take all the stones from the other team's bowl that is directly
across from that bowl. Put the stones in your mancala. |
| When a team has no more stones left in its bowls,
the game is over. The team with stones left in its bowls moves the
stones to its mancala. |
| The team with the most stones in its mancala wins. |
And the Question Is.
 |
| Arrange 25 small envelopes (can be found in a
teacher supply store) in 5 columns of 5 envelopes each. Number the
envelopes in each column from top to bottom as 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25. |
| Each column is a different category, such as angels,
prophets, Old Testaments, etc. Or you could make it a review, with the
categories being the last 5 stories you have discussed. |
| Write 5 questions of increasing difficulty for each
category. Put the least difficult question for the category in the
envelope numbered 5, the next hardest question for that category in the
number 10 envelope and so on, with the most difficult question being placed
in the number 25 envelope. |
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| Divide the children into two or three teams. |
| Have the children pick a category and the number of
points they want to go for. Explain that the difficulty of the
question increases as the points increase. |
| If the team answers correctly, they get the points. |
| If the team answers incorrectly, the other team gets
a chance to answer the question and get the points. |
| The team that accumulates the most points wins. |
Ring the Bell.
| Prepare a list of review questions and divide the
class into two or three teams. Give each team a bell. |
| Ask a question. The first team to ring the
bell (or clap their hands, etc.) answers the question. |
| Award points for a correct answer, deduct points for
an incorrect answer. |
| If a team gives an incorrect answer, let another
team answer before moving to another question. |
| Give the team an opportunity to look up the answer
in the Bible, but reduce the number of points awarded. |
Who Wants to be a Christian Heir?
| Good for a monthly review. |
| Divide the class into two or three groups. |
| Ask a team a question about a lesson studied
earlier in the month or year and give four possible answers.
| The team selects an answer from memory. |
| Award points for correct answers. No
points for incorrect answers.
 | Start with easy questions. As the
questions get harder, the points awarded for a correct answer
should also increase. |
|
| If the team does not know the answer, it can
use one of three lifelines.
| Use the Bible. Give the students a
scripture reference and let them look up the answer. |
| Take away two of the incorrect answers. |
| Ask the teacher for a clue. |
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| Ask one team one question, then ask another team
one question and go until the review is complete. |
Who Am I?
| Print the fact sheets from People
of the Bible. |
| Divide the class into two groups and give each
group a fact sheet for a different person. |
| A team reads the facts for their person one at a
time. The other team tries to guess the identity of the person
after each fact is read. |
| The number of points to be awarded declines with
each incorrect guess. |
| Read all the facts even if the person's identity
is guessed after the first clue. |
I'll Give You a Hint.
| Divide the class into two or three groups. |
| Select one person from the first group to be a "Hinter" and one
person from the first group to be a "Guesser." |
| The Guesser will try to guess the "Key Word or Phrase" based on
hints given by the Hinter. The Hinter can use motions, draw pictures,
give word clues, etc. as hints. The Hinter cannot use the exact words
in the Key Word or Phrase. |
| Give a Key Word or Phrase to the Hinter and give the Hinter a few minutes
to think of good hints. You may give the Hinter the opportunity to ask
teammates for help. |
| When the Hinter is ready, start the clock and let the hinting and guessing
begin. |
| The object is for the Guesser to guess the Key Word or Phrase as quickly
as possible. You may set a maximum time limit. Award points
based on the time it takes to make a correct guess. The shorter the
time, the more points awarded. |
| After the first group finishes, select a Hinter and Guesser from another
group and repeat the process. Give all the students an opportunity to
be a Hinter and a Guesser. |
| If a Guesser does not guess the Key Word or Phrase within the time limit,
let another group try to make a correct guess. |
| Example Key Words or Phrases: Reasons
and ways to honor and praise Jesus. |
Top Five Countdown.
| Select a category, such as "Times to Pray." |
| Then write the top five choices for that category on separate pieces of
paper. For example, the top five choices for the category "Times
to Pray" could be morning, bedtime, before meals, before a trip, before
a test. |
| Tape the top five choices to the wall, with the writing facing the wall. |
| Assign points to each of the choices, with the top choice being assigned
the most points. For example, the fifth choice could be assigned five
points while the first choice could be assigned twenty-five points. |
| Divide the class into two groups. |
| Ask one of the groups to name a choice they believe would be in the Top
Five. If the group guesses correctly, turn the paper around to show
the choice and the points assigned to that choice. That group gets the
points assigned to that choice and continues to guess until it guesses wrong
three times. Then the other group takes a turn. |
| Use several different categories. |
| Examples include - Names to call God when you pray,
Good things to say about God
when you pray, Times to pray,
Places to pray, Positions for prayer,
Things to ask for in prayer, Ways
to honor Jesus, Reasons to honor
Jesus, Foods or Drinks of the Bible, Places
Jesus visited. |
Match My Answer.
| Select two to four contestants from the class. The rest of the class
will serve as the Matching Panel. |
| Ask Contestant 1 to choose between Envelope A or Envelope B, both of which
will contain a question. After the contestant chooses, open the
envelope and read the question. |
| Each member of the Matching Panel will write his or her answer on a piece
of paper. Give scripture references for possible answers and encourage
the children to use their bibles to choose an answer. |
| After the Matching Panel has written their answers, ask the contestant for
an answer. |
| Then ask the Matching Panel to reveal their answers. |
| Award the contestant points each time the contestant's answer matches an
answer of the Matching Panel. |
| For example, a question could be 'Name one of the twelve apostles.'
The contestant could say 'Peter.' If the Matching Panel had answered
'Peter, Matthew, Andrew, Peter,' the contestant would receive points for two
matches. |
| Ask the next contestant to select a new question and repeat the steps in
the game. |
| For special occasions you might ask the church staff or Sunday School
Teachers to serve as the Matching Panel. |
| Example questions include: Name one of
the twelve apostles (Matthew 10:2-4), name a time you pray, name one quality
of God, and more. |
Pizza Frisbee.
| You need paper plates to use for frisbees and clean pizza boxes. |
| Divide the class into as many groups as you have
frisbees and pizza boxes. |
| One student holds the pizza box and while
another student tries to throw the frisbee into the box. |
| The thrower must correctly recite the Memory Verse before throwing. After
throwing, the thrower holds the pizza box for another thrower. |
| The team with the most throws in the box wins. |
| You can also use this for a Challenge
or review activity. |
Baseball.
| Put masking tape or paper on the floor for the bases. |
| Divide the class into two teams. |
| The teacher pitches a student a Memory Verse,
Challenge, or review question to recite or
answer. |
 |
| The student that answers correctly rolls the dice to bat. If the
question is tough, let the student get help from a teammate.
| 1 is a single. |
| 2 is a double. |
| 3 is a triple. |
| 4 is a home run. |
| 5 is a foul ball. |
| 6 is an out. |
| If they get a hit, they run the bases. |
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| You could also use a spinning wheel to bat. |
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| After a team makes three outs or gets nine runs in an inning, the
other team gets to bat. |
Basketball.
| Use a clean trash can for a basket or hang a
hoop from the wall. Use a tennis or nerf ball for the
basketball. Use masking tape to mark the free throw line. |
| Divide the class into two teams. |
| When a student comes to the free throw line, ask the student to recite
a Memory Verse, or
Challenge,
or answer a review question. |
| A student that answers correctly takes two shots. |
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