It’s that day—the day when “big church” runs long and you have exhausted all of your original plans and activities. The kids are beginning to take over! Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!
Have you ever found yourself in this situation? In kids ministry, we have to prepare for the unexpected. For that reason, I like to have a couple of extra activities prepared and ready to go at the spur of a moment. One preschool teacher I worked with referred to it as her “bag of tricks.” She always had an extra activity ready to go in her “bag of tricks.”
One of my favorite types of extra activities is Bible Skills activities. They are a great addition to any Bible study and can work with kids of various skill levels. And they can be used more than once. Here are a couple of my favorites.
Card Mix-up
Bible Skills Focus: Identifying whether a specific book belongs in the Old or New Testament. Pronouncing the names of Books of the Bible.
Supplies: 2 buckets, Books of the Bible Cards, masking tape, marker
Place two buckets in the center of the room. Using the masking tape and marker, label one bucket “Old Testament” and one bucket “New Testament.” Mix up the books of the Bible cards and scatter them around the room. Allow kids to hunt for all of the cards and sort them into the bucket they think it belongs in.
After all of the cards are sorted, pick up one of the buckets. Ask a volunteer to draw a card and read the book. Help kids with pronunciation as needed. Invite the rest of the kids to affirm or disagree that the card is in the correct bucket. Continue as time allows. For older kids, you may wish to instruct the kids to arrange the cards in the correct order after they are sorted.
Toss and Sort
Bible Skills Focus: Identifying whether a specific book belongs in the Old or New Testament. Using additional resources to enrich knowledge of the Books of the Bible.
Supplies: 2 buckets, 66 table tennis balls, masking tape, marker, Books of the Bible Posters, 2 small pieces of poly-fill or fabric
Write the names of the books of the Bible on table tennis balls. Place two buckets about three or four feet from the table tennis balls. Using the masking tape and marker, label one bucket “Old Testament” and one bucket “New Testament.” Place a small piece of poly-fill or fabric in the bottom of each bucket to prevent the table tennis ball from bouncing out. Invite kids to take turns selecting a table tennis ball and toss it into the appropriate bucket. For older kids, you may wish to instruct the kids to toss the Bible book balls in the correct book order.
As you play involve the kids waiting to take a turn by asking questions about the various books. (Who wrote this book? Is it a long book or a short book? What is the book that comes after this book in the Bible?) Allow kids to search the Books of the Bible Posters for the answers or unique facts about each book.
So what Bible Skills activities do you keep in your bag of tricks? I would love to hear some of your favorites!