Creative Ministry with Kids

Rain, Rain, Go Away! As much as we hope and pray for the weather to cooperate with our outdoor activities, the sad truth is that sometimes rain (or extreme heat) interferes with the best laid plans. If you find yourself having to suddenly move indoors, here are a few games that can be played with minimal supplies. Many of them would even work in a long hallway, but none of them require a gym.

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Materials: 2 Hula Hoops

The object of this game is to pass a ring down a chain of dolphins. Two teams of kids hold hands and face each other forming two parallel human (or dolphin) chains. Start a hula hoop (the dolphin ring) on one end of each chain. On the word “go,” kids climb through the hoop maintaining their chain, allowing the hoop to travel down the line to each child. The first team to get their hoop all the way through their line wins! (Or have a timer and have kids try to beat their own time on a second run…no competition/ winners/ losers that way.) Fun Scuba music in the background will help kids to keep things moving!

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Materials: A stuffed or plastic shark and fish (or use 2 other items and change the name of the game) and Scuba music

Children sit in a circle (or line 2 sides of a hallway like a long oval). Hand the shark to a child on one side of the circle and the fish to a child on the other side. The kids will start passing the shark and fish as soon as the music starts playing. They will pass it as fast as they can, trying for the shark to catch the fish (although if the fish goes faster than the shark, it will catch up with the shark with the same end result). Once the fish and shark reach the same child at the same time, the music stops. That child’s crew must stand up and do some sort of silly activity to save the fish (Sing “Baby Shark,” do a shark dance, make fish faces…whatever you want!). Then start the music and begin the game again.

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Materials: White or Clear Balloons

Make a large circle on the floor with painter’s tape. Divide the kids into two groups: half are in the coral reef and half are outside of it. The goal of the players in the circle is to get all the bubbles off the coral reef (out of the circle). Meanwhile, the players outside the circle will keep tossing the balloons back in. Play stops if all the “bubbles” end up either inside or outside the circle…or after a designated time (like 5 minutes). Then have the players switch sides and try again. Play upbeat Scuba music in the background to add to the fun atmosphere.

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Materials: Inflatable Beach Ball

Have one team of kids sit in a straight line, one in front of the other. Have another team of kids form a similar line that faces the opposite direction. The two lines should be 2 to 3 arm lengths apart (you don’t want the kids to be able to touch the hands of the kids from the other team). When you are ready to start, toss a beach ball into the center of the line. The kids will then try to score by using only their inside hand (the one closest to the other line of kids) to swat the ball forward in the direction their line is sitting. If a team is able to get the beachball all the way down the line, they get a point (or simply cheer for them) and start over with the beachball in the middle. Play upbeat Scuba music to add to the fun.

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Materials: One Pool Noodle and Large Balloon Per Crew

The object of this game is for each crew to try to keep a balloon (the fish) floating in the air (the ocean) as long as possible by hitting it with a pool noodle. Have each crew stand in a circle. One child holds the pool noodle, and another child holds the balloon. On “Go,” the child with the balloon throws it up in the air. The child with the pool noodle needs to bat the balloon back in the air before it hits the ground. The challenging part of this game is that the next child in the circle needs to grab the pool noodle and keep the “fish” (balloon) floating in the “ocean” (air) by batting it up in the air again. Play continues as the kids keep passing the pool noodle and trying to keep their balloon in the air. The crew that keeps the balloon up the longest is the winning crew (all the other crews can cheer for them).

Note: Some crews may drop their balloon right away. Encourage them just to pick it up and keep playing even though they won’t be the winning team.

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Materials: Printed Bingo Cards for Each Person or Each Crew; One Bingo Card cut into squares; small balloons or inflatable balls (one per crew); Bingo markers (or a pen if you plan to throw away the Bingo pages after playing the game)

Download the Bingo Cards below. There are 20 cards altogether. Cut out the squares on the Bingo Instruction page (or write the numbers 1-24 on individual papers). Draw one and read both the number and the action. Kids place a Bingo marker on the square with that number and then perform the action for a given amount of time or until a designated sound is signaled. Repeat until someone gets 5 in a row and calls out “Bingo!” (or “Scuba!” or “Thanks God!”).

Play as individuals, by crew (one Bingo board per crew), or team up an older child with a younger child and play as partners

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SEA CREATURES: WOULD YOU RATHER? (YouTube Exercise Video)

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