While many like to start the biblical narrative from Adam or Noah, I have a particular love for the old man Abram, the father of faith. This introduction lesson was difficult to write games for but here a few that may be suitable for your group.
Six stand – The idea behind this game is following instructions just as Abram did, even when they don’t make sense. You’ll need at least one dice for this game, more if you have a large group. The children sit in a circle and take turns rolling the die, the aim of the game is to roll the numbers 2-6 in order. when an individual rolls a 2 or 3 they kneel, a 4 or 5 has one foot flat on the floor, the other leg kneeling, and a number 6 lets the child stand. If you roll a 1 you return to a sitting position. a 4 or 5 is useless if a 2 or 3 wasn’t already rolled, equally a 6 is useless unless you have rolled a successful 4 or 5.
Blind directions – One child is blindfolded and whispered some instructions, for example, take 3 steps, turn any direction and repeat. The other children don’t know the instructions and need to stand around the space not moving. the first person reached by the blindfolded participant swaps places and is given new instructions. Tor older kids add in star jumps, crawling, and longer strings of directions, eg, 6 steps, turn right, crawl for 5 seconds, turn left, 3 start jumps, walk backwards 2 steps, turn right, repeat.
Every Eventuality – A game for those who plan ahead, you need 2 small suitcases and a table full of various practical objects. Put the youngsters in groups and get them to choose what would be most useful to pack for a journey to the unknown. once they are packed give them one of the following senerioes to test they were prepared.
Abram has just left home, he’s in the middle of the desert and Lot has a high temperature. The party decide to make camp right where they are so he can rest, drink and get better. Sarai is getting depressed and missing her family and friends she left behind in Ur. What do you use from your bag to make the situation better.
Abram notices some of his sheep seem to be missing, he questions his servants but they don’t know where they have gone. There is no bread left and Lot’s wife is complaining she is hungry. Abram sees a small village on the horizon. When they get near one of Abram’s servants runs to the well and falls in. The people from the town come out but refuse to help.
Parachute Terrain – This is a really simple parachute game for the younger children. Have the youngsters gather round the edge of the parachute and think about the long journey Abram would have travelled. Use objects on the the flat parachute to illustrate. Then talk about the land he would have passed, flat land and hilly land. Have the children suggest what to use for hills, other balls, feet, or lifting the sides of the parachute. Continue from hills to mountains, from gentle breezes to story seas.
Obstacle course – A traditional game of setting up whatever you have available and getting the children to follow the course laid out. While it may take a bit of setting up this is a favourite with many groups. Link to Abram and his family journeying.
