play Archives - Page 7 of 18 - Jesus Without Language

The willingness of Rebekah to travel many days to a strange land to bind herself to a stranger, the notion of God providing and the love that flourished are all themes we draw out of this passage with these games.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

Water the camels

Under 7’s

Any size group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

The servant knew God had led him to Rebekah when she offered to water the camels. This simple relay race has the child moving ‘water’ from the well to the animals. Use a large bucket of water and a cup to move it. If you can’t get wet in your space, then use shredded blue paper.

Rebekah’s Shadow

All Ages

Small group

Requires setup time

Quiet game

Can be seated

This adaptation of a board game, uses the basic idea of matching the people to their shadows. Print the two pages and cut out the cards. Place all the cards face down over the rectangles, leaving the top rectangle uncovered. The player will turn one card in the hope it matches the shadow in the uncovered box. If it does, then place it face up on the box. If it does not match, place face down in the box containing the shadow you were looking for. This way, the cards move around the board until they are all matched. At the end of the game, identify the final shadow.
(Click on the image for the PDF download)

Obstacle course

All Ages

Any size group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

Make a simple obstacle course to mimic the servants’ journey. Put a doll or a picture of Rebekah at the end and have the child bring it back.

Behind the veil

All Ages

Small group

Requires setup time

Quiet game

Can be seated

This is a classic memory game using a tray full of objects and a towel (a veil for this story). The aim is to memorise the objects on the tray and then re-list them once the towel hides them. A good rule of thumb is to take the average age of the children for the number of objects. This game also works with snap cards.

Find Rebekah

All Ages

Any size group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

This story lends itself well to a treasure hunt. Make a list of 10 items that the kids can find in your space – have the 10th be Rebekah. You can use a doll or a picture from the heroes post. Talk about if there was any logic in where you looked? What clues did you use?

This story about the lamp lighter or the underlying passages about lamps and lamp stands are key Christian concepts for kids to grapple with. They use a very tactile and easy to demonstrate element – light. As such, all these games play on the idea of light and vision and may need a darkened environment to work fully. Please check if your teaching area can have dimmed light before selecting the best activity for your group.

This is part of a single lesson pack, all ready to print and go.

Catch the light

Under 7’s

Small group

No Setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

A beautifully simple game for little ones using multiple bright torches – have the group close their eyes while the adults or older kids shine the light into a given spot. When the kids open their eyes, they must catch the light spot on their palm. This only works if the torch is placed or held stationary. Talk about where light comes from and how it’s position affects how light the room is.

Long burn

All Ages

Small group

Requires setup time

Quiet game

Can be seated

There is something special about working with real light and flame. If you have a small group, then this very basic science experiment will be great. Have a line of candles and different sized glasses to cover them with, and one non-transparent object like a mug. Have the kids predict which candle will go out first. You could also try different coloured glasses. Talk about how the non-transparent container stopped us from seeing the light, and how the light needed oxygen from inside the glass to burn. End by saying, the candle that burns the longest is the one we did not cover at all.

Blind mans buff

All Ages

Any size group

No Setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

If your group needs to squeal and get the wriggles out, this is a classic, involving a blindfold and catching people. Remind the group that the catcher can’t see, but they can hear. Talk about how dark the blindfold is and how we require light to see.

Uncover my light

All Ages

Any size group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

This is a really simple parachute game that involves a dark room and a bright lantern. Place the lantern beneath the parachute and position the kids around the edge. Call out the name of one child to be lit, the rest of the group push the parachute to the floor while the chosen child raises the parachute up to light themselves. You could also call out everyone, or nobody or the rooms distinguishing features like the door.

High glow

Ages 7+

Any size group

Requires setup time

Noisy game

Space needed

Great for slightly older groups, give each child a glow stick that is already glowing. Tell them they must hide the light. Once every light is hid slowly reveal whose was hid the highest. Then get them to repeat the process in pairs and teams. Is it harder to hide light when there are more glow sticks? Is it easier to spot peoples light when it is higher or lower?

Under the baskets

All Ages

Any size group

Requires setup time

Quiet game

Can be seated

Use a selection of baskets or tubs to hide things under. Slowly provide the kids with clues as to what each object is until they guess it. Have one light. If possible, have some items that may make a noise or smell so when the basket is lifted the kids don’t need to look to see what it is. Talk about how we identify items and how they may be different when covered / uncovered. If you have time, you can play track the basket with the light under.

Herod the Great really does epitomize the darker side of the Christmas story and his choices were down-right morally offensive. These games therefore look more at the elements of choice, clues and searches. The first two games here use a card set that can be found by clicking on the picture. If you are teaching Herod alongside the Magi then the games for the Magi can be found by clicking HERE

Match it – This is similar to the popular ‘Dobble’ or ‘Spot it’ where cards are dealt to two players and upon turning the top card over one symbol one each card will match. the first player to identify this match wins both cards until one player runs out of cards. Link to Herod looking at clues and signs to help the Magi find Jesus.

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For the play post this time round there are a couple of games that requie this set of cards. There are 21 cards in total spaced over 3 pages of printout. They are designed like the popular game ‘Dobble’ or ‘Spot it’ but have only 5 images rather than the usual 8. Every card in the pack had one image in common with another card.

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The parable of the Rich fool has so much imagery we can use. It’s a great story for Harvest about the power of sharing rather than hoarding resources, it’s also a parable that comes from a very common question that rabbi’s would be asked. These games use both those ideas to give you a range of activities, choose the best for your space, age range and time available.

Wobbly Barns – This is a building game – click on the image for the full instructions and pdf download. Older children can use the template to make simple barn structure pieces. Once they have made their towering barn get them to repeat it on a slight slope, one handed or with another ‘handicap’. For younger children find smooth building blocks and challenge them to make a tall tower.

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The big action the Rich fool does in this parable is to build barns, and this game / creative challenge lets your youngsters do the same. Stacking up layers using these little flimsy paper barn pieces can be a real challenge. There are lots of suggestions at the end of the post to make this a little tougher for older groups, many that may make them look like a fool-ish.

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The centurion teaches us the amazing power of Jesus’ word for all of us who aren’t fortunate to have seen him face to face. These games build on that theme of messengers, healing by faith not touch, the power of instructions and the identity of the healed man.

Contact-less – This is a drama activity where one person ‘controls the actions’ of another by suggestion rather than touch. The activity works only if one person is in control and the other willing to follow. Start simply by both holding your hands up roughly 20 cm apart – remind the follower they must maintain the distance, then have the other person move their hands, the follower should echo their movements. Add in arms, torso, legs, head or try adding people. How did it feel to lead, how did it feel to follow? The centurion knew that power doesn’t always need to touch us to make us move.

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Like Aaron and the Israelite’s we have all experienced hunger (at least on some level) and know how grumpy it can make people. This story of divine providence gives us some real tangible props to tie into our games. Select the game that best suits your groups age range and setup.

Gathering manna – spread popcorn kernels around the room and have the kids collect them. You can use popped or you can cook the manna and talk about how real manna may have tasted (like honey wafers). For younger groups use a clean sheet and pre-popped popcorn.

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New Testament

Old Testament

Resource Type

Season

Water the camels

Rebekah’s Shadow

Obstacle course

Behind the veil

Find Rebekah

Catch the light

Long burn

Blind mans buff

Uncover my light

High glow

Under the baskets

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