Abijah’s donkey played a huge part in the palm Sunday story, with very little children you may want to take the opportunity to talk about the animals that the children have at home. Palm Sunday is also often accompanied by a procession which is a lovely tactile learning opportunity. The following Palm Sunday and donkey based games will suit a variety of groups and preparation times.
Donkey treads – Lay down different textures for the kids to crawl across. Try and find something that could be similar to the worn paths, the leaves and the coats that echo the story. you can add a person leading the donkey or even a rider if you have mixed age groups.
Donkey teeth – This is a really really silly game a little bit like chubby bunnies but with less of a possibility of choking! you will need to find something small and flat to be donkey teeth, like small biscuits, wafers or similar, cut them down so they aren’t much over 2 cm long- if you find nothing you can even use card. Gather your children and ask them what they know about Donkeys. Try and elicit the 2 answers of ‘big teeth’ and they make a ‘bray’ sound. have all the children say ‘bray’… then slowly give them extra big teeth, after each additional tooth the children need to repeat the ‘bray sound’. (‘b’ is made by pushing your lips together, something impossible with oversized teeth, so expect frustration and giggles) Mirrors are recommended!
Palm relay – Jesus is coming and we need coats and palm leaves to prepare the way. Have your youngsters run across the room, one at a time, and collect either a branch or coat and run back to their team. The first team to bring everything wins. lay out the coats and branches for the rest of the session.
See the king comes – A simple form of copy the leader this game will get your youngsters to think about what they would expect when they see a ‘celebrity’. Say ‘See the king comes…’ then what you expect to see accompanied with an action. Have the children copy the action. Dependent on your group the youngsters may want to take turns or supply ideas.
Examples :
See the king comes waving at the crowds – wave
See the king comes wearing a crown – adjust crown
See the king comes driving an expensive car – steer car
See the kind comes with soldiers – march on the spot
See the king comes with trumpets – hand out gifts
See the king comes with trumpets – blow trumpets
Donkey tails – Print the 2 part picture of the donkey (click on image below for PDF), paste it together and you’ll notice the tail is separate, grab a blindfold and enjoy the classic ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ game. It includes 4 colour coded tails.
