The hero in this story is Stephen, he is part of the ‘founders’ series as he gave to the early church. Please note this lesson is not about the deacons, that is a separate character.
Target practice – take a few cups, boxes and other containers and make a target range. attach scores to the different containers and give the children soft ammo to trow into the various targets. you can spit your children into teams or just play that the highest score wins. Refer back to the game later discussing how the stones thrown at Stephen would have had a human target.
Bit it – sometimes the gifts we get, and the jobs we have are unpleasant. In the same way you play pass the parcel sit the children in a circle. Pass round a piece of fruit and when the music stops the child must take a bite (check for allergies first), slowly add more fruit and vegetables to the circle. Try and use harder fruit and veg, add ‘not so lovely’ on the last round, the children can decide to bite or not!
Nicer- Apple, carrot, bell pepper, cucumber, radish, runner bean,
Not so lovely – potato, banana with skin, & onion.
cotton ball and spoon – give the children each a spoon, like the traditional egg and spoon race, this time we are moving something more delicate, a cotton ball. The game can be referred back into the delicacy of transferring the gospel, how the journey can cost.
Black stone, White stone – attach the pdf sheet (image linked) to a tray, or draw your own. Roll 2 pebbles, one darker than the other. If the lighter one lands on a lighter area than the darker one you get +1 point. If it’s the other way round you get -1 point. If they land on the same colour you get 0. Throw the stones 5 times per player.
Story candy – this is a team building game, that works well with most age children though the youngest may find it difficult. The idea is that you tell a story in parts, each saying a sentence. on completion of the individuals contribution they take a small piece of candy. At the end of the story the remaining candy is awarded to the best storyteller.
