Rather than 3 play posts for the Witnesses to the crucifixion lesson the games are listed here – if you want more games connected with Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter then click here for the last Easter theme lesson. This lesson has 3 heroes, (the soldier, Salome, and the disciple Jesus loved) ideally you would choose one or split your group into 3 and each cover a different hero. I’ve tried to include games than link with all three
Obstacle race – It’s been a while since I fell back onto this traditional game, but the journey to the cross through the streets of Jerusalem, or getting through the crowds to see Jesus, can easily link in.
Shadow charades – set up a sheet or screen and a bright light to play charades. this version allows letters to be made to spell out words and ties into the idea of standing in the shadow of the cross.
Standing Dice – This is a really simple game that can be played with as many dice as you have. sit in a circle and take it in turns to throw a dice. If you roll a six you stand up, if you roll a one you are out, and other number you sit down. the winner is the last man standing. (link to soldier)
Smell bags – I love this game, it sounds like a lot of work but really it’s very simple. You need some kind of container, a cloth bag works the best but cardboard boxes with salt shaker holes are just as easy. You then need to find some familiar smells, shampoo’s, perfumes, soap, chopped vegetables, spices, cleaning products, candles, fruit, flavoured crisps, you’ll be amazed at home many you can find even in a sparsely equipped homestead. Either place ‘the smell’ inside the container or onto a tissue inside the container and get the kids to identify the it. (link to Salome)
Where’s he – you need a hidden object image like where’s wally (or waldo). a Google search will bring up many! Make the image as large as possible, a projector would work well (you can print on acetate and make a home-made projector from a box and a bright light). Split the children into teams and call out an item to be found. the first child to indicate they have found the item gets to point it out and if correct scores a point for their team. (link to Jesus looking for the beloved disciple in the crowd)
