Kid Games for Vacation Bible School - Activities to Keep Children Busy

Each summer, thousands of various churches have vacation Bible school across America. Some have very structured programs and some are make shift plans. Regardless of your denomination, you still have one part of the program that needs important attention. That part is kid's games. You want the games to be outside, but sometimes they have to be indoors, because of the weather. This article will give you some good ideas.

1. Newspaper Speed-ball; This game can be played by children of all ages. You will need lots of newspaper sheets, a piece of tape or a string of yarn. Divide your are in half with the tape or yarn. If you are outside, use two sticks to tie your yarn to. Divide your class in half. Put them on each side. Give side an equal amount of newspaper. On "go", both sides start rolling large paper balls and tossing them to the opposite side. Meanwhile, players on both sides retrieve and throw the balls back.. When the teacher yells "stop," the balls are counted on each side. The one with the most paper balls, on their side, loses.

2. Balloon Bust; There are several variations to this game. You can blow the balloons up in advance or blow them up as you go. It depends on the children's age. An older child or two to work as balloon blowers would be excellent. Have two teams. Balloons are then passed by each team to the end of the team's line. When they reach the end, they are popped. A referee keeps track of the balloons that are popped. The one to reach a certain number first, wins the race. Have an older child use a safety pin or a kitchen fork to pop the balloons. Middle school children can try to pop them by stomping on them.

3. Baptist Brigade; For this game, you need two plastic water buckets per team and either a cup large sponge or tablespoon per child. Have the teams race to fill the empty bucket of water, with water from the full bucket. You can have go one at a time or as a total group. Have the buckets at least 15 feet apart. This will avoid bumping heads. The team with the most water in their bucket is the winner. You can use a ruler to measure the results.

4. Noah's Animal Chase; During this game, Noah and his helpers are it. His job is to chase and capture the animals for his Ark. The children (different animals) are running and hiding in a play area. Noah captures them and brings to his Ark. You can divide the kids into two groups or you can play boys against girls. If you have a large group of children, this is probably the best way to go. You can then switch off for the next game.

These games are great for fun and time killers.