Don't Break the Rod

Indoor Game:	Don't Break the Rod

Age Groups:

• elementary
• teens

Equipment Needed:

• chairs
• toilet paper
• toy pool nets (one per team)
• buckets (one per team)
• small wading pool
• foam packing peanuts
• fish (you can use the fish sponges)

Instructions:

Set up the pool full of packing peanuts (in lieu of water) and fish at one end of the room. Divide the group into equal teams and line them up at the other end of the room. Each team must line up single-file starting next to their bucket.

Each team receives a connected strand of toilet paper containing one square for each team member. This is their fishing rod, which they must not break. Each team member must hold onto one of the squares, so that the entire team is holding the rod, and the person at the front of the line carries the net.

When the starting whistle is blown, the team must make its way across the room to the fish pool, retrieve one fish (but no packing peanuts) using the net, then return to their bucket and deposit the fish there. They may then pass the net to the next team member and go back for the next fish.

If at any time a team's rod breaks (i.e., the toilet paper tears), they must stop, return any fish they may be carrying to the pool, and go back to their bucket. They will then be issued a new rod and may start again.

Play until time expires or the fish run out. The team with the most fish wins.

Copyright © 2003—2009, Theresa Wagoner and the Galion Grace Brethren Church, but you are welcome to use it in your local church. See licensing for more detailed information about rights and permissions.