Soldiers' Dress-Up Relay

Wednesday: Soldiers' Dress-Up Relay
Elementary Lesson: Armor of God / Temptation of Jesus: Temptations should be resisted using God's word and the armor of God, not human reasoning.
Memory Verse: Ephesians 6:11
Preschool Lesson: David and Goliath: We should trust in God.
Age Groups:
  • elementary
  • preschool
  • teens
Equipment Needed:
  • Soldier Gear (most of this can probably be borrowed)
Preparation:
Find various articles of soldier clothing and gear (in pairs: for each item you need two, one for each team). Ideas for stuff to use include canteen, (plastic) sword, (plastic) spear, shield, pack, (fake) IR goggles, (plastic) firearm (e.g., an empty water pistol), compass, oversize cargo pants, (toy) grenades, (toy) walkie-talkie, ...
Instructions:
Divide the participants into two teams. Explain what marching is, and how it's different from running. (For preschool, you can skip the marching.)
Each team member in turn must don all the soldier stuff (or items like swords and such may just be carried), march down to a designated spot, go around the chair/pole/tree/whatever, march back, and take off all the soldier stuff so the next team member can do the same thing.
The gear selection can vary by agegroup: the preschool need less and simpler gear; whereas, for teens the relay may need to be complicated with additional gear, specific ways to carry things, water balloon grenades to throw at a target, or cetera.