Marshmallow Ram

Tuesday:	Marshmallow Ram
Bible Lesson:	Isaac and the Lamb
Memory Verse:	Romans 4:25

Age Groups:

• teens

Equipment and Materials Needed:

• buckets (one per team)
• white marshmallows (lots of these, including some of the miniature ones)

Instructions:

Divide the participants into groups of 3-6 teens each. Each group selects one of their members to be their "Ram". Each Ram must stand at one end of the playing area (which you can call the "thicket"), and at the other end of the playing area is a bucket of marshmallows. Each team must decorate their Ram, by repeatedly running down to the bucket to fetch marshmallows and returning to stick them onto the Ram. (If after a couple of minutes they haven't figured it out on their own, you can drop them a hint: marshmallows stick to skin better if they are slightly wet, e.g., because someone has licked them.) At the end of the designated time (or when the marshmallows run out), a panel of judges must decide which Ram is the best decorated.

Two By Two Race

Wednesday:
Bible Lesson:	Sin brings a penalty; Jesus paid our penalty so that we can be saved. (Genesis 6-9)
Memory Verse:	1th Corinthians 15:22

Age Groups:

• elementary
• teens

Equipment Needed:

• strips of cloth (to tie legs together)

Instructions:

Tie children together into pairs (as for a three-legged race), with the left child's right leg tied to the right child's left leg. Tell them that they have to run 2 by 2 to get to the ark (i.e., the finish line). Let different pairs of children race against one another. If there's time, you can even let them switch partners. When time runs out explain that the flood is over and the land is dry and let them get off the ark and go on to their next activity.

Bubbles (Preschool Game)

Tuesday:	Bubbles
Bible Lesson:	Adam and Eve sinned. We all sin. Sin is when we disobey God. (Genesis 3)

Age Groups:

• preschool

Equipment Needed:

• bubble stuff
• bubble wands

Instructions:

You've got a dishpan or somesuch full of bubble stuff, and you have bubble wands, and you have preschoolers, and they blow bubbles, and they giggle, and the run after the bubbles, and try to catch the bubbles, and watch the bubbles pop, and then they blow more bubbles. Yay!

Board Foot Walk

Tuesday:	Board Foot Walk
Bible Lesson:	Humans are sinful and require salvation. (Genesis 3)
Memory Verse:	Romans 3:22

Age Groups:

• elementary
• teens

Equipment Needed:

• Boards with straps on them (see Preparation).

Preparation:

Prepare an even number of long boards (two-by-fours are good) by attaching straps to them in loops at evenly spaced intervals. Each loop should be large enough to accommodate a shoe, and they should be at the same position on each of the boards. We've found that 3-4 straps per board (and thus 3-4 people trying to work together) works pretty well. You will need two boards for each team that will be playing the game at any given time, so e.g. if you plan to have two teams going at once you will need four boards. Wide straps are best for the loops (rather than thin straps or rope), especially if some children might wear flimsy shoes or even flip-flops.

Instructions:

Each team gets two of the boards. Set them side-by-side, and each person puts a foot under one strap on each board, so that the team has essentially two very long feet.

Have them (attempt to) walk together as a cooperative group, from one end of the playing area to the other. Then have them try to turn around and walk back. Race the teams against one another.

Animal Game (Pretending)

Monday:	Animal Game
Bible Lesson:	God created the world and deserves our worship (Genesis 1).

Age Groups:

• preschool

Instructions:

Pretend to be animals together. Let someone pretend to be Adam and guess what animal you are all acting like. Rotate through and let each child who wants a turn pretend to be Adam and guess. Play until time runs out.

Animal Match-Up Relay

Monday:	Animal Match-Up Relay
Bible Lesson (elementary and teens):	God created the world and deserves our worship. (Genesis 1, Acts 17)
Bible Lesson (preschool):	Noah and the Big Flood
Memory Verse:	Acts 17:24

Age Groups:

• elementary
• teens
• preschool

Equipment Needed:

• 3x5 cards
• animal pictures (from the internet)
• clear Contact (laminant)

Preparation:

Print pictures (from the internet) of male and female animals of various kinds. You need two male and two female of each animal. Try to get a mix of animals with obvious gender differences (e.g., peacock/peahen, bull/cow, lion/lioness, cardinals) and ones that look pretty similar (e.g., dog, elephant, horse, squirrel). Cut these out and glue them onto 3x5 (or 4x6) cards, and laminate the cards using the clear Contact.

If you use two colors of cards, you can make one whole deck (one male and one female of each kind of animal) on each color. Better yet, use four colors so each deck can have one color for male and the other color for female animals. (Color-coding the cards isn't necessary for playing the game, but it makes it easier for the game leader to get the decks sorted out between times.)

Instructions:

Divide into two teams. One deck of the cards is used for each team. Hand out the animal cards of one gender to the team members, and set out the cards of the other-gender animals at the far end of the lawn, face down. Each team member in turn runs the course carrying one card from the deck and selects one of the face-down cards at the end of the lawn. If it matches the card they are carrying, they get to keep the pair. If not, they must return the card to its face-down position and return with just the card they brought with them and tag the next team member. Play is finished when one team has all their matches. If enough time is available, you can play it again.

Variations:

For preschool, dispense with teams and the relay aspect: when you blow the whistle, they all run down, grab a card, run back, and match it up with one of the cards at the near end. Have them show a friend their matching pair of animals and name them (e.g., These are lions.). Repeat as necessary to fill available time.

To make the game more difficult (e.g., for teens), you can introduce obstacles for them to overcome, require them to run blindfolded or balancing a cup of water on their forehead, or anything else you feel would make it more "interesting" (i.e., more challenging).

If it's a bazillion degrees out, you can turn this into a water game simply by replacing the run-across-the-field portion with some kind of water-based obstacle or feature (sprinkler to run through, Slip-N-Slide to slide down, wading pool to splash through, etc.).

Dress-Up Relay

Friday:	Dress-Up Relay
Elementary Bible Lesson:	The Finish Line: Heaven (John on Patmos)
Memory Verse:	2nd Timothy 4:7-8
Preschool Bible Lesson:	Throw Your Net on the Other Side

Age Groups:

• elementary
• preschool
• teens

Equipment Needed:

• starting and finish lines (rope is good)
• clothing: two of each item, one for each team (see ideas below)

Instructions:

Divide the children into their red and blue teams. Line each team up behind the starting line. When the whistle is blown, the first person on each team must don all the garments and things, run down to the relay line and back, and take off all the stuff so that the second person can do the same things, and so on, down the line, until the whole team has gone.

Variations:

For preschool, use significantly fewer items than for the older groups, and they may need help getting them on. If there's time left over, you can just let them play dress-up with the oversize clothing.

For teens, use more clothes and make them bigger, floppier, and more outlandish. Add more accessories that they must carry, and put extra weight inside the items (e.g., in the backpacks and purses and belly pouches), to make them more awkward.

Clothing Ideas:

• ties
• belts
• oversize shirts
• jackets
• enormous pants
• hats and/or helmets
• gloves and/or mittens
• old clodhoppers, or floppy clown shoes
• handkerchiefs or bandannas
• purses
• backpacks or satchels
• water bottles
• belt clips for: cell phone, keys, et cetera
• eye patches
• whistles (on lanyards)
• Bibles
• over-robes
• winter coats, ski masks, etc.
• snow pants
• umbrellas (which must be carried open)
• sweaters
• oversized tube socks or tights
• leg warmers
• clip-on earrings
• sports pads (knee pads, elbow pads, etc)
• belly pouch / fanny pack
• water wings or other inflatable accessories
• swimming goggles, safety glasses, and/or sunglasses
• medical mask or gas mask

Sand Relay

Thursday:	Sand Relay
Elementary Bible Lesson:	The Rich Young Man: Throw off Things that Entangle
Memory Verse:	Matthew 19:29
Preschool Bible Lesson:	The Paralytic Man

Age Groups:

• elementary
• preschool
• teens

Equipment Needed:

• sand
• buckets

Instructions:

Divide the children into their red and blue teams. Stand each team in a straight line. Place a bucket full of sand at one end of each line and an empty bucket at the other end. The person next to the starting bucket begins on the whistle-blow by picking up handfuls of sand and passing them to the next person, who passes the sand to the next person, and so on down the line. At the end of the line, the last person puts it in the finish bucket. The team that gets the most sand into their bucket (or fills it fastest) wins.

If you have time to play again, dump the sand back into the starting buckets, and send the person from the end of the line to the front of the line.

Variations:

Preschool: Play as one team, or make sand castles in a wading pool of sand.

Teens: The beginning sand bucket may be moved away from the starting line, so that the first person in line must make round trips to collect the sand, or you can have them stand farther apart so that they each must carry the sand a short distance to the next person.

Obstacle Course

Wednesday:	Obstacle Course
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Josiah and the Book: We should study God's word and apply it to our lives.
Memory Verse:	1st Thessalonians 2:13
Preschool Bible Lesson:	Josiah and the Bible

Age Groups:

• elementary
• preschool
• teens

Equipment Needed:

This depends on exactly what obstacles you intend to implement, but in general most of it will be stuff you already have or can borrow. Plan ahead.

Basic Instructions:

Have the obstacles positioned all over the back yard. (Creativity counts on this one – the more different obstacles you can arrange, the better.)

Explain the course order to the children. Have one person demonstrate for everyone to watch the proper running of the course. Then divide the children into several even teams (4-5 teams, however many you can do while dividing the children more-or-less evenly). Send the first person from each team when you blow the whistle; when they return, they tag the next person on their team, who then runs, and so on, until everyone has run the obstacle course. If one team is a person short, someone runs twice. Whichever team finishes first wins. Play again as time allows.

Depending on the obstacles you use, you may need extra helpers to reset some of the obstacles to their original state after each person passes through.

Variations:

For preschool, skip the teams and have all the children follow you and run the course together. If necessary, simplify the harder parts of the course, or have a helper help the children past hard parts. Once you have run it all together, run it again, or let them run the course on their own like a playground.

For teens or small groups, dispense with the teams and run each person individually, and time them. Fastest time wins. As time permits, they may try again to improve their time, or you can rearrange the course a bit to make it more interesting. Play until time expires, then stop.

Suggested Obstacles

• crawl under a table
• belly-crawl under something even shorter, such as a rope
• jump over (or limbo under) a rope strung between two stakes (or a broom set across two chairs)
• crawl through suspended hula hoops
• step through tires or horizontal hoops or rings
• run around the tree three times
• crawl through a tunnel made from sheets on a framework of hoops
• crawl under, over, or through a set of chairs
• jump over or slog through a wading pool (barefoot, by preference)
• crawl through a wading pool full of sand (possibly right after the water one)
• a jump-rope that they have to stop and use a certain number of times
• kick a ball between stakes/cones/whatever, into a goal
• weave back and forth around stakes/cones/whatever
• fill a cup with water from one bucket and carry it to another bucket
• fill a cup with water using a sponge and a bucket of water (without picking up the cup)
• get a marble out of the bottom of a bucket of ice water
• find an object buried in a bucket of sand
• throw a ball through a hoop or a bean bag into a goal or cetera
• drop a clothespin or other object into a jar or bucket
• log roll between two ropes or lines
• hop on one foot, or with both feet in a sack
• say the memory verse while standing on one leg on a certain object. (Have copies of the verse available for those who haven't learned it yet.)
• crawl under a large sheet, rug, or wet blanket
• somersault, crabwalk, etc.
• spin around ten times
• carry a basket of something on one's head
• slip-and-slide
• stack blocks
• pop a balloon with your bare hands

Water Relay

Tuesday:	Water Relay
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Daniel and the Satraps: God expects faithfulness
Memory Verse:	1st Corinthians 15:58
Preschool Bible Lesson:	TBA

Age Groups:

• elementary
• preschool
• teens

Equipment Needed:

• plastic plates
• two large buckets
• two smaller buckets

Instructions:

Divide the children into their red and blue teams. Give each team a plastic plate. (Rubbermaid plates like the ones distributed with Mainstay dogfood in the eighties work nicely. Otherwise, styrofoam will do in a pinch but not paper.) Line each team up in a line behind the starting line. Give each team a large bucket full of water at the starting line. Place a smaller, empty bucket for each team at the finish line. (For teens, place the buckets farther apart than for the younger children.) When the whistle is blown, the first person on each team must carry water on the plate from the large bucket to the small bucket, then give the empty plate to the next person, and return to the back of the line. Repeat until bucket is full (if time allows); each person may go more than once. The first team to fill their small bucket wins. (Repeat the game only if time allows.) The game leaders should keep plenty of water in the large buckets, using the hose as necessary. Whichever team wins the most number of times (or gets their bucket fullest if time runs short) should be awarded fifty points.

Pre-school Version:

Shorten the distance between the buckets, use cups instead of plates, and play all as one team together.

Baton Relay

Monday:	Baton Relay
Bible Lesson:	David and the Lord's Annointed: Jesus should be Lord and Master of our lives.
Memory Verse:	1st John 2:3

Age Groups:

• elementary
• teens

Equipment Needed:

• baton objects (these can be basically anything)
• marks for the starting line and relay line (e.g., rope or chalk line)

Instructions:

Divide the children into teams of four. Split each team of four into two groups of two. Place one group from each team at the starting line, and the other group from their team at the relay line. Give one person in the starting group from each team the baton for that team.

When the whistle is blown, the starting runner from each team must take the baton ring to the relay line and hand it off to the second runner there; the second runner must return the starting line and hand the baton ring off to the third runner, who must take it to the relay line and hand off to the fourth runner, who must carry the ring back to the starting line (which is also the finish line) to conclude the race.

Instruct the children to sit down after they have finished running their segment of the race (so that you will know who still has to run). Repeat as time permits, or until the children can no longer breathe.

Gather and Sort the Balls

Friday:	Gather & Sort the Balls
Preschool Bible Lesson:	TBA

Age Groups:

• preschool

Equipment Needed:

• plastic balls
• wading pool
• buckets, in the same colors as the balls
• weight to hold down the buckets (e.g., gravel or bags of sand)

Preparation:

Put about three inches of water in the bottom of the wading pool. Weight four buckets (red, green, yellow, and blue) enough to hold them down, and set them in the pool. Scatter 30-50 plastic balls (in the same colors) all over the yard.

Instructions:

Have the children find one ball at a time, bring it, and try to throw it into the correct bucket, without stepping into the pool. If they miss, have them go get another ball and try again. If they make it, clap and cheer, and send them for another ball. Yay!

Footsteps of Service Game

Friday:	Footsteps of Service
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Footsteps of Service: we should serve God by serving others.
Memory Verse:	Philippians 2:4

Age Groups:

• elementary
• teens

Equipment Needed:

• clothesline
• clothespins
• 3x5 cards with service activities written on them, in two categories
• buckets (labeled)
• chairs
• blindfolds
• extra shoes (decoys)

Preparation:

Hang the service cards on a line with clothespins, near where the kids will be. Set up two sets of buckets or containers for them to sort the cards into, with the labels facing the kids. These can be arbitrarily far apart, depending on how far you want to make the kids run. Set up the chairs in a circle, with one chair for each pair of kids, with the chairs facing inward. Place some decoy shoes in the middle. Place a blindfold on each chair.

Instructions:

Explain that the goal of this game is to get service cards for your team, and sort them into the correct bucket. Show each team their pair of buckets, and explain the sorting criteria. (There are two options here: you can either have them sort activities that are services from activities that are not services; or you can have them sort services that involve donating your time from services that involve donating money and goods.)

Then tell them how to get the cards: each team will be split up into pairs, and from each pair one person will sit on a chair, and the partner will be blindfolded and stand in front of their partner inside the circle. The seated partner will remove one shoe and toss it into the middle of the circle. The leader then scrambles the shoes.

When the whistle is blown, the blindfolded partners must attempt to locate the seated partners' shoes and replace them on their feet. (Tying is not required, unless you want to make things hard for the teens.) The seated partner can give instructions and suggestions to help the blindfolded partner locate the shoe, but the seated partner must remain in the chair at all times and may not use their hands to help. (Blindfolded people are not permitted to throw any shoes outside the circle.)

As soon as each pair of kids has finished putting the shoe back on, the blindfold may be removed, and they may choose a service card from the line and proceed to decide which bucket it goes in, run to that bucket, and drop it in. While running, they must both hold on to the card the whole time. When they finish, they return to the circle and switch places, and put on the blindfold. Once the first person is back and has the blindfold on, the whistle is blown and everyone who doesn't have a card yet must stop, so that you can go to the next round. (Those who have a card can finish sorting it.) Once everyone has the blindfolds on, the new seated partners take off a shoe and the next round starts. When time is nearly up, check the sorted buckets, and discard any that are sorted incorrectly. The team with the most correctly-sorted cards wins.

Pile-Up Game

Thursday:	Pile-Up Game
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Hannah's Prayer: When we have problems, we should pray to God.
Memory Verse:	James 5:16

Age Groups:

• elementary
• teens

Equipment Needed:

• chairs

Preparation:

Place one chair for each participant in a circle facing outward.

Instructions:

Have each person sit on a chair. Start reading instruction lines (below), one at a time, giving them time to follow the instructions. (Note that if the person beneath you moves, you don't necessarily move with them, unless the instruction applies to you too. If someone is much larger than the person beneath, they may have to squat and hold their own weight to avoid squishing someone.)

If things get too out of hand, have everyone sit in an otherwise empty seat again and start over. If you run out of instruction lines, you can start repeating them, or just make some up.

Example Instruction Lines:

• If your dad brought you to VBS, move 2 chairs to the right.
• If you had cereal for breakfast, move 2 chairs to the right.
• If you went swimming this week, move 2 chairs to the right.
• If your favorite Bible School activity is the memory verse, move 3 chairs to the left.
• If you are in second grade, move 2 chairs to the right.
• If you came to VBS last year, move 1 chair to the left.
• If your favorite color is yellow, move 3 chairs to the right.
• If you live close enough to walk here, move 2 chairs to the right.
• Move one chair to the right for each day you've been to Bible School so far this week.
• If you came with a friend, move 2 chairs to the right.
• If you brushed your teeth today, move 2 chairs to the left.
• If your favorite Bible School activity is the game, move 2 chairs to the right.
• If you think you're going to bring a friend tomorrow, move 1 chair to the left.
• If you read your Bible today, move 1 chair to the right.
• If you have a case or cover for your Bible, move 2 chairs to the left.
• If your birthday is in March, move 3 chairs to the right.
• If you learned your Bible verse and said it tonight at the registration table, move 2 chairs to the left.
• If you have a pet at home, move 1 chair to the right.
• If you are wearing shorts, move 1 chair to the left.
• If you are in third grade, move 3 chairs to the left.
• If your favorite Bible School activity is crafts, move 1 chairs to the left.
• If you wore your seatbelt on the way here, move 3 chairs to the left.
• If your name starts with a G, move 3 chairs to the right.
• Move one chair to the left for each sibling you have that's here tonight.
• If you ate your vegetables for dinner, move 2 chairs to the left.
• If you have a younger sister, move 1 chair to the left.
• If you like chocolate chip cookies, move 3 chairs to the left.
• If you brought a visitor tonight, move 1 chair to the right.
• If your name has an A in it, move 2 chairs to the left.
• If you are in first grade, move 1 chair to the right.
• If this is your first night here, move 1 chair to the left.
• If you arrived in a car, move 3 chairs to the left.
• If you have blond hair, move 3 chairs to the left.
• If your favorite Bible School activity is Missions, move 3 chairs to the right.
• If you are wearing flip-flops or sandals, move 1 chair to the right.
• If you are wearing green, move 1 chair to the right.
• If you are having fun at VBS, move 3 chairs to the right.
• If you have an older brother, move 2 chairs to the right.
• If you have a pony tail, move 3 chairs to the left.
• If you learned something new in today's Bible lesson, move 1 chair to the left.
• If you had pizza today, move 3 chairs to the left.
• If you came to VBS in a van, move 1 chair to the left.
• If your favorite Bible School activity is the singing, move 1 chair to the right.

Crabwalking in the Footsteps

Wednesday:	Crabwalking in the Footsteps
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Look & Live (the snake on the stick): We should look to Jesus, trusting God for our salvation.
Memory Verse:	John 3:14-15
Preschool Bible Lesson:	TBA

Age Groups:

• elementary
• preschool
• teens

Equipment Needed:

• footprint markers for the trails
• objects to balance

Preparation:

Set up the footprints in a trail, winding across the yard. Depending on the age group, the trail can have twist and crisscross and loop and so on to a greater or lesser extent. Each team's trail should be a different color of footprints, so that they can tell which is which. (For preschool, you may just want one trail.)

Instructions:

Divide them into teams, and line each team up at the starting area. The first team member must crabwalk (see below) along the trail of footprints, following the trail to the finish line. For added difficulty, older agegroups may be required to balance an object (such as a shoe, a ball, or a bowl of ice water) on their stomach the whole time. When the first team member reaches the finish area, the leader releases the next team member to follow.

Crabwalk:

The crabwalk is achieved by going on all fours, with your stomach aimed up and your back down. You must crabwalk head-first, without allowing any body parts (except the hands and feet and possibly hair) to drag on the ground. (You can let preschool children just crawl instead of crabwalking, in which case you might want to put a few extra twists and turns in their trail.)

Through the Hoop

Tuesday:	Through the Hoop
Preschool Bible Lesson:	TBA

Age Groups:

• preschool

Equipment Needed:

• hula hoops
• plastic balls

Overview:

This is basically a toned-down version of the Soak the Paper game the older kids are playing, in case your preschool kids aren't so fond of getting wet and/or don't have sufficient aim or throwing power to break through paper.

Instructions:

For the preschool, don't cover the hoop with paper. Just hold up a hoop as a target. Each child gets a hollow plastic ball to try to throw through the hoop. Yay!

Soak the Paper

Tuesday:	Soak the Paper
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Do What It Says (Ezra Reads from the Book of the Law): We should study God's word and obey it.
Memory Verse:	James 1:22

Age Groups:

• elementary
• teens

Equipment Needed:

• hula hoops
• roll paper
• buckets
• sponges

Preparation:

Cover each hula hoop with a large strip of roll paper, such as bulletin board paper. Fasten the edges of the paper in place around the hoop (either to the hoop itself, or around and to the back of the paper) with tape, staples, or whatever. Set up the buckets of water and sponges near where the group will stand.

Instructions:

Have an adult volunteer hold up the hula hoops as targets a fixed distance from the group. (Start a pretty good distance away, so that the kids can barely throw the wet sponges that far.) Divide the group into teams and hold up one hoop for each team.

Each team member gets the same number of sponges (probably one) per round. The object is to wet and break the paper that is stretched across the hoop, by throwing wet sponges against it. When every team member has thrown their sponge, have the targets move a little closer, give everyone their sponges back, and go another round. Whichever team breaks their paper first wins the game.

You can play another game if time and the supply of prepared hoops allows. If the hoops run out before time runs out, allow the play to devolve into a wet-sponge free-for-all (if it's warm enough out).

Footsteps Memory

Substitute Indoor Game:	Footsteps Memory

Age Groups:

• elementary
• preschool

Equipment Needed:

• Sets of game cards, in matching pairs, featuring images and concepts from the week's lessons on the obverse, and identical footprint emblems on the back.

Overview:

Wikipedia has an article describing the basic game, but we're going to play it with cards that feature things from the week's Bible lessons. I'm including some small thumbnails of the card pages below. To get a version that is suitable for printing, see SVG Documents.

Preparation:

Make enough sets of the cards so that small groups of 2-4 children can share each set. Print them on card stock, with the identical footprint backs on one side and the lesson concepts and images on the other. Each set should consist of two copies of each card, so that they can be matched up. Use a paper cutter to separate the individual cards from one another on each sheet. (If you laminate the cards, you can continue to use them for a long time after Bible School is over, reminding the children of the lessons from VBS.)

For the preschool age group, remove the cards that feature words, leaving only the pictures.

Instructions:

Divide up the kids into small groups and give them the decks of footsteps memory cards (one deck per group). Instruct the kids to shuffle the cards and, without looking at the backs, lay them out in rows with the footprint up. (For preschool, remove the cards with words on them, and help them shuffle and lay out the remaining ones.) Then they take turns each turning over two cards, trying to get a match. If the two cards match, they get to keep those two cards in their pile and take another turn. If they do not get a match, they turn the cards back over and it's the next person's turn. The goal is to get the most matched cards in your pile. If time remains, shuffle and play again.

Preschool Game: Floating Stuff

Monday:	Floating Stuff
Preschool Bible Lesson:	TBA

Age Groups:

• preschool

Equipment Needed:

• wading pool
• plastic balls
• other floating toys
• towels

Preparation:

Put just a couple of inches of water in the pool, just enough for stuff to float.

Instruction:

Give the kids the plastic balls and other floating toys (e.g., toy boats, rubber duckies) and let them sit around the outside of the edge of the pool and play with the floating stuff. Be sure to have a few towels on hand in case of accidental water exposure.

Wet Sponge Dodgeball

Monday:	Wet Sponge Dodgeball
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Two Obedient Men (Caleb & Joshua): We should trust and obey God.
Memory Verse:	1st John 2:5

Age Groups:

• elementary
• teens

Equipment Needed:

• sponges
• buckets
• rope

Note:

Note: if it's cold at the beginning of the week, play the fourth night's game (Pile-Up) instead for now, and come back to this one later in the week when it's warmer.

Preparation:

Use a rope or something to mark a midpoint of the playing area. Put the pool (or buckets) full of water and sponges across the rope, so it can be reached from both sides.

Instructions:

Divide the kids into two teams, and explain the rules and boundaries. Basically, the goal is to hit every member of the other team with a web sponge, before everyone on your team gets hit. You can't cross the line, but you can approach the line to get sponges and/or to dip them in the water for better throwing. If you get hit by a wet sponge, you have to go stand on the sidelines (until the next game). When one entire team is out, if there's time left, put everyone back in and repeat.