Christian Games For Kids
Kids love to play games and with a little guidance, teachers can use “playtime” to ingrain the Word of God into young hearts and minds.
Here are three games with a Christian perspective you can use in your Christian school classroom, Sunday school, or at home.
Bible Verse Memory Game
Help children remember Bible verses that will guide them through life. You’ll need a white board, markers, and a towel.
Choose a Bible verse and write it on the white board. Underneath, rewrite the verse removing key words and replacing them with a blank line. Cover this with the towel.
Spend a few minutes reviewing the verse with the children. Put the children into groups and have them raise their hand when they know the missing word for the first blank. Then go on to the second blank and so forth.
The group that fills in the most blanks correctly is the winner.
You can also consider items such as Bible Memory Verse Crafts.
The Wise King (or Queen)
This game will help children understand the actions and fruits of the spirit that are pleasing to God.
Choose one child to be the wise king or queen. On index cards write words such as kindness, caring, compassion, patience, etc. Hand each child a card.
The child goes to the king or queen and describes a situation that demonstrates the word on the card. For example, if the word is kindness the child could say “I let my little sister play with my new doll so she wouldn’t be sad.” If the king feels the description is correct, they allow them a pass into the kingdom. If not, they need to return to their seat and think of another scenario that would describe the word.
Take care to explain that we aren’t admitted to heaven through actions but through grace. Use this game to emphasize that God is our heavenly King and certain behaviors are pleasing to him while others are not.
Bible Bingo
Play Bible Bingo to review and reinforce unit lessons or bible stories.
Make a bingo grid of five squares down and across. At the top of the grid, write the letters B-I-B-L-E. Make enough grids for each student in the classroom.
On the left hand side of the grid, number the horizontal rows 1-5. Write the answers to the questions you plan to ask on the white board and have students write them in the squares in any order they choose.
Hand each student “bingo chips” such as checkers or cut pieces of construction paper to fit the squares. The teacher calls out a combination such as B-3, or L-1. She then reads the question. If the student has the corresponding answer in their square, they cover the square with a chip. The first student fill in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal row makes wins.
If you have computer access, you can find all kinds of Christian games for kids online, such as word scrambles, puzzles, and trivia games. The idea is to make learning fun while reinforcing Christian principles and the love of God. You might even consider a game such as Bible Jingo.
For other ideas, please take a look at our Christian Games & Puzzles section.
Math Classroom Decorations
It doesn’t matter what the subject is, all students enjoy entering a classroom that is brightly decorated with colorful, whimsical, and educational displays. Just because math is considered a “left brain” discipline doesn’t mean the math classroom has to be completely analytical! Many math teachers enjoy tapping into their “right brain” and letting their creative side have its way.
Obviously, the idea is to create a positive learning environment that continuously fosters learning math concepts. One way to do this is through the strategic use of classroom decorations.
So if you’re a teacher looking for ideas to spruce up your math classroom with entertaining yet educational decorations, here are 9 ideas that may inspire you.
1. Visit our teacher supply store and pick up mathematical borders to trim your doorway or even around the perimeter of your room. Or you can laminate construction paper that has math symbols or formulas on them and create your own border.
2. Designate an area of your room to celebrate famous female mathematicians. Often times girls are not confident in their math skills and seeing positive role models in the classroom may make them may feel more comfortable.
3. Don’t forget about math projects — students love to see their project displayed in the classroom and they also make for attractive decorations as well.
4. Have students create posters about career opportunities in math. Another idea is to have students interview their parents to find out how they use math in their daily job, then have students make a display with visuals, formulas, and a brief report.
5. Scatter biographical posters of famous historical mathematicians around the room. You could even have an area in your room specifically devoted to the history of math and how it has progressed through the ages.
6. Use colorful storage containers for hiding away rulers, composition, graph paper, calculators, and manipulatives.
7. Bring in small table lamps to help create the desired mood. During quite independent work, you may want to turn the lighting down low. During teacher presentation or busy group work, use the overhead lights.
8. Create a cozy corner where students can use math manipulatives, play appropriate card games, or construct puzzles. Students love to move around and this also provides an outlet for kinesthetic learners.
9. Last, but not least, use your bulletin board as a canvas. If the class is studying geometry you can find (or make your own) geometric symbols and shapes from colorful, laminated paper. One idea for younger students is to place geometric shapes such as a trapezoid or parallelogram on the bulletin board. Then have students bring in a picture of something in nature that has the same shape. Tape their pictures underneath the corresponding shape.
When you use your math classroom decorations wisely, you’ll not only furnish an area that is warm and attractive, but one that is conducive to mastering math concepts as well.
