"Going fishing" and "A treasure hunt"
Children's Activity
Object:
Parents and Teachers: Here are two games geared to different
age groups.
Going Fishing
To very young children, tell the story about the net thrown into the sea. Take a rug or blanket. Place it on the floor or outside on the grass. This will be your fishing boat. Begin this game by placing one student in the boat as the person fishing. The other students will swim outside the boat. Give a short rope or string (hands will also do) to the person in the boat. One by one, as the fish swim by the rope, they are caught and come on board. The other fish continue to swim around the boat until they are all on board. Tell the students that the goal is to get on board, not to remain in the sea. As they come on board, they enter God's kingdom.
Treasure Hunt
This game can be for older students. Tell them the story about the treasure hidden in a field. Create a treasure hunt using a map for the students. You might want to do this outside. Depending on the number of students, you might want to break into teams. Draw a map of the church grounds (or your own home). Explain some of the features on the map, so the students can follow it. Have a starting and finishing point. Along the way have stopping points. At each of these points have a small treasure. You might visit your Sunday school supply cabinet for these. Treasures could include stickers, pencils and similar items. The final treasure point could include a larger item. Try to find some substitute pearls for this point. Marbles will also work.
When the first treasure hunt is finished, you may find students want to create their own treasure hunt. Ask the students to describe how they felt as they came to each treasure point. Ask them to imagine the feeling the merchant had when he finally obtained the fine pearls.
Going Fishing
To very young children, tell the story about the net thrown into the sea. Take a rug or blanket. Place it on the floor or outside on the grass. This will be your fishing boat. Begin this game by placing one student in the boat as the person fishing. The other students will swim outside the boat. Give a short rope or string (hands will also do) to the person in the boat. One by one, as the fish swim by the rope, they are caught and come on board. The other fish continue to swim around the boat until they are all on board. Tell the students that the goal is to get on board, not to remain in the sea. As they come on board, they enter God's kingdom.
Treasure Hunt
This game can be for older students. Tell them the story about the treasure hidden in a field. Create a treasure hunt using a map for the students. You might want to do this outside. Depending on the number of students, you might want to break into teams. Draw a map of the church grounds (or your own home). Explain some of the features on the map, so the students can follow it. Have a starting and finishing point. Along the way have stopping points. At each of these points have a small treasure. You might visit your Sunday school supply cabinet for these. Treasures could include stickers, pencils and similar items. The final treasure point could include a larger item. Try to find some substitute pearls for this point. Marbles will also work.
When the first treasure hunt is finished, you may find students want to create their own treasure hunt. Ask the students to describe how they felt as they came to each treasure point. Ask them to imagine the feeling the merchant had when he finally obtained the fine pearls.
