Bible Games for 8 Year Olds

by Abigail Raney

Overview

Games are a great way to combine fun and learning in all ages, but especially in children. The function of bible games is two-fold. Bible games help to simplify complex ideas and stories into concepts that children can grasp, and they also help children learn and remember these concepts by reinforcing them in play. Games involving music and movement are especially good at reinforcement because they engage a child's senses.
Adapted Games

When choosing games for children, keep age in mind. For 8 year old children, select games with the appropriate material and skill-level and ones they will not perceive as too juvenile for them. Often the hardest part of an activity is convincing a child to play, especially if competing with modern entertainment such as television or video games. Adapting a game already familiar to and liked by the child is a good way to start. Some ideas might be a simple trivia game modeled on Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy, or a song with new, bible-based lyrics written to a tune children recognize. Pictionary is another game that you can easily adapt to a biblical theme, as is Charades. Many Christian education websites allow free downloads of bingo or memory games. Using competitive games can be a good motivator, especially in a classroom environment where children are reluctant to participate. Just prepare yourself to deal with sore losers (or winners).

Bible Jeopardy, Wendy Harman: Flickr.com

Activity Sheets

Activities such as coloring pages, word searches and mazes are fun for children and are fast and easy to prepare. You can create activity sheets by hand or on the computer. Many Internet resources offer bible-themed sheets, as well as activities that require a little more preparation like paper jigsaw puzzles. Activity sheets are a good choice if you want to engage children while remaining somewhat free to accomplish other tasks.

Biblical Word Game, Bree Bailey: Flickr.com
Musical Games

The simplest musical games are, once again, those adapted from well-known children's games. You can play musical chairs with Christian children's music. Encourage a sing-a-long with motions as a take on another classic children's game. Many well-known Christian children's songs have traditional movements, such as "Father Abraham", which instructs children to move an additional body part at the end of each verse. Purchased CD or DVD sets often come with hand motion instructions. No movements are set in stone, and allowing the children to help make up new motions is a fun twist on this idea. Eight-year-olds are generally old enough for simple coordination, so another good twist is to add traditional or made-up biblical rhymes to hand-clapping or. If you have access to an outside space, jump-roping can enhance these musical games as well.