The Sun Shines On

This is a great game that kids of all ages can enjoy! It takes just a few minutes to setup, and game play can last 3 minutes or 30 minutes.

Have the group stand in a circle, but pull one person out and have them stand at the center of the circle. Use masking tape or pieces of paper to mark every person's spot in the circle.

The person in the middle is "it." They have to make a statement beginning with "the sun shines on" - for example, "the sun shines on anyone wearing tennis shoes" - and then everyone to whom that statement applies must run to swap places with someone else. At the same time, the person in the middle is trying to claim an empty spot in the circle. Whoever does not find a spot in the circle is now in the middle and is "it."

Game play continues until you run out of time.

Hint: some of the smaller children might need help coming up with a statement. They tend to get trapped into physical characteristics - if the previous person said "anyone wearing blue" they will say, "anyone wearing red." Older children will have more fun once they realize they can use less concrete examples and say things like, "anyone whose favorite Star Wars villain is Darth Vader" or "anyone who has ever been swimming in the ocean."

Hint: every once in awhile it's a good idea to switch everyone up. We do this in a fun way by choosing obvious characteristics - anyone with hair, or anyone with two legs, and so on.

Make it relevant! This game is easy to adapt to almost any lesson you're teaching by simply changing the "sun shines on" line. For example, if you're teaching a lesson on forgiveness the line could be "Jesus forgives everyone who..." (It also can lead to some funny or embarrassing statements from some of the kids!)