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The lesson is done. The students are getting wiggly. You look at the clock. Still 10 minutes to go. How are you going to keep the kids busy for the rest of class? How about a game? Here are some easy, 10-minute games that require no preparation and no extra materials.

The lesson is done. The students are getting wiggly. You look at the clock. Still 10 minutes to go. How are you going to keep the kids busy for the rest of class?

How about a game? Here are some easy, 10-minute games that require no preparation and no extra materials.

One Question

Have the students find partners. Share the following situation with them:

It is so dark that you cannot see anything. You hear someone else in the room with you, but you cannot see who it is. You cannot ask the person’s name, but you can ask one other question. What one question will you ask your partner to discover if he or she is other person in the room?

Give the pairs a few minutes to come up with their answers. Then invite a few students to share with the class. If time allows, continue playing with new partners. Have fun learning more about each other!

Categories

Tell the class that you will give them one minute to divide themselves into two groups. When you say to start, they will quickly think of two categories and divide themselves up according to these categories. For example, they may divide themselves up into groups of boys and girls or short and tall.

Then start another round. This time, they will have one minute to divide themselves into three groups. For example, they may divide themselves up into groups of those who get up early in the morning, those who like to sleep later, and those who stay up all night.

Keep playing, adding an additional group each time. Invite the students to be creative with their categories. Creativity is a gift from God!

happy children

Say Anything

Have the students find partners. In each pair, one student will say a word—any word. (If you feel your students will need some guidance, remind them that they should use good language and choose words that are appropriate for class.) The partner will say another related word, and then the first student will say a different related word. For example, the first student may say beans, then the second student may say rice, then the first student may say food.

Have the students keep taking turns until one of them hesitates or repeats a word. When that happens, the student who hesitated or repeated holds up one finger. Then the other student starts a new round. Have the partners keep playing until one of the students has three fingers up. The other student wins the game!

Everyone’s It

Choose a wide-open space to play. Have the students put their preferred hands on their heads and hold their other hands straight out in front of them. Students may not move their hands off their heads, and they may not bend the arms they are holding out in front of them.

Have the students chase each other around the space, trying to tag other players. If a player is tagged, he is out of the game. The last student in wins!

The Last Laugh

Have the students sit in a circle. Choose one student to start. The student will stand in the middle of the circle and try to get everyone else in the circle to laugh, but she cannot laugh. If she laughs, she is out of the game.

Once she gets everyone else to laugh, she sits down. Then the last person to laugh stands in the middle and tries to get everyone else to laugh. Continue playing until everyone is laughing!

Take the time to laugh and play games with your students. Enjoy the moments you have with them. They are amazing and precious creations of God, and He loves them deeply. Show His love in a very real way by letting your students know how much you enjoy being with them!

What do you do when you have a few extra minutes at the end of class? Share your ideas with us!

Lisa Brock

Author Lisa Brock

Lisa Brock is an editor with David C Cook Global Initiatives. She feels incredibly blessed to help share God's love with children all over the world.

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