One that recently caught my eye is All you Need. Get in a circle, grab a soft ball or even a wadded up pair of clean socks and follow the clear instructions for a great discussion starter.

GrowingKidsMinistry.com have several blog posts about games for groups. Why not hop over to their blog? 
There are even videos of two of the games being played (by teens!) and a link to a PDF Activity guide which details many more games. With a little thought, you can select ones suitable for your age group and have a whale of a time!

The first part of Minute to Win it for Church groups

The second part of  Minute to Win it for Church groups

The article outlines some simple, inexpensive but fun crafts, where the kids can express their own creativity.

Check it out here.  While you are there, why not browse the site. If  you like what you see, you could sign up for the e-news yourself.
Go to this page http://www.childrensministry.com/magazine/ then scroll down a bit. You will find an orange “E-newsletter sign up” place.

This week they flagged up a group  game for 6-12 year olds. Octopus is fun to play, especially as when a child is “out” he is also “in”.

Here’s how it works:

What to do: Create two home bases on either end of a large play area. Choose someone to be the Octopus. Have all the other children start on one home base. Once kids leave home base, they have to get to the other base before getting tagged by the Octopus. When kids are tagged, they join hands with the Octopus. The Octopus works together to catch other kids.

Once an Octopus has six people, it breaks in two. Play until all children have been tagged.

For this and other great ideas, visit ChildrensMinistry.com

Have you discovered a helpful site with resources and ideas for children’s ministry. Why not let us know by adding a comment below?

Whether you work in a large or small setup; whether your children’s ministry is thriving or struggling; whether you have a healthy budget or nothing in the “kitty” – there will be something for you at the forum of Ministry-to-children.com.

We have learned a huge amount over the 6 months or so that we have been visiting the forum. It is free to join and very easy to sign up. I know you’ll learn a lot, and no doubt you will be able to contribute to the discussion with your own experiences and comments.

Here’s the link to the forum.

Other areas of the site are extremely helpful too, with lesson plans, craft and games  ideas, helpful videos, stimulating discussion and a massive list of kidmin blogs for you to browse.

Do you have a child in your family or group that has special needs? I have  been very impressed at the regularity and quality of posts on
Our Out of Sync Life.

The author, Momma C. sums up her site like this:

God has blessed us with three beautiful children – one with Sensory Processing Disorder, a very Strong Willed middle child, and a Spirited Little Man. Follow us as we learn to train up our children to love the Lord with all of their heart, soul, and mind.

Even if right now there are no children in your care with special needs, you will still find this blog very uplifting and illuminating. There are heaps of ideas for crafts, and other learning opportunities.

Momma C is a trained educator  and she also runs a companion site , ABC Jesus Loves Me.   This is a pre-school Bible curriculum, free for use in the home. It is especially helpful for children with developmental delays.

I’d encourage you to check out these wonderful sites.

If you want a ” one-stop-shop” with free articles, tips, resources, challenge and anything else to do with children’s ministry, then Wayne’s Blog Patrol is for you.

This list is a great resource for all of us. Wayne does the web browsing for us and we benefit. Once again, everything is in easy-to-find categories, including:

 and TONS more!

Check out The Children’s Ministry Blog Patrol (April 2010)

Cullen Wood is an experienced Christian pre-school worker. She has her own channel on YouTube with sections for children’s action songs, activities, stories and Christian songs.

Cullen shows us how to help kids remember Bible truths and songs by using finger play. She interacts with Gator the puppet, encouraging little ones to focus and follow the teaching. She demonstrates craft and other activities that she has used successfully with tinies and shows how you can set up these fun times for your children.

Her site, Cullen’sABC’s is rich with all sorts of inspiring stuff. It’s ideal for anyone who has young children in their family or Sunday School class.

Every time I watch Cullen and Gator, I end up with a big smile! They are not only informatiove, but very uplifting. Best of all, from the comments made by her users, Cullen has quite a fan club of toddlers and tots!

Here’s how Tony introduces it:

To complete our new children’s church decorations, we used the children’s painted hand prints as leaves to complete the tree mural. The project was not too complicated, but it took real coordination on the part of our adult volunteers to pull it off…

There are full instructions on the site, and even a video showing every stage very clearly. It looks fun!