Speak Up Group
Group Activities

BLINDFOLD RELAY: Divide the children into teams. Each team will have a basket filled with a variety of items. One of the children will put on a blindfold and try to find a specific item in his team's basket which the teacher will name. Examples: a toy car, a stuffed dog, a plastic cup, a pencil, an eraser, paper, an apple, a marble. After the child finds the item, the blindfold is removed and the child runs back to the team and hands the blindfold to the next team member who will go to the basket to find the item which the teacher names and runs back to the next team member.

"I WANT TO SEE" RELAY: Divide the children into teams and let them take turns running to the teacher or another leader. The teacher/leader will say, "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU?" The child will say, "I WANT TO SEE." The teacher will touch the child's eyes and then the child will run quickly back to their team and the next child will continue the relay race.

BARTIMAEUS RELAY: Have all the children put on a sweater or jacket before the game begins. All the children line up against a wall in the classroom. When the teacher shouts, BARTIMAEUS, the children will run to the opposite wall, throw off their coats, and RUN back to the starting wall! Continue the game as time allows.

MEGAPHONES: Give the children a sheet of construction paper. Give them some stickers and stars which they will use to decorate their construction paper. Provide a marker to write or trace in large letters on the paper, "LET YOUR REQUESTS BE MADE KNOWN UNTO GOD." The children will then roll the paper in the shape of a megaphone and tape to paper so that the megaphone will not come unrolled. Let the children march around the room using their megaphones and shouting, "LET YOUR REQUESTS BE MADE KNOWN UNTO GOD." The children will then sit in a circle and share their requests to God and pray together while holding hands.

EYE CHART: Let each child draw a large eye with eyebrows and eyelashes on a sheet of paper. Have the children write "I WANT TO SEE JESUS" on the piece of paper. Before the class begins, the teacher will make a BIBLE VERSE EYE CHART that says, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man answered, "Rabbi, I want to see." The sentence should start in large letters and get progressively smaller like an eye test. Let the children see if they can read the writing from the largest to the smallest.

PRAYING HANDS: Give each child a piece of paper and pencil or crayon to trace their neighbor's hand sitting next to them. The children will then write, WHY WORRY WHEN I CAN PRAY? below the traced hand.

CHALK TALK: Let each child go to the chalkboard and draw or trace their own praying hands and write their own name in the hand that they drew. The teacher will then write some letters but leave some blank lines _____ for missing letters and let children take turns trying to guess a letter that is needed to complete the sentence ALL WE NEED TO DO IS TO ASK IN JESUS' NAME. AMEN.

NEEDS/WANTS POSTER: Give the children pictures that have been cut out of a magazine. Pictures should represent things that we need and things that we want. The children will then tape or glue under the proper column as the class discusses NEEDS AND WANTS. After the NEEDS/WANTS poster is finished, the teacher can place a long banner slanted across the picture, that the children have painted or colored that will say, "THANK YOU JESUS."

SING A SONG: OPEN MY EYES THAT I MAY SEE

BLIND TREATS: Tell children to close their eyes and to put out their hand and make a request for a treat, PLEASE! Then the teacher will place a small treat in each hand before they can open their eyes!

Song:  "Open My Eyes that I May See"

Words and Music (pdf)