Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Summer Diary: Day 5: Water Games


Tonight was the finale of our Wednesday night church services before summer break. We had a big "Family Fun Night" with hot dogs, chips & ice cream sundaes. The younger kids performed skits they've been working on, AND I planned a bunch of games for everyone to play.
I decided to theme all the games around water. Unfortunately our warmer weather earlier in the day turned breezy & a bit chilly by evening, so the water wasn't so much refreshing as it was shocking. But still, the games must go on...

(First I divided everyone into 4 teams.)

Wet Sponge Relay
We played this game by forming 2 teams. (Team #1 & Team #2 formed ONE team, while Team #3 & Team #4 formed the SECOND team.) Each team stands in their own line, facing one direction. The person in the front holds a sponge. He/she dips the sponge into a big bucket of water, which is directly in front of them. They pass this sponge over their head to the person behind them. And it goes like this on down the line. The last person wrings the wet sponge into a pitcher (which is directly behind them) & then they run up to the front of the line (with the sponge) & begin all over again. The team to fill the pitcher first, wins.

Fish For Marbles
I had each of the 4 teams choose one member to play this game. 
Basically, a small kiddie-sized plastic pool is filled with water AND ice AND marbles. The 4 contestants have to stand in the freezing cold water &, with their toes, fish out the marbles & drop them in a pitcher designated for their team. Whoever collects the most marbles in their container in 2 minutes, wins! We played again where 2 people from each team participated & they had only ONE minute to get their marbles.



Soap Game
One member from each team started this game. I handed each contestant a bar of soap. The goal of the game is to rub the soap in your hands & get it down to as small of a size as you can in an alloted time. The water was SOOOO cold (the same water used for the "Fish for Marbles" game) so we had the players tag-team & pass the soap off to the next person in line when their hands got too cold or too tired. I set a time limit of 5 minutes. 


 The Great T-Shirt Escape
This was my favorite game, so I saved it for last.
Earlier in the day I froze 4 shirts in four Gallon-sized ziploc bags. It wasn't as frozen as I had hoped. I should have frozen them the night before.

When it was game-time, I handed one bag to each team & on "GO!" the teams had to break through the ice. The first team to melt the ice from the shirt & have one member of their team put the shirt on, was the winner!

It was a great night, & a super kick-off to all the fun we have planned for the youth & kids this summer!
If you're local, check out the Connections Youth Group facebook page! Keep updated with all the events we have schemed for June & July!!!!


6 comments:

  1. About how long did it take to get the shirt on from start to finish? Is this a 2 minute activity or a 10 minute? Or 30 minutes...I ain't puttin no freezin cold shirt on. I'll wait, thank you very much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It took less than 5 minutes! When the competition is on, no one is thinking about how cold it is. That's the fun of it anyway. And you don't have to put "no freezin cold shirt on." Make someone else do it. haha!

      Delete
  2. Did you fill the zip lock bags with water when you put the shirt in it? Or do we just freeze the shirt alone?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Yadira!
      Wet the shirt & stick it in the bag WITH some water. Then freeze.

      Delete
  3. Did you fill the zip lock bags with water when you put the shirt in it? Or do we just freeze the shirt alone?
    http://www.freemahj.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love the frozen t-shirt idea! We are giving everyone t-shirts so instead of first team to do it wins, no one gets a shirt till all teams get it done. :). Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment. Every time you do, I do a little happy dance. For reals.