Customizing Activities

No single list of suggestions can match your needs specifically. Be flexible when reading a suggestion and see how it can be customized to fit your class. Do you have a large class? Just one student? Readers? Preschoolers? A Mix? Make the ideas better to fit your needs. Pay attention to what succeeds and what doesn't. Try something you're not good at -- the kids may be great at it!

Large classes

Make more than one set of activities, and break the class into teams or groups. Juniors love to compete, especially boys against girls. Or bring more than one activity, set up stations, and have groups rotate through them.

Small classes

Use this chance to have discussions about the lesson and how it applies to them personally. Participate with the class when they do arts and crafts.

Fidgety primaries

Give them plenty of chances to move. Make them stand to answer questions. Attach activities to the wall and have them walk up to participate. Place answers around the room and have them stand in the corresponding spot to make their choice. Give them a reason to move around acceptably. (e.g. for true and false questions, make them stand in front of a "true" or "false" sign. It's always been a hit with any age group I've tried.)

Encourage students to do their lesson homework

Use lesson book questions to encourage homework. Allow students who have done the lesson to use their homework during an activity. Students who have not must rely on their memory. This is more subtle than calling on students who have not done the work and embarrassing them. Bible baseball was designed to be played using the questions from a classbook.