Leader Guide
Grain Pass Game
- Bible or Superbook Bible App
- Disposable drinking straws, coffee stirrers, pick-up sticks, craft stacks, or cotton swabs from Game: 1–2–3 Glean!
- Four baskets or boxes, including two from Game: 1–2–3 Glean!
- Paper plates from Teaching activity
- Timer, such as a clock/watch with second hand, stopwatch, or timer app
Divide the children into four teams, with each team standing in a row. Smaller classes may play with only two teams. Place a basket or box at one end and a pile of drinking straws or other items at the opposite end of the row.
You are going to play a game to pass the grain stalks down the line and into the basket, working as teams. That sounds easy enough, right? Well, it may be a little harder than you think!
Give a plate to each player, then hold up a straw. The first player in each row uses one hand to pick up a “stalk of grain” like this from the pile and place it on a plate. Then they will each slide it onto the next player’s plate. You must pass the grain stalk using only the plate, not your hands. The stalk will travel from plate to plate until it reaches the end of the row. The last player will then slide it into the basket. The first player can pick up another stalk as soon as the stalk is passed to the next player’s plate. If a stalk falls to the ground, it cannot be picked up during the game. This applies to a stalk that misses the basket and falls to the floor—it does not count in the final tally!
Start the time and say “Go.” Stop the time after 30 seconds, or adjust time as necessary. A point is scored for each stalk that makes it into the basket. Play additional rounds as time permits. To make the game more difficult, you may have children stand farther apart, or have them toss the “stalks” from plate to plate.