Did you know that I was a youth minister? Yes indeed!
I've been involved in youth ministry for over 17 years. I love ministering to the young people of the Church. I do have a big heart for all ministry and have spent time in children's ministry, adult ministry, and young adult ministry.
Going forward, I'd like to share with you some of the biggest successes, failures, and tips for youth ministry that have helped me.
Today I would like to share the one game that has helped me break the ice, get the kids laughing, and have them begging for more opportunities to play. It's the NOODLE GAME!
I learned this game when I was in high school and I still have friends who remember playing it back then. If it was memorable then and it's a blast now, you don't want to miss this crazy game!
You can play this with 10+ players, and if more than 20, split into two circles. Or play the version at the end of this post!
You'll need
Pool Noodle (or another long narrow object)
*I have found that blow up baseball bats work well too, just make sure it is soft and not hard like a real baseball bat! Child protection violation right there!
How To Play
Have players sit in a circle (use chairs or everyone can stand too). Have everyone go around and introduce themselves. One player should be standing in the middle holding a pool noodle. A player sitting in the circle calls out their name and someone else's name who is also sitting in the circle.
The player with the pool noodle tries to hit (gently) the player who's name has been called. The player who has their name called must call out their name and someone else's name before they are hit with the pool noodle. The pool noodle holder then goes after the person they called.
If a player who's name is called gets hit before they can call out their name and another player's name, the hit player then goes in the middle and has the pool noodle and the prior middle person takes their spot in the circle. If the player accidentally says the name of the person in the middle with the pool noodle, then they are automatically in the middle. A helpful, but not required rule is to not allow players to call out the names of the people sitting next to them.
Example: I would call out "Randi Ben" and then Ben would have to call out "Ben Sally" before getting hit with the pool noodle, and so on.
If you've run the course with just using names, you can have everyone assume a new identity with animals, vegetables, fruit, book characters, etc. The options are endless!
If you have more than 30 in your group or you want to spice things up, you can play:
POOL NOODLE EXTREME!
Spread your players out randomly around a room after having everyone introduce themselves. Then have 2 players with pool noodles roaming around the room, as 1 or 2 sets of name calling is going on. Just increase how many pool noodle holding players you have for the size of your group. It's sure to be a blast!
I've been involved in youth ministry for over 17 years. I love ministering to the young people of the Church. I do have a big heart for all ministry and have spent time in children's ministry, adult ministry, and young adult ministry.
Going forward, I'd like to share with you some of the biggest successes, failures, and tips for youth ministry that have helped me.
Today I would like to share the one game that has helped me break the ice, get the kids laughing, and have them begging for more opportunities to play. It's the NOODLE GAME!
I learned this game when I was in high school and I still have friends who remember playing it back then. If it was memorable then and it's a blast now, you don't want to miss this crazy game!
You can play this with 10+ players, and if more than 20, split into two circles. Or play the version at the end of this post!
You'll need
Pool Noodle (or another long narrow object)
*I have found that blow up baseball bats work well too, just make sure it is soft and not hard like a real baseball bat! Child protection violation right there!
How To Play
Have players sit in a circle (use chairs or everyone can stand too). Have everyone go around and introduce themselves. One player should be standing in the middle holding a pool noodle. A player sitting in the circle calls out their name and someone else's name who is also sitting in the circle.
The player with the pool noodle tries to hit (gently) the player who's name has been called. The player who has their name called must call out their name and someone else's name before they are hit with the pool noodle. The pool noodle holder then goes after the person they called.
If a player who's name is called gets hit before they can call out their name and another player's name, the hit player then goes in the middle and has the pool noodle and the prior middle person takes their spot in the circle. If the player accidentally says the name of the person in the middle with the pool noodle, then they are automatically in the middle. A helpful, but not required rule is to not allow players to call out the names of the people sitting next to them.
Example: I would call out "Randi Ben" and then Ben would have to call out "Ben Sally" before getting hit with the pool noodle, and so on.
If you've run the course with just using names, you can have everyone assume a new identity with animals, vegetables, fruit, book characters, etc. The options are endless!
If you have more than 30 in your group or you want to spice things up, you can play:
POOL NOODLE EXTREME!
Spread your players out randomly around a room after having everyone introduce themselves. Then have 2 players with pool noodles roaming around the room, as 1 or 2 sets of name calling is going on. Just increase how many pool noodle holding players you have for the size of your group. It's sure to be a blast!
