I try to use Sport Stacking cups any chance I get because they always engage and excite kids, and they can be a great learning tool too.
Tonight I was tasked with teaching on teamwork and how we all must work together using our different gifts and talents. So, as I often do when I need to teach is I mine the incredible content found in DiscipleTown units and looked that the How to Discover Gifts and Talents, and found a great game!
In the lesson it suggested numbered Styrofoam cups (since that is available to anyone) but I prefer to use Speed Stacks cups.
I made two sets of ten cups using ten different colors. (Yeah, I own a lot of stacking cups, including many discontinued colors.) Then I made slips of papers with the colors names on them. To choose volunteers I simply passed out the slips one at a time to ten volunteers.
The Rules: They needed to make a pyramid, BUT they could only touch the cup of the color they were assigned. Teamwork and communication were needed!
Round One: Simple pyramid, one on two on three on four cups. Any order, but each child could only touch their cup, even if a collapse happened.
Round Two: After swapping cards with someone else, they could only use their less dominate hand. (For example, right-handers had to use their left hand, and visa versa)
Round Three: I did a variety (I teach three times at my club each night on rotation) so I made them do a tower of the cups, on on top of the other, and another time they did a pyramid with three on the bottom and then a tower, the second option is better for younger kids.
Here is a video of the game in action:
It was a fun game that the kids really enjoyed, and it was a great lead-in to discussing teamwork, the need to listen and cooperate. It is amazing how FAST these kids get after a few rounds, the improvements made are dramatic as they get the hang of working together and talking strategy with each other.
For more great game ideas check out Kidology.org’s Game Zone or if you have Awana, be sure to join the Awana Game Time Group!