NEW - Cane Fishing
Items Needed:
String or yarn,
tape, small paper lunch bags (small buckets or baskets would also work), candy
canes
Preparation:
You will need to
take two candy canes and tape a 3 ft. piece of string on the end of the
straight stick end. Fill two paper bags
with more candy canes.
Object:
You will need to
pick two riders to play the game, and they will compete against each
other. Set your two bags on the ground, and give each
competitor one of the candy canes with the string on it. Give them a certain time limit to hook as
many of the other candy canes as they can with their “cane pole.” The contestant who has fished out the most
candy canes by the end of your time limit is the winner!
Rules and Regulations:
The contestants
may take the “hooked” candy canes off of their “pole” with their hands. Make sure they do not throw your candy canes
on the ground in the excitement of the game because you want them to last
throughout all of the rounds. If you
have older kids or teens on your bus you may want to vary the game a little bit
by telling them they have to put the “cane pole” string in their mouths and
they can only use their hands to get their catch off their hook. Make sure you have new string to put on the
candy canes if they use their mouths!
Rustle Hustle
Items
Needed:
Two medium size garbage bags full of
leaves, two small prizes
Object:
You need to put one prize or piece of
candy in each bag of leaves. The first
person to dig through the bag of leaves and find the prize wins! Remember, the bigger the bag of leaves you
use for this game the longer it is going to take for the kids to find the
prize. Make sure the prize is not so
small that it will be impossible to find.
Rules and Regulations:
They cannot throw leaves out of the
bag! A worker must be holding the bag at
all times. When you put the prizes in
the bags make sure you shake the bags really good because you want it to be as
fair as possible.
The Rabbit Hole
Items Needed:
Large plastic garbage bag, several plastic eggs filled
(each filled with one Hershey’s candy kiss), and Easter grass
Object:
To find eggs, open them, and eat Hershey kiss
Rules and Regulations:
This is a competition that riders of all ages
can play! Fill your large garbage bag with plenty of Easter grass and plenty of
filled plastic Easter eggs. Be sure that the eggs are evenly distributed in the
bag, otherwise this game will be too easy! Have one of
the riders come to the front of the bus and give them one minute to get as many
eggs out of the bag as they can. Here are the rules: In order for them to get a
second egg, they must open the first egg, unwrap the
Hershey kiss inside the egg, and put it in their mouth. As soon as they have
the candy in their mouth, they can grab a second egg in the garbage bag. So, if
they get four eggs in one minute they would have four Hershey kisses in their
mouth.
Rainbow Contest
Items Needed:
2 - 70 foot strands of yarn of each of the
following colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple
Object:
To create a rainbow.
Rules and Regulations:
This competition is between the left and right
sides of the bus. Be sure that each side is even in number and ability. At the
front of the bus give the rider in the first seat on the left side and the
right side the six strands of yarn (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and
purple). Each side will have six strands of yarn that are 70 feet long. When
you say, “Go,” the riders in the front that have the yarn are to pass one
of the strands of yarn to the next person behind them and then they are to pass
it to the next person behind them and so on until the yarn reaches the back of
the bus. The strands of yarn have to go in the proper order though. It must go
in this order - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. The first side to
create a rainbow (have all six colors from the front to the back) wins!
1. Spot the Red Spot
Here is a game that you can play
on your bus each week that will only cost you a piece of candy or prize! Take a
piece of red construction paper and cut out a circle that is 3 inches in
diameter (about the size of a baseball). Before the bus takes off, place this
red spot somewhere on the bus. The child who finds the spot first wins the
candy or prize. To make it even more exciting, have a bus worker place the red
spot while you are on the route or on your way back to church. Be sure no one
sees the worker place the red spot!
2. The Bus Web
Before playing this game, take a
few minutes for each rider to think of something specific they know about the
Bible. While everyone is seated on the bus, take out your big ball of yarn. The
ball should have about 8 feet of yarn per rider to make sure that you have
enough. One person takes the ball of yarn and tells what he or she knows about
Bible. That person then takes the ball of yarn and throws it to another person
while hanging onto their end of the yarn. Continue this until every rider gets
a chance to tell something they know from the Bible, and you will have the bus
web!
3. The Mystery Bag
This game calls for items you
have lying around your house. Get a bag that is large and not able to be seen
through. Fill the bag with all kinds of items that the kids would have a hard
time guessing what each was by just feeling it. Some good mystery items are a
sugar packet, potato, rope, sock, etc. You can make this game very difficult
depending on the items you put in your bag. Pick a rider that has been behaving
and ask them to come to the front of the bus to have a chance to solve one of
the mystery items! Let them reach inside the bag and feel around. Do not let
them remove any of the mystery items. Also, don’t allow them to see inside the
bag. If the rider guesses one of the items remove that item and reward them.
4. Caught Red-Handed
This is a great game that will
get everyone involved. The only item that you need for this game is a nice
polished stone. Hand the stone to one of the riders in the front. The object of
this game is to keep the bus captain from finding out who has the stone. One
rule that the riders must follow is that the stone must be passed continually.
Explain to the riders that they should disguise or fake out the captain by
acting like everyone is passing the stone. After a designated time (2 minutes)
expires, the captain goes through the bus trying to catch one of them
red-handed. If the captain finds the rider with the stone on his first guess,
he gets one point. If the riders stump him, they get one point. If the riders
stump the captain five times, they all get a small piece of candy. You may also
choose another rider to be the guesser.
5. Egg-Scramble
For this game you will need to
purchase 20 plastic eggs that can have items put inside of them. Take 10
assorted colored eggs and place them in a plastic bag making sure each egg is
divided in half. (You will have 20 half eggs.) Take the other 10 assorted color
eggs and place them in a second bag making sure that each egg is divided in
half. (You will have 20 half eggs.) This game is a one on one contest. Call two
riders to the front of the bus and when you say, "Go", each
contestant will put the eggs back together according to the color. The first
one to have all 10 eggs put back together wins! Mismatched colored eggs do not
count!
6. The Clothespin Race
This game calls for items you may
have lying around your house. (That is if you still do laundry the
old-fashioned way!). You are going to need 20 clothespins, two sets of ten.
This is a one-on-one competition. Ask for two riders that are behaving and have
them come to the front. Give each player 10 clothespins (in a bag is best). The
object is to have them get all 10 clothespins on their clothing. The first one
to have all 10 clothespins on wins! This game will work for both the young and
old riders.
7. Worm in the Dirt
This game can be tied in with the
promotion "Cones and Cream Sunday". For this game you will need
several ice cream cones, chocolate whipped cream, Oreo's, and gummy worms.
Place the gummy worm inside of the ice cream cones along with the whipped
cream. This game is a one-on-one competition. Of course, pick two riders that
are behaving to be your contestants. Let the riders know that only well
behaving riders will get to play the game. This will help all riders be on
their best behavior! In this game, the players can only use their mouth. No
hands allowed! The first player to get the gummy worm in their mouth and show
the bus captain wins the game.
8. On the Ball
This is a relatively simple game
and very inexpensive. For this game you only need two medium-sized balls and
ten rubber bands. When purchasing the rubber bands, make sure that they easily
fit over the balls that you plan to use. This game will have two teams
consisting of two players each. Each team will have one player to hold the ball
and the other player to place the rubber bands around the ball. Each player
must put five of the rubber bands on the ball. One person cannot put all ten
rubber bands on the ball; they must switch after they put five rubber bands on
the ball. The first team to have all ten rubber bands on the ball wins!
9. Pinto Bean Toss
You will need a one pound bag of
dried pinto beans and a quart jar. Give each boy or girl ten pinto beans. Then
tape the quart fruit jar to the floor of the bus between the first two seats.
Let each rider have a turn at throwing their ten pinto beans, one at a time, at
the jar. You may pick two places where the beans are to be thrown from (one
place for those 5 years old and younger, and another place for those 6 years
and older). The boy or girl who throws the most pinto beans in the jar is the
winner! If there is a tie, have a throw off with ten more pinto beans. The
winner should receive a prize!
10. Please Pass the Butter!
Divide the bus into two even
numbered teams. Give each side a 1/4 lb stick of butter unwrapped. Tell the
riders when you say "Go!" they should pass the stick of butter to the
boy or girl behind them and so on all the way to the back of the bus. The first
side to get the stick of butter to the back of the bus are
the winners! Be sure to have plenty of paper towels for this one!
11. Spoons & Raisins
Have you ever flung something
with a spoon? The kids are sure to like this one! You will need several plastic
spoons and several boxes of raisins. Have each rider pair up with another rider
to make a two-player team. Have one team come to the front of the bus and give
them one plastic spoon and five raisins. One of the riders will be the flinger
and the other will be the catcher. Set the teammates several feet apart (close
enough to allow them to get it in their mouth, but far enough where it is not
too easy). The team that can get the most raisins in their mouths will be
announced as the winners. There may be several teams tied, so you can have a
fling-off!
12. Penny Jar Contest
Fill a plastic container with hundreds
of pennies, but be sure you know how many you put in there. On the way home,
for a 3-week period, let each boy and girl guess how many pennies there are in
the container. Be sure to have your secretary write down their names and their
guesses. At the end of the 3 weeks, the boy or the girl who guesses the closest
or the exact number is the winner. Also, be sure that there are no duplicate
guesses otherwise you will be giving away twice as many pennies as you had
planned!
13. Paperclip
Race
This is a great game for all ages to play on the bus! You will need a
large bowl filled with uncooked white rice. You will also need 10 paperclips.
The object of this game is to see how many paperclips a rider can pull out in
30 seconds. This sounds simple, but the rider must be blindfolded. Of course,
be sure to state that anyone that throws the rice around and disrespects the
rules of the game will be disqualified.
14. Magnet
Race
On most church buses, the inside is lined with metal. You will need two
sets of magnetic alphabets. You can find these magnets at Wal-Mart. Divide the
bus into two teams, the left side and the right side. Place one set of magnets
on the left side and the other set on the right side. Be sure to mix up the
letters so that they are not in order. Choose one person from each side that are similar in age and spelling abilities. Note: Some of the
riders that you pick may not know how to spell. Be sure to ask who would like
to try this game. Do not pick players; you may end up embarrassing someone!
Give the teams a word to spell with the letters. The first one done earns a
point for their side of the bus! You can play this one until everyone on the
bus gets a turn or you reach a certain point total.
15. Velcro
Throw
Do you have kids on your bus who like to throw objects? Here is a game
where it is legal and right to throw something. You are going to need 10 table
tennis balls. Next, you will need to buy some Velcro strips with adhesive on
the back. Attached the Velcro strips (the hook part) to the table tennis balls.
Now you will need a jacket or sweater that the balls will stick to. On the bus
you can have a time to have the kids throw the balls at you or your worker!
16. Pizza
Frisbee
Items Needed: 2 new pizza boxes, 2 new pizza cardboard circles
Object: To get the pizza Frisbee into the pizza box.
Rules and Regulations: Divide the bus into two teams, the left and
the right side. Each side will get one pizza box and one pizza Frisbee. You
will need one rider from each side to hold the pizza box at the front of the
bus. You will need one more rider from each side to be the thrower. This is a
rider to rider competition so give each thrower three throws and keep track of how many times each side gets the pizza
Frisbee into the box.
17. Build
Your Best
Items Needed: Several pieces of Lego-style building blocks; a piece of Lego-style
artwork (something unique that you have made with Lego-style blocks).
Object: To build the best piece of art they can.
Rules and Regulations: Be sure to have enough Lego-style blocks so
that three or four riders can be building at the same time. Have a designated
time for the building. After the time limit is up have the riders hold up their
masterpieces for the judge (either a bus worker or a mature teen rider that will
not hurt feelings of rider). The judge will give each masterpiece a number. 0
is bad, 50 is perfect! The winner will get to keep the Lego-style blocks and
your pre-made masterpiece!
18. Rocks
in Socks
Items Needed: 2 big, long socks (preferably clean); as many rocks as you have riders
Object: To empty the socks of the rocks.
Rules and Regulations: Divide the bus into two groups equally. Give
each side a sock full of rocks. The first side to pass the sock, empty it, and
fill it back up one rider at a time wins!
19. Fill A Cup Relay
Items Needed:
2 plastic cups, 2 large buckets,
2 sponges
Object:
To fill the plastic cups with
water.
Rules and Regulations:
The two teams for this game will
be the left side and the right side. Fill the two large buckets with water and
place at the front of the bus. Place the 2 plastic cups at the back of the bus.
Give the rider in the left and right front seats a sponge. When you say go,
they are to dip the sponge in the bucket and send the sponge to the back. When
the sponge reaches the back, the last rider, with the plastic cup, squeezes the
sponge in the plastic cup. They then send the sponge back to the front to
repeat the process until the plastic cup at the back is full. First team to
fill their plastic cup wins!
20. Melt
It!
Items Needed:
Several plastic
20 ounce soft drink bottles and water. Fill your bottles with water and
freeze them. You will want to have several of these on hand depending on how
many times you want to play the game. Be sure to have something on the bus to
cut the plastic bottle with and get the ice out. You may want to break the ice
chunk in half to shorten the game.
Object:
Be the first team to completely
melt it!
Rules and Regulations:
Your bus will need to be divided
into two teams, either left side and right side or front of bus and back of
bus. Give each side a chunk of ice. They will need to pass this chunk of ice
until it melts. They can rub it, blow on it, do
whatever it takes to get that chunk melted! One other rule, every player on
team must touch the ice chunk.
21. Raindrop
Relay
Items Needed:
4 large buckets, 2 plastic bags
with pin holes in them
Object:
Be the first team to empty large
bucket of water
Rules and Regulations:
Divide the bus into two teams,
left side and the right side. Place one bucket full of water on each side in
the front seat of the bus. Give the first rider on each side a plastic bag with
the pin holes. When you say, “Go,” they need to fill up their plastic bag full
of water and pass it all the way to the back and empty it in the second bucket.
The first team that empties their bucket of water in the front wins. Note: The plastic bag has to go all of the
way to the back before it can come forward again.
22. Shuck
the Corn
Items Needed:
20 ears of Indian corn cut in
half
Object:
To remove all
the kernels from the cob.
Rules and Regulations:
This game is geared for your older riders because it may
be difficult for some of the younger riders to accomplish to the task. Have one
rider from each side come to the front of the bus and give each of them one of
the halves of the corn. When you say, “Go,” they need to get all the corn off
the cob as fast as they can. The first one to shuck the corn completely off the
cob wins!
Note: If your
younger riders can’t “shuck” the corn, be sure to have them take a cob with the
corn on it home with them!
23. Bolt,
Nut, and Washers
Items Needed:
2 bolts, 10 washers, and 2 nuts
Object:
To get 5
washers and nut on the bolt.
Rules and Regulations:
Once again this contest is
between two riders. Be sure that the washers and nuts go onto the bolt easily.
You will need to have two sets separated (1 bolt, 5 washers, and 1 nut per
set). Next, number the washers with a permanent marker with the numbers 1-5.
Give each rider a set. When you begin the game they will need to take the bolt,
put the washers on in the correct order, and thread the nut on the bolt until
it touches the washers. The first rider to complete this wins!
24. Apple
Sauce and M&M’s
Items Needed:
Individual applesauce cups, a bag
of M&M’s, and a watch
Object:
To eat all
applesauce and eat M&M’s.
Rules and Regulations:
This contest is played one rider
at a time. The contestants of this game are those who are behaving on the bus.
Pick one good rider and have them come to the front of the bus. Open the
applesauce, place one M&M in the applesauce, and hand the rider the straw.
When you say, “Go,” they are to suck all of the applesauce out with the straw.
When they have all the applesauce eaten, they then have to eat the M&M. Be sure to be timing this game and record their times. The
fastest time wins!
Items Needed:
Bus Riders
Object:
To see who can sing the best on your
bus.
Rules and Regulations:
This game is geared for your older riders. This is a great
way to encourage good, wholesome, spiritual singing instead of worldly, carnal,
fleshly music! There will be several riders that will want to participate in
this contest. Be sure to help and encourage participants in this contest.
Feelings could easily be hurt in this contest. Be sure that no one makes fun of
any of the singing. Pick out one song that is very familiar and have each rider
sing. Have one of your bus workers judge who sang the
best. The best singer can win a round of applause and some candy or a small
prize.
NOTE: You may want to have a bad singing contest for
fun. Pick a couple of your goof balls on your route (every bus has them) and
have them sing a silly song as badly as they can!
25. Yes Sir, No Sir Contest
Items Needed:
Bus Riders
Object:
To see who can answer the loudest and
the best.
Rules and Regulations:
This game is a great one! Pick out one of your riders and
go to their seat. Ask them a “yes” or “no” question. For example: “Do you love
Jesus?” Their response should of course be, “Yes, sir,” or “No, sir.” Explain
to them that Christians make up God’s army and those in His army are not wimps.
When asked a question, they should answer it properly - loud and powerful.
Those who answer weakly do not get any candy. Those who answer it loudly and
with power will receive a piece of candy! By the way, have some fun with this!
Ask a question like, “Does my breath stink?” Or, you could ask for fun, “Do you
pick your nose?”
You should desire the boys on your bus to eventually be
men, so be sure the boys on your bus give a good manly answer! Ask them, “Are
you a sissy or man?” Or, you could ask them, “Do you love the Bible?” Use your
imagination with this game!
26. Balloon Burst
Items Needed:
Several Balloons
Object:
To burst your balloon.
Rules and Regulations:
Pick out two riders for this contest. Give each player a
balloon. When you say, “Go,” they are to blow up their balloon until it pops!
First player to get their balloon to pop wins! Make sure that your driver knows
what is going on. You don’t want him to get in an accident because of the
popping. The chances are that he may already be used to a lot of noise!
27. Bean Bag Toss
Items Needed:
2 bean bags, 10 gallon bucket
Object:
To throw bean bags into bucket.
Rules and Regulations:
Take your bucket and cut a hole
in the bottom of it large enough to easily fit your bean bags. Give each rider
a chance, (If they are behaving,) to throw two times to get the bean bags
through the hole. You can do this several times and give out either candy or
applause!