Schedule Fillers for Children's Church

No matter how good you are at planning your children’s church schedule sometimes things do not go as planned. A teaching went quicker than you realized, the service in the main sanctuary is taking longer than usual. You’ve got a crowd of kids who look bored and may end up in mischief. It’s always a good idea to keep some schedule fillers handy. Schedule fillers are short activities that you can use to take up time, entertain the troops and keep everyone laughing. Try these easy to use schedule fillers. (It’s smart to have them on hand before you need them!)
Jokes in a jar: Find a joke website (for kids) that you can trust. Print the jokes out on business card size slips of paper. Cut them, fold them and drop them in a jar. You’ve got one liners, knock-knocks and jokes kids can tell or you can tell. Try sites like Childhood Beckons.
Talent showcase: Got a juggler in your classroom or a kid who likes to sing? Put them on the spot, well the spotlight! Give up 2 to 3 minutes of microphone time to kids who don’t mind showing off their talent.
Improvisation: Put kids in pairs and hand them some wacky props. Give them 1 minute to work with their partners on creating a 10 second skit involving their partner and their prop. Letting kids improv is hilarious. Have the iPhone handy for film and photos.
Try memory verses in a foreign language. You’ll need access to the Internet for this one. Type a memory verse into a language translator and read it aloud. Let kids guess what the verse is.
Play some limbo: Grab the broom and use it as a limbo stick. Turn on the music and let the kids limbo under the stick until only one person, who hasn’t touched the limbo stick is left.
You can follow more of Monica’s wacky ideas on her website, Tools for Kids Church.