Playing the patience game...

Today we wanted to focus on the spiritual fruit of patience at our school lunchtime club.  This particular group (all girls!) respond most to doing something with their hands and chatting.  We're making it our mission just to build relationships and pass on something of our own experiences with God rather than teaching an all singing all dancing programme of activities! So...

Today we had a little chat about what patience was and then we made some cup and ball games.  For those of you who don't know, this involves a ball attached to a string attached to a cup.  The aim is to get the ball into the cup by throwing it and trying to catch.

Each person will need: a paper/ plastic cup, string (an adult arm's length), a ball (we used ball pond or ping pong balls) some sellotape and something to decorate the cup with.

Make a small hole in the bottom of the cup and thread some string through.  Tie a knot at the end of the string just inside the cup.  Sellotape a ball to the other end of the string.  Decorate the cup!

To play, hold the cup upright and toss the ball into the air.  Try to catch the ball in the cup!  This game requires patience because it may take several attempts to catch the ball.  It also requires patience when making the game to thread string, tie knots and keep sellotape on the balls...The point is emphasized all round and it is also a lot of fun!

The children had a great time practically working with patience issues and we, as leaders were able to share times when God helped us to be patient :-)