Recently I've been brainstorming different activities I can do with the kids at the orphanage. It seems like we do the same boring things every day and I want to have more fun with them! One thing I thought would be fun was making bracelets (the girls here like to do that) while Tony plays basketball with some of the boys (they usually play every other day). So, I pulled the bracelet making skills out of the Girl's Camp archive in my brain and made a couple of examples! Tony thinks they're pretty cool. You know, I WAS in the Friendship Bracelet club at school when I was in 1st grade so, I'm basically a professional. The only hard part about this fun little activity...I need to know lots of weird Bulgarian to teach them how to make them.
Do you guys have any fun ideas for activities? The kids range in age from 7-18 years. There are a lot of first graders and then the kids are pretty scattered as far as age goes from there. I've got some games in mind to teach them. I'm kind of stuck, though, because they are games I played at House of Hope and I want them to be fun for everyone, not just the little kids (that's what happens when you work in a preschool environment for almsot a year!). So, gimmie some ideas you smart people, you! (please)
When I worked as a summer camp counselor, we taught the kids how to play Mafia, and they would beg us to play that whenever they were bored. I'm not sure how appropriate (or ironic) that would be in Bulgaria :)
ReplyDeleteOur time at camp was pretty structured by the camp leaders, but....but here are some of the things they had the kids do:
Bocce ball
Cooking class
Dodgeball
Art (painting, chalk, gluing random things to paper)
Um, that's all I can remember. The leaders would have themed weeks, like "nature week" or "art week" or "drama week."
Don't know if that was any help. But good luck!
Missionary tag!
ReplyDeleteIf it's warm outside you can do water games like having two teams stand in their separate lines, the first in line gets a sponge soaking wet from a full bucket of water, and they have to pass the sponge over their heads and under their legs alternatively until the last one squeezes the remaining water in the bucket--whoever has the most water in the bucket within five minutes or so wins. I'm sure you've played it. The carry-an-egg-on-a-spoon game is a little more messy.
A more complicated game that we would play ALL the time is Signs. If you haven't played it, Hollie, ask Tony if he remembers.
That's all I can think of at the moment.
Oh--two more--there's Mother May I and Red Light Green Light. Those are fun for all ages.
A search on some church related websites and Mutual activities might be helpful. Think about the things you enjoyed in YW
ReplyDeleteHmmm. What about an art contest? You could have them each draw a picture of something (their best friend, their favorite place, the coolest animal, etc) and then put them up on the wall. You could have a "picture of the day." Each day you could have one artist explain their picture to the rest of the orphans, and then everyone could applaud as they put their picture up on the wall.
ReplyDelete