ST. GABRIEL GIFT PROGRAM
Growing in Faith Together
Get Up and Move Activities
Seated Basketball (Scripture/Catholic Teaching Connection - 1st Corinthians 12 “One Body, Many Parts”)
Play a game of basketball while seated on the floor. At the start everyone has 30 seconds to choose their spot and they have to stay in that spot until later in the game. Use clean trash cans or other bins for the hoops and a soft ball to pass around. After each round the players become more strategic and shift from focusing on offense and defense. Whereas one round may consist of one family team sitting around the opposing goal, they’ll quickly realize that they are unable to shoot from their location. Everyone has worth and God reminds us that although we are all different and unique, we are all part of the same body in Him as Christians.
Hula Hoop Race (Scripture/Catholic Teaching Connection - 1st Corinthians 1:10 “Groups and Slogans” / Christian Unity)
Split the family apart into even teams. Each team gets a hula hoop and tries to get the hula hoop to the end of their team and back while they all are holding hands. The fastest team wins! This can also be done as one team and you try to beat your best time each round. When we work together in unity, we are able to accomplish much more than we ever could alone.
Five Changes (Scripture/Catholic Teaching Connection - Proverbs 3 / Trust in the Lord Through Changes)
Have everyone pair-up and sit or stand back-to-back. While back-to-back, have each person change five things (things they can change) about their appearance. After the changes are made, have the players turn around and each try to identify the changes made by their partner. Do this one more time and see if you can identify those changes. Everyday we deal with changes. God reminds us that we never have to do this alone and that He is always there for the faithful no matter what the hour.
Balloon Game (Scripture/Catholic Teaching Connection - 1st Corinthians 13 / Knowing and Loving One Another)
The entire family makes a circle and puts their arms around one another's shoulders. Play some music and as the music plays, pass balloons around the circle using your legs only. Start with three or four balloons. When the music stops, the person holding the balloon is eliminated from the circle. As the circle gets smaller, take balloons away. Eventually there will be two people left and only one balloon. Even when playing games and having fun, it is easy to get frustrated and upset if things are not going our way. The reading from 1st Corinthians is the most used Scripture passage at Weddings, however, it reminds us of what it means to love one another and to truly know one another.
Scrambled Puzzles (Scripture/Catholic Teaching Connection - Hebrews 10:24-25 / Encouraging One Another)
Divide the family into equal teams. Have different (ten- to twenty-piece) jigsaw puzzles on hand for each team plus an additional puzzle. Give each member of every team just one piece of the puzzle assigned to that team. Toss all remaining pieces of the puzzles together on a table and mix thoroughly. The trick is for the members of each team to sort out and put together the pieces for their puzzle. The team that puts its puzzle together first wins. Life can get jumbled up and complicated, but we can be assured that when we work together and ask God for help we can accomplish anything.
Quick Shuffle (Scripture/Catholic Teaching Connection - Proverbs 3 / Trust in the Lord Through Changes)
Ask a few members of the family (2-3) to stand in the front of the group in a line facing everyone else. While everyone else closes their eyes, the members up front moves into different positions then before. When the rest of the family opens their eyes, they must then, one by one, put everyone back in the correct order. One person can move only one up front and then a new person moves the next. This can also be done with props like hats, sunglasses, jackets, etc. and each person also switches items among themselves as well as changing their order, or they can also being doing different actions like holding their hand up or standing on one leg. This can be made super difficult or easy.