Tic Tac Toe

I am the Primary Music Leader for my church, basically meaning I get to lead fun music and games with the kids ages 3-11 each Sunday at church.  While I adore being with the kids, it can be challenging thinking of new and fun ideas to keep such a range of kids entertained and invested while still hopefully having something sink in.

I thought today's activity went exceptionally well at both intriguing the kids and helping teach some gospel principles.  The added bonus was it was easy to put together and was easily modified for different age groups.  What was this wonderful activity?  Gospel Tic Tac Toe.

Here is how we played:  I split the kids into two teams.  For each team's turn, I would ask them a question pertaining to the song we were learning or some gospel principle I wanted them to know.  For example, we are learning the song, "I Stand All Amazed," so I asked the younger kids "What is something we can do to show love and appreciation for God?"  I asked the older kids to explain the atonement, using the song as an aid.  If the team was able to accurately answer the question (which I tried to make sure they could do), they got to place a marker on the Tic Tac Toe board trying to make three in a row.  Then, they got to pick the next practice or wiggle song for us to sing.  We continued in this pattern taking turns until Tic Tac Toe was made or there was a draw.

That is it.  Simple but effective.

On a completely different note but saying "draw" reminded me of it, NJ had a lot of fun drawing on the white board today.  This has become one of her favorite activities.  She for some reason is incredibly partial to the board versus paper.  Opening, closing, and organizing markers has lately taken hold as one of her favorite activities.  She is a regular DaVinci in the making.