How to Select the Right VBS Games for Every Age Group

Discover the best VBS games for every age group! Learn how to select age-appropriate activities to engage kids and make your Vacation Bible School unforgettable. Next time VBS rolls around, you can be ready with these helpful tips.

A valuable part of Vacation Bible School is the games! Games get kids involved in hands-on participation! They help bring a lesson to life. VBS games make things fun and allow kids to get up and move. Today, we will learn how to pick games that are appropriate for the developmental stages of each group, how to adjust activities to meet the needs of each age group, and how to modify activities for mixed-aged groups while balancing a fun environment with a safe one.  

Selecting VBS Games for Different Age Groups

Choosing games based on what age group we will be teaching is a good place to start. 

Preschool Age-Appropriate Games

Preschool-age groups benefit from simple and fun games. These activities will require minimal instructions and may even be familiar to them. Some great examples of these kinds of games include

• Duck Duck Goose
• Hot Potato
• Freeze Dance

To connect these games to your VBS theme, you can make a few minor changes. For instance, if your church is hosting a Puzzling Pyramids VBS, change Duck Duck Goose to include the Puzzling Pyramid characters Lyle, Della, and Cairo. If your theme is Camp Chaos VBS, play Hot Potato with a stuffed toy squirrel!

Elementary Age-Appropriate Games

Early elementary-age games are often more involved, while the instructions are not too complicated. Great ideas for this age group are relay races and follow-the-leader games. 

While younger kids are still figuring out how to follow instructions, older kids can begin to work on their team-building skills. Older elementary-age kids typically enjoy games divided into teams. Some good examples include Capture the Flag, Dodgeball games, and games that involve working together to solve a problem, like a scavenger hunt.  

Adjusting VBS Games for Various Ages

Simplify your workload by choosing the same game for each age group with just a few adjustments so that each group has a slightly different version appropriate for their skill level. 

Here are examples of how to update a parachute game for a Jonah and the Whale VBS program: 

Preschool Version 

Gather children around the parachute. Instruct the kids to grab onto the parachute and raise it into the air. 

Call out a color. Anyone wearing that color shirt will run under the parachute (into the belly of the whale) and sit down. Then, everyone still holding the parachute will bring it down to the ground and sit on the edge. 

On the count of 3, the kids will lift it back up, and everyone will run out of the belly of the whale onto dry land again! Play several rounds so that all the kids get a chance to go into the belly of the whale.

Early Elementary Age (K-2nd) 

Follow the same instructions above, but this time, ask a volunteer to pick a color for each round. At the end of the game, toss some balls onto the parachute as "fish food," and give kids a chance to bounce the balls to feed the whale!

Late Elementary Age (3rd-5th) 

Add a challenge to the game by dividing kids into two teams. Give each team a parachute. 

Put the same number of balls on the top of the parachutes. Whichever team can most carefully bounce their balls and lose the least amount in one minute wins the round. 

That winning team gets to run over to the other team's parachute and take their place, holding onto it. The losing team will have to go under their parachute and get swallowed by the whale as the other winning team lifts it into the air and pulls it down to the ground. On the count of 3, they will lift it and free the losing team from the belly of the whale. Play several rounds!

Benefits of Adjusting VBS Games for Various Ages

A benefit of using the same game for each age group is that it allows for easier preparation in gathering supplies. It simplifies things by giving all the kids a similar experience. 

Modifications to the games are beneficial for the teachers and valuable for the students. While competition may be too overwhelming or upsetting to preschoolers, the older elementary graders might find the preschool version of the game boring.  

Modifications to VBS Games in Mixed-Aged Groups

Mixed-aged groups can be challenging when planning VBS. For small-sized churches, in particular, mixed-aged is often our only option. Modifying games so they are appropriate for all ages is crucial to the success of your Vacation Bible School. 

Here are a few things to remember when hosting games for mixed-age groups:

1. Try to stick to games where students work together as a team in competitions. Avoid games like Red Light Green Light for mixed ages, where kids compete alone. Older kids will have a significant advantage over younger kids in these cases.
2. Make sure, too, that groups have a good mix of ages so that you don't inadvertently have older kids competing against younger ones.
3. Don't forget to repeat the instructions for the younger children.
4. Games like tag or dodgeball aren't always good for mixed-aged groups. For everyone's safety, it's best to avoid these kinds of games when combining a wide range of ages. 

Check out these five games appropriate for groups of all ages:

1. Simon Says

Say "Simon Says" and call out instructions for kids to follow. Call out instructions without saying "Simon Says" to see if you can catch kids doing it when they aren't supposed to!  

2. Line Up

Split kids into groups of six or seven. Ask them to line up in order from shortest to tallest. Continue the game by changing the order: oldest to youngest, in order of birthdays from January to December, alphabetical order, etc.

Line-up games like these are great for older kids to help younger kids and to get to know mixed ages.

3. Where Do You Stand?

Divide your class into two groups, one on each side of the room or play space. Call out two items and have the children run from one side to the other based on their favorite. For example, you can call out cats or dogs, cereal or toast, math or English, video games or sports. 

4. Sponge and Bucket Game

Kids line up in two teams and see which team can pass their sponge down the line to fill their bucket the fastest:

1. Give the first kid in line a bucket full of water and a sponge. Give the last kid in line an empty bucket.
2. The first kid must fill the sponge with water and then pass it down the line one at a time,
3. When the sponge reaches the end of the line, the last kid will squeeze what water remains into the bucket. Then, they will run to the start of the line to fill the sponge.
4. Continue passing the sponge down the line to fill up the bucket at the end—the first team to fill their bucket wins.

5. Chariot Race

One creative game idea that gets older kids helping the younger children and younger children participating is called Chariot Race!

1. Divide your class into pairs, with an older and younger child working together.
2. Have the big kids get on their hands and knees while the little kids ride on their backs. 
3. Begin at one side of the room and have the duos crawl to the other end to see which pair wins the race. 

This type of game creates a way for everyone to have fun without unfair competition. 

Selecting VBS Games for Every Age Group

Whether we are writing our games, modifying prewritten games, separating kids by age group, or combining mixed-aged groups, there is always a way to make games fun, safe, and memorable for everyone! 

Each age group is unique in their abilities and needs. We can take our knowledge of these needs and provide a way for all the kids to join in the fun. We can also make adjustments so that every group can play a similar version of the same game. Let's get out there, have fun together, and play safely!