Activity Days Ideas

Hide scripture clues around the room and have the children work in pairs to find each one. After every clue is found, read the verse together and talk about what it teaches and how it applies to everyday life.

Choose one or two parables and gather simple items that represent each story, such as seeds, lamps, or coins. Let the children handle the objects while you retell the parable, then ask what lesson Jesus was teaching and how they can live it this week.

Give each child a jar or cup and small slips of paper to decorate and fill with prayer prompts. Include ideas like family, friends, gratitude, challenges, and service so the jar can help them think of meaningful things to pray about at home.

Create a set of simple service challenge cards with ideas such as helping a sibling, writing a thank-you note, or doing a quiet act of kindness. Children can take cards home and report back the next week about how serving others strengthened their faith.

Invite the children to wipe down nursery toys, shelves, and play items with safe cleaning wipes or damp cloths. This gives them a simple hands-on way to serve younger children in the ward while learning that small acts of care can bless many families.

Make cards with names, pictures, or key facts about prophets and let the children match them correctly. Once matches are made, pause to share one thing each prophet taught and why following prophets still matters today.

Set up a relay where children race to sort cards into wise choices and poor choices. After the movement part, talk through a few real-life situations and let the group discuss how choosing the right can bless them and others.

Show pictures of temples and talk about reverence, preparation, and covenants in an age-appropriate way. Invite the children to notice symbols, colors, and feelings associated with the temple, then let them draw or write what they hope to remember.

Help each child make a simple journal from folded paper, cardstock, or a small notebook. Spend a few minutes writing or drawing blessings from Heavenly Father and explain how gratitude can help them feel more joy and faith.

Listen to or sing a hymn together and pick out words or phrases the children notice. Talk about what the song teaches about Jesus Christ, prayer, love, or courage, then invite them to share which hymn messages help them feel closer to God.

Plant seeds in small cups or pots and label them with Christlike attributes such as love, kindness, patience, and goodness. Use the growing plant as a visual reminder that spiritual growth takes daily care, effort, and time.

Invite the children to write or draw encouraging notes to missionaries serving from the ward, stake, or family. Before they begin, explain why missionaries serve and how even a small message of support can lift someone who is far from home.

Choose one person from the Book of Mormon and share a short summary of that person's faith and choices. Let the children create a poster, trading card, or short presentation about what they admire and what they want to copy in their own lives.

Set up a board with small kindness tasks such as inviting someone to join a game, helping at home, or speaking kindly when frustrated. Children can choose one or two challenges to complete during the week and see how small acts build a Christlike heart.

Give each child a bingo page filled with prompts like "has a pet," "likes to draw," or "has visited another state." Have them mingle and talk to different people until they fill their card, which helps everyone learn names and find common interests.

Gather the group in a circle and ask fun choices such as "Would you rather camp in the mountains or at the beach?" Let children explain their answers so they practice speaking up, listening, and discovering how others think.

Each child shares two true facts and one interesting surprise about themselves, and the rest of the group guesses which one stands out. This helps quieter children share something personal in a low-pressure, playful way.

Make a sheet with prompts such as "find someone who likes soccer" or "find someone who can whistle." Children walk around asking questions and filling in names, which encourages friendly interaction with people they may not know well yet.

Seat everyone in a circle and invite children to say something kind or encouraging about the person next to them. Keep the comments specific and sincere so the group practices noticing good in others and building one another up.

Put children into small groups and challenge them to keep one or more balloons off the ground using cooperation instead of competition. You can add rules like using only elbows or working silently to make teamwork and communication more intentional.

Create clues or tasks focused on helping others, such as picking up chairs, organizing supplies, or making cheerful notes. The activity helps children see service as something active, social, and enjoyable rather than just another assignment.

Set up a simple snack table and practice polite conversation, table manners, introductions, and gratitude. This gives the children a fun way to build confidence in social situations while learning habits that help them show respect and kindness.

Create a few age-appropriate puzzles or clues the group must solve together to "unlock" the final challenge. This works well for teaching listening, patience, and collaboration because no one can succeed without involving the rest of the team.

Write short social situations on cards, such as someone being left out or a friend feeling upset, and let pairs act out good responses. After each role-play, discuss what worked and why choosing kindness can change the whole atmosphere of a group.

Provide paper, stickers, and markers so the children can create thank-you cards for leaders, teachers, parents, or helpers in the ward. This encourages gratitude and gives them a practical way to strengthen relationships through thoughtful words.

Break the group into teams and assign a puzzle, but emphasize working together calmly rather than rushing alone. You can pause during the activity to ask what communication methods are helping their team succeed.

Partner the children and let one person describe a picture, shape, or simple structure while the other tries to recreate it without seeing the original. This teaches careful listening, patience, and the importance of giving clear, kind instructions.

Bring board games that the children can play. Be sure to bring lots of treats.

Watch Legacy, Mr. Kruger's Christmas, or Johnny Lingo. Make sure to bring popcorn.

Use cones, chairs, ropes, and chalk to build a course with crawling, jumping, balancing, and weaving stations. Let children run it individually or in teams, then invite them to redesign part of the course to keep the activity fresh.

Set up short one-minute challenges such as stacking cups, carrying objects across the room, or hopping through a quick pattern. The fast pace keeps everyone engaged and works well when you need a variety of active stations in one night.

Take the group on a walk and give them a list of things to notice, such as birds, leaves, shapes, colors, or signs of the season. This combines movement with observation and can end with a short discussion or sketching activity back at the building.

On a warm day, organize relays that involve carrying, tossing, or balancing water balloons without breaking them. Keep the rules simple and prepare extra towels or dry games in case you need a quick transition afterward.

Teach basic jump rope techniques first, then let children practice individually or in pairs with small challenges. You can end with a friendly showcase where everyone demonstrates a new skill they learned.

Meet at a local park for a mix of simple field games like tag, relay races, frisbee, or kickball, followed by a snack break. This works especially well when the group needs space to move and enjoy being together outdoors.

Create stations where children walk a taped line, balance beanbags, toss balls into targets, or move through ladders and hoops. This is a good option when you want something active but structured and easy to rotate through in small groups.

Use simple kickball rules and focus on participation, cheering, and teamwork more than competition. If your group is small, shorten the field and rotate positions often so everyone stays involved.

Use simple dodgeball rules and focus on participation, cheering, and teamwork more than competition. Teach the kids not to aim for the head.

Provide hoops and create challenges such as longest spin, hoop rolling, stepping patterns, or passing hoops around a team circle. Children enjoy the playful competition, and it helps build coordination without feeling like formal exercise.

Invite children to bring bikes or scooters, review helmet safety and basic road awareness, then hold a short ride in a safe area. You can also set up a simple course with turns and stop points to practice control and awareness.

Combine a quick lesson on healthy snacks with active stations such as jumping jacks, balance poses, relays, or stretches. This helps children connect movement and nutrition in a way that feels practical and age appropriate.

Divide into teams, mark boundaries clearly, and use simple flags or bandanas so the game stays organized. Emphasize fair play, safety, and helping everyone understand the rules before the game starts.

Choose a few sports skills that match the season, such as soccer dribbling, baseball throwing, or winter balance drills, and rotate through short stations. This gives children variety and helps them try something new without pressure.

Set up safe targets such as cups, cans, or paper bullseyes and establish clear boundaries and safety rules before anyone begins. Rotate children through turns or score stations so the activity feels structured, exciting, and easy to supervise.

Let the children measure simple ingredients, seal them in bags, and shake them inside an ice-and-salt mixture until the cream turns into ice cream. It feels fun and a little messy, while also teaching cause and effect, patience, and basic kitchen science.

Guide the children through building a simple kite from lightweight sticks, paper, string, and tape, then decorate it with colors or symbols. If weather allows, take the group outside to test the kites and talk about what design choices help them fly better.

Give teams simple supplies such as craft sticks, tape, straws, or paper and challenge them to build a bridge that can hold weight. After testing, ask what design choices worked best and how they would improve their next version.

Introduce pulleys, levers, wheels, or inclined planes with short demonstrations and hands-on stations. Let children try each one and explain how these simple machines make work easier in everyday life.

Teach a few folding styles, then let the children test which planes fly farthest, straightest, or most accurately. Talk about how small design changes affect flight and invite them to refine their airplane after each round.

Choose a simple recipe and highlight one fun ingredient the children will learn to use, measure, or prepare. As they cook, teach kitchen safety, basic reading directions, and why following steps in order matters.

Create a pretend store or planning scenario and give the children a limited amount of play money to spend. This helps them practice choices, tradeoffs, and the idea that money needs to be used thoughtfully.

Teach a few age-appropriate first aid basics such as when to get an adult, how to clean a small cut, or what to do in an emergency. Children can practice with simple supplies so the skills feel memorable rather than abstract.

Show children how to read a simple map key, follow directions, and find marked locations. Then let them use a map for a treasure hunt or route challenge so they get practice using what they learned right away.

Help the children think of a few interview questions for a parent, grandparent, or other relative, then explain why recording family stories matters. They can bring back one story or memory to share with the group at a later activity.

Fill a jar with imaginative prompts, story starters, or picture ideas and let each child choose one to write or draw about. This works well for a calm but engaging activity that builds creativity and confidence in self-expression.

Provide marshmallows and toothpicks or spaghetti and challenge teams to build the tallest stable structure they can. Afterward, talk about why some shapes are stronger than others and what they learned from trial and error.

Teach one or two basic knots with rope or thick string and demonstrate practical ways they can be used for camping, service, or household tasks. Keep it hands-on and slow enough that every child has time to practice successfully.

Show children how to thread a needle, tie a knot, and make a few simple stitches using felt or burlap. They can sew a small project such as a bookmark, pouch, or stuffed shape while learning patience and useful life skills.

Set up a few brain games, tangrams, riddles, or tabletop puzzles and let children rotate between stations. This gives the group a fun way to think, collaborate, and enjoy problem solving without needing a heavy lesson structure.

Build mini houses out of straws.