If you are looking for a way to use all that Halloween candy while teaching your teens a lesson on giving, this is the activity for you. The idea for this activity comes from
Supplies: Lots of candy; two buckets per group of five students; measuring cups; spoons; bowls; anything small that could be used to transport candy.
Set Up: Create a table in the front of the room you use with one bucket for each group sitting on top of the table. Label each bucket with the team number. This will be the receiving bucket. It is suggested to have teams of five students each, so you will need one bucket for every five teens in your group.
On the other side of the room, set up another bucket for each team filled with candy. This will be the Giving Bucket.
Before reading the objective and rules to your group, divide into teams of five and have them go sit near their Giving Bucket.
The Game Objective: Each team wants to unload as much of their candy into another team’s bucket in the front of the room as quickly as possible. The team with the least amount of candy will be the winners. Thus, in this game, it is truly “better to give than to receive” as our verse from Acts states.
Rules: Each team will start with an equal amount of candy in the Giving Bucket. When the whistle blows, your team will have 5 minutes to get rid of as much of your candy as it possibly can. Teams will be given a set of tools to use to take candy from your Giving Bucket and put it into another team’s Receiving Bucket. You can use anything to move the candy except bare hands. You could carry candy on your elbow, in your shoe, on your head, in cup, anything except bare hands.
You will notice other teams will be dumping candy in your Receiving Bucket at the front of the table. As the Receiving Bucket becomes full, you may move candy out of that bucket and into another team’s bucket. However, you must first carry the candy back to your Giving Bucket before you can pour it into another team’s Receiving Bucket.
Any physical contact with another team, moving your buckets or blocking your bucket from being filled will result in disqualification.
As you can see, strategy is important in this game. Take some time to plan with your team how you will end up with the least amount of candy.
When the time is up, have each team sit down. Give them both buckets and have them count all the candy collected by their group. Have a prize ready for the winners, which will be the team with the least amount of candy. This is the team that gave more than it received.
Teaching Points:
This could be just another fun game, or you could choose to take it to the next level and engage the students in your group on a deeper level. Personally, I hate to waste time doing activities that have no meaning. We only have these teens in our care for a short amount of time. We must use every minute of that time wisely and constantly present to them the message of the gospel.
– Talk about the importance of giving all of ourselves to God and to others in service.
– Point out that to serve and give effectively takes planning, communication and hard work (as they did in the game). True giving does not just happen. We must make an effort to serve in this way.
– Share a personal story as a parable for this verse. Demonstrate to the teens how this idea of giving occurs in a real life situation.
Discussion Questions:
Having your teens discuss the activity and teaching in small groups really will help them process and think through the topic.
– Do the actions of most people you know reflect Jesus’ teaching that it is better to give than to receive?
– Do the actions of the world reflect this teaching?
– Do your actions reflect this teaching? Are you self-centered or God-centered?
– What things in your life are hardest for you to give? When is it hardest for you to give?
– What are non-material things you could give?
– How could you show someone the love of Christ by choosing to embrace the teaching in your own life?
– Share about a time when someone gave to you or when you were able to give to another.
– What tools can we use to help us in our giving?
