Bible Drill makes a SPLASH!

Children’s Bible Drill is one of my favorite things to teach boys and girls at church.  Each year 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th graders come together for some pretty intense Bible skill work. These awesome kids learn and memorize 25 Bible verses, 10 key Scripture passages, and the books of the Bible in order. They are able to quote the 25 passages from memory via the reference and are able to complete the passage when they hear the first few words of that passage. Additionally, Bible drillers are able to find any book of the Bible in 10 seconds (or less) and then name from memory the book that comes before the called book and the book that follows the called book (example: the child was told to find Matthew, he can locate the book and then name Malachi, Matthew, Mark).  The key passages are also located in 10 seconds (or less) when the title of that key scripture is referenced. It really is amazing to watch a well prepared Bible driller. It’s also quite rewarding to see some quick gratification of your work with the kids.

 

This year we’ve really kicked our Bible drill into gear with a big “splash.”  On January 2 (a very cold day here in Nashville), we took our Bible Drillers SWIMMING! Don’t get too concerned… we were able to secure an indoor pool at one of the local hotels here in town and everyone was able to stay pretty warm.

At the “Splash Party” we really made a splash toward accomplishing our goals of introducing and starting this year’s learning process. Let me share with you some of our fun:

Noodle Mania:  I took two differently colored swim noodles and cut them into 39 disks (I used my electric knife to do the job) then, using a permanent marker printed the individual books of the Old Testament on separate disks.  When finished I had two sets of Old Testament books that I laced on to two different ropes.  After establishing two teams (for us it always seems to be boys against girls… and to tell you the truth the girls usually dominate), I dropped the loose disks into the pool. On "start," the two teams jumped in and as quickly as possible threaded the disks of their team’s assigned color in Bible book order.  The first team to complete the task correctly, won!  They loved it.

 

Pool Rings of the New Testament: Similar to Noodle Mania but different because this time I wrote the 27 books of the New Testament on pool diving rings. Recently at a garage sell I spotted hundreds of pool rings.  I knew immediately that I needed them for the Splash Party. So, I purchased, printed, and threw them in the pool.  At go the group (as a whole) worked to dive in, find the rings, and place the New Testament books in order.

 

Beach Apparel Verses: For this activity I collected some “beach apparel” (two sets of swim fins, two sets of arm swimmies, two sets of swim masks, and two floaties.  I printed on two sets of index cards the individual words to one of our memory verses and then placed each card into a zipper bag to protect them from the water.  After placing the group back into two teams and on “go” the first player put on all the “swim apparel” and rushed through the water to the other side of the pool, chose one of the words from the memory verse and returned to her team. The second player did the same and the game continued until all the words of the verse were collected. The first team to arrange the verse in order won!  Again, there was lots of energy, lots of splashing, and lots of fun.  AND, I think they learned the verse!

Beach Ball Match Up: This game was designed to help the kids match the key passage titles with the key passage references.  On ten beach balls (I purchased at a 90% end of the summer close out sell) I printed one of the key passage titles (example, “The Creation”) and on ten other beach balls I printed the matching references (example, “Genesis 1-2:3”). After reviewing the titles and passages I gave the girls the titles and the boys the references and on "go" they had to match them correctly. I thought it worked as a great way to introduce this year’s 10 key passages.

Regardless how you do it, helping kids learn Bible skills is very important. Helping them acquire the skills to use God’s Word will have eternal results. As an adult I have tried hard to memorize scripture. Sometimes I’m successful, sometimes not so successful. But if you ask me to quote Psalm 100 (the first scripture passage I memorized as a child) I can do it without hesitation.

What we plant in the hearts of young kids is likely to stay with them forever. Let’s take advantage of every opportunity and teach kids Scripture, what It means, and how to use It in their everyday lives.

“Thy word have I hidden in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” Psalm 119:11 (One of the verses I learned as a Bible driller, King James, no less!)