We needed the whole gym for the set up, and if you don't have at least 10 girls... I would consider inviting the Cub Scouts to join you for this activity to make the set up time and adult participation "worth it."
It would have been super awesome if I had remembered to take pictures of this fun night... but... I had a few people not show up-- and therefore last minute "aaaaaggghhhh!" going on-- and I didn't. I do have pictures of most of the games though, down below.
Couple of things...
Memorization: I told the girls starting about a month out that the Article of Faith Olympics was coming up, and that IF (if!) they memorized the Articles of Faith, they would be elite competitors who would have an advantage. This encouraged the girls to be thinking about/trying to memorize the 13 A of F (which they should be doing anyway!) and it was a great way to get them excited about it.
I made the "elite competitor" part true by leaving a score card space for memorization. If the girls had the Article memorized they got 3 extra points for it.
Using the Articles of Faith: Since it was an "Article of Faith" Olympics... you had to say the A of F at each station. For non-memorizers we had the poster board size A of F at each station and they read it with the adult before (BEFORE!) they could play the game.
If they had it memorized, the adult would simply flip the card over, and let them say it for the extra points.
Games were just... games: It would have been super cool... beyond cool!... if the games had to do with the meaning of the Articles of Faith, or were in some way related to them. But they did not. If this makes you sad, I understand! It's okay! Feel free to make up games that do relate to the themes in each Article of Faith and use those instead!
These games are just a mish mash of different ways to have fun for 8-11 year olds! Their defining characteristic is they were pretty easy to put together. When you are doing 13 games, easy is important!
Set up: Took about 90 minutes because I did it alone. Take down, with all the adults helping took about 10 minutes. Plan accordingly! Don't get there 20 minutes early to set all this up or your activity will not happen! Just dragging in all the tables from other rooms in the building will take you 20 minutes!
We still had a lesson: Because why DO we memorize the Articles of Faith??? I thought that was important to talk about! The lesson lasted about 5 minutes, and then the girls played the games.
Winners: I did make a prize for everyone, but I felt like that was optional. I could have just announced who had the most points with no prizes. But the girls (of course) did like getting prizes at the end. If you want to do prizes you could do a variety of simple things from candy Olympic medals, to prize ribbons to certificates. I did a small bag of starburst (about 8 per girl) and told them they were Article of Faith "stars"!
Here is the lesson I used (VERY SHORT!):
Why do we memorize the articles of Faith?
They teach us about the gospel.
They can help us share the gospel.
They are a good guide when someone wants to know, “what do you believe?”
Along with the Articles of Faith we have the “My Gospel Standards” on the back of the Faith in God booklet.
These simple statements help us see the gospel clearly. They can help us choose the right. They are based on words from the prophets, and from the scriptures.
Tonight we are going to say ALL the Articles of Faith. You will say one at each station before you play the game.
I hope the games are fun! I also hope you have at least a few of the Articles of Faith memorized, because if you do, you will get extra points!
But most of all, I hope that as you say the Articles of Faith that it will imprint on your heart and on your mind. There is much that we can study and learn from them.
For EVERY station the adult helpers had the same instruction:
- The girl says the Article of Faith for your station.
- Mark her score sheet in your station’s “Said AoF” column. If she had it memorized, mark the “From Memory” column as well. (extra points for her!)
- The girl plays your station game.
- Mark her card with the points she earned in your station’s Game Points square.
Give the girl a fully filled squirt pistol. From behind the line she has 1 minute to squirt down as many ping pong balls as possible. Each ball squirted down = 5 points.
Station needs: A of F #1 card; 5 ping pong balls, holding board, 2 water pistols, timer, pen, water bucket to refill squirt guns, towels, table, chair
Station 2: M&M Transfer
Pour one cup (each contains 25 m&ms) onto a clean plate. Set an additional plate 4 inches away on the table. Give the girl a straw. She has 1 minute to transfer as many m&ms as she can from the first plate to the second plate using the straw. Each m&m transferred to the second plate = 1 point. {The girls may eat their m&ms when they are done with their turn.}
Station needs: A of F #2 card; 16 cups of m&ms (25 in each cup); 16 straws; 32 plates, timer, pen, table, trash can
The player selects a number (1-6). She has 30 seconds to pop the popper as many times as possible. She gets one point for each for each time a die shows her chosen number (up to three points per pop, if all the dice show her chosen number).
Station needs: A of F #3 card; timer, pen, scratch paper, dice popper, table
Station 4: Treasure Dig: this was a big bowl with some old food storage wheat in it (about 6 inches deep). The treasure pieces were just small pebbles with numbers written on them. There were six pebbles total, 2 each for four, five and six points. It is REALLY fun to run your hands through wheat. The girls loved it!
Each girl gets to search the treasure bowl and pull out 2 treasure pieces.
>NO PEEKING! If a piece is visible, it counts for a score.
>The pieces are labeled with different point values.
>Add the points from the treasure pieces for her score.
>Return the pieces to the bowl after each player’s turn.
Station needs: A of F #4 card; large bowl of old wheat; 6 treasure pieces with different point values hidden in the bowl; pen, table
Player starts with an empty perfection board. Set the board for 30 seconds. Award 2 points for each piece inserted correctly before the board pops!
Station needs: A of F #5 card; Perfection game board and pieces, pen, table
Adult selects a game card from the pile. (Keep the card secret!) The player asks YES/NO questions to identify which card you have. For example: Is the person a girl? Does the person have glasses?
Each player begins this station with 50 points. Deduct 5 points per question needed to correctly identify the card. (the identity question "Is it Sam?" does not count against your points!-- unless you have someone just asking identity... is it Sam? Ed? Pete?... then it would count.)
Example: if the girl asks 6 questions (5x6 =30) her score would be 20 points (50-30=20)
Station needs: A of F #6 card; Guess Who board, Guess who cards, pen, scratch paper, table, 2 chairs
This is basically a clean V-8 can that I opened with a Pampered Chef can opener (no sharp little poke point that way) that I stuffed inside a large, (clean) fuzzy sock.
I placed various objects inside, including a plastic spoon, an unopened tube of chapstick, a die, an eraser, a hair band, etc.
When the sock completely engulfs the can, it leaves a little fuzzy tube the girls can easily stick their arm in and feel around the can. It prevents them from seeing anything, while allowing them easy access to the objects inside. Everyone wanted to play this after and figure out the objects they didn't have time to guess!
Player reaches into the mystery box and feels the objects. When she thinks she knows what an object is she tells you her guess, then pulls the object out. She has 1 minute to identify as many objects as she can. 3 points per correctly identified object
Station needs: A of F #7 card; object box and objects (eraser, chapstick, spoon, nail polish bottle, dice, comb, clothespin, lego, quarter, key, hair band), timer, pen, table
Station 8: Balloon Bustle: I placed the starting basket and the ending basket about 20 feet apart. The girls got an average of 5 balloons into the basket in a minute.
Player begins by placing a balloon on her tennis racket. The goal is to get as many balloons (1 at a time) into the goal basket using only the racket-- NO HANDS.
> Time limit is 1 minute.
>Award 5 points per balloon in the end goal basket.
Station needs: A of F #8 card; 2 baskets, 10 balloons, tennis racket, timer, pen
Station 9: Mystery Taste: We had five plates of fruit cut in very small pieces behind a short wall of hymnals. The girls loved tasting and trying to guess the different fruits. Ask about potential allergies before playing! (We only needed one apple, one banana, etc. because the pieces were VERY small)
Place a blindfold on the player. Give each player a small piece of each fruit, wait for her to identify it, then give her the a different piece of fruit. Continue until all five have been given (strawberry, apple, banana, orange and pineapple). For each they identify correctly, award 5 points.
Station needs: A of F #9 card, toothpicks, trash can, blindfold, tasting foods, poster board “food shield”, pen, table
Station 10: Bozo Buckets : the buckets are set up in a line, with the closet bucket being 3 points, next closest 4, etc. I did 5 buckets, a stand behind line, and ping pong balls. The balls did bounce out of the buckets in my trial run, so I added a layer of cotton balls to the bottom of each bucket, problem solved!
Give the girl 3 ping pong balls. She gets to throw each ball one time. Each bucket is labeled with points. Add the points from each bucket that has a ball in it.
Station needs: A of F #10 card; five buckets ( with point signs), three ping pong balls, pen
Station 11: Follow the Dots-- This was an iPad game (free) from the app store. It's name is self explanatory! Using a finger on the screen the girls try to stay on the same track as the moving dots. If they miss, turn over. It has a timed, 30 second mode, which is the mode I used.
Note: Most of the girls scored about 30 points on this but ONE girl scored 285. It threw off the whole Olympics, as with this one game, she basically won the whole shebang. I would set a 50 point cap for the station to keep it in line with the points that can be earned at other stations.
Note: Most of the girls scored about 30 points on this but ONE girl scored 285. It threw off the whole Olympics, as with this one game, she basically won the whole shebang. I would set a 50 point cap for the station to keep it in line with the points that can be earned at other stations.
Each player can try 3 times to follow the dots on the timed mode (30 second limit). Take the highest score the girl achieves and enter it on her score card.
Station needs: A of F #11 card, ipad, pen, table, chair
Station 12: Jump Rope Junction
Each girl has 30 seconds to do as many jumps as she can. She must clear the rope with both feet for it to count as 1 jump. Each jump is 1 point.
Station needs: A of F #12 card; jump rope, pen, scratch paper, timer
Each player throws the bean bag once. Measure from throw line to bean bag. 1 point per foot.
Station needs: A of F #13 card; large bean bag, strip of painter’s tape, measuring tape, pen
Here is the score sheet. I printed them on card stock. Link to download a printable PDF:
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