Get your section into Spring/Summer with these beach inspired programme ideas.

Sand Castle Building

Get into the beach theme by borrowing a sandpit or creating your own. Hold your own sand castle or sand sculpture competition. If you have the opportunity to visit a beach nearby you could be more creative and look to build not just a sandcastle, but a city.

Getting into the Bible

Hopefully most of the children in your group will get the opportunity to go to the beach this summer. Ask the children if they know if they are going away on holiday this year and if they will be going to the beach. Ask them what they like do when they go to the beach.

Read Matthew 7:24-27

Illustration: Using two plastic clear containers, place some sand in one and a rock/brick in the other, and use these to tell the story of the Wise Man. Place an object to resemble a house firstly onto the rock and add some water into the container, then do the same by adding some water to the container with the sand.

Ask the children about what happened and why the foolish man was wrong to build his house on the sand. Tell the children that this story is about Jesus explaining to us that we need to listen to him and follow what he asks us to do and that if we do that he will look after us and keep us safe.

Beach Towel Islands

Lay out towels around your meeting space, these will be your islands. Select one child to be ‘it’ who counts to 10 while everyone runs about and chooses an island to sit on. Then the person who’s ‘it’ shouts out a colour and everyone has five more seconds to get up and run to that coloured towel. The last person to sit on the island or who can’t fit on after everyone else, then becomes ‘it’.

Beach Ball Games

There are lots of activities you could do with a beach ball including throwing & catching, volleyball, dodgeball and relay games. Perhaps try out some of the games you usually play by swapping your normal ball with a beach ball.

Get Creative

You can purchase a variety of craft activities from Baker Ross and similar companies, including sand art pictures and bottles to fill with different coloured sand. Visit bakerross.co.uk and search for ‘Sand Art’.

Limbo Dancing

With two leaders holding the ends of a rope or garden cane each child takes a turn trying to go under the “bar”. After each child has succeeded at a certain height of the bar, lower it again and again.

Crab Walk Race

Get the children into teams and crossing the finish line on their hands and feet with stomach in the air (aka crab style).