Fish and Net Game

Use this game to reinforce your Bible lesson about Jesus miraculously providing the disciples with full nets of fish after they had fished all night without catching anything. After telling the Bible story, have the children sit in a large circle for this game. This is a variation of "Duck, Duck, Goose."


Choose one child to be the fisherman.  He begins walking around the outside of the circle, patting each child on the shoulder and saying "Empty net, empty net, empty net, fish!" The child who has been called a fish must chase the fisherman around the outside of the circle. If the fisherman is caught before he can reach the seat left empty by the "fish," the "fish" becomes the next fisherman. If the fisherman is not caught, then the fish must return to his seat in the circle. The fisherman chooses a new child to be the fisherman and sits in his now empty seat.


After the game, hand out goldfish crackers to the children. As they eat, explain that just as the fishermen obeyed Jesus and cast their nets into the water once more, God wants us to do what He tells us to do. God does not want us to read the Bible and then just ignore the things it says. Let the children name some specific things God tells us in the Bible that we should do. Remind them that all of our behaviors have consequences or results. Close in prayer, asking God to help each child make good choices.