Ducks in a Row

Description
In this icebreaker game, youth must arrange their group in order according to specific criteria.
Number of Youth
Unlimited (in groups of at least 8 teens)
How to Play
1.

Youth are told they may not talk.

2.
3.

Teens are then told to line up their group in order of height (shortest to tallest).
Once everyone is lined up the team must shout Ducks in a Row and Quack loudly while flapping their arms as

4.

wings.
The first team of youth to do so wins the round.
Additional optional rounds

Alphabetical order by first name

Alphabetical order by mothers or fathers first name
In order of their birthday
According to shoe size
According to phone number
According to the number of letters in their full name.
According to their house number or address block
According to length of hair
The phrase Ducks in a row is a common English idiom meaning that things are well-organized that all the small
details are accounted for and are in their proper positions before moving on to something else. At first thought, the
sight of a mother duck followed by all the little ducklings seems the logical source for this idiom. But the most popular
theory is that it comes from bowling as a sport. Early blowing pins were shorter and thicker than modern pins and
were commonly referred to as ducks. Before the invention of automatic resetting machines for the pins, after each
round they would be manually placed back into position by a person. So to have all your ducks in a row was to
make sure all the pins were properly placed in position before sending the next bowling ball down the lane.
A lot of people put off making various decisions until everything seems to be in place and perfect. Older people might
use the idiom When I get all my ducks in order I will Youth may not use the phrase much, but they use similar
expressions. When I get my life (or act) together, THEN Ill make that commitment. When I grow up, then I will
When I finish my education, then I will When I am successful in my career then i will In fact, people of all ages
make similar excuses.
The truth of the matter is that becoming and living as a Christian is a step of faith. You will never on this earth fully
understand the scriptures. You will never fully understand the ways and mind of God. (Isaiah 55:8) You will never
even truly understand yourself. While it is good to use your mind and plan ahead, we must also trust and depend
completely upon God.

Connected Thanksgiving
What You Need

Ball of string or yarn

What to do

1.

Sit the youth group on the floor in a circle with everyone facing inward toward the center of the circle.

2.

Ask the youth to think about the past one year. What have been some of the best times, the highlights, the
celebrations? What are some things from the past year that they are thankful for? Give them a few moments to think

3.

and then ask them all to think of one thing each and to hold it in their thoughts.
Then choose one youth to begin and hand them the ball of string. The chosen youth must tell everyone in the circle

4.

ONE THING they are thankful for.

Then, holding firmly to the end of the string, he or she must toss the ball of string to someone else in the circle who

5.

has not yet received the string.

The person receiving the string gives ONE THING he or she is thankful and does the same holding firmly onto the

6.

string, he or she tosses the ball on to another person who has not received it yet.
The string should be held tightly and above the ground at all times.

7.

Continue until everyone has received the string once and has told the group one thing they are thankful for.
VARIATION: In addition to the one thing they are thankful for, have youth to think about one person in the circle they
are thankful for and one characteristic of that person that they appreciate. For example: I am thankful for my family
and I am also thankful for Bob, because he makes me laugh all the time.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Just as in this game, many of the blessings of the past year are shared and connect us together. When one person is
blessed, the joy is shared and we often bless others as a result. Smiles are contagious. Joy is shared. And a heart of
gratitude reminds not only us, but others of the source of our blessings which is God.
There are a lot of things in life to be thankful for. James 1:17 reminds us Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. Ephesians
1:3 reminds us Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly
realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Knock Down, or Build Up

Description
There are times when we have fun, draw closer to one another, talk about all kinds of things, and experience the joy
of being together. Other times though it seems that the things we say, or things that are said to us seem to hurt even
more when it involves our families.
We often hear it said that the people we hurt the most are often the ones that are closest to us. There are times I wish
I could have taken back the words the moment Ive said them, but its often too late; damage done.
In all our relationships the things we do can say can either build up or tear down. This wacky youth group game
presents the same choice to teams of youth.

STACKERS
Resources
1.

Plates and cups You want an even number of plates and cups so they can be stacked. Dont use breakables ones
as they will be knocked over and dropped. Plastic works great, but you can also use disposable ones. Be warned that
if they are too light, they can be easily blown over.

2.

Balls Tennis balls work well but you can use a smaller ball to make the game more difficult or a bigger one to make

3.

it easier.
Instead of cups and saucers you can use other objects but must take into account the weight of objects and the ball
used. A light ball wont be able to knock down heavy objects. Other options include using just cups, jenga blocks,
shoe boxes, empty food cans (beware of sharp edges), Pringles cans, cereal boxes, wooden blocks, etc. The only
requirement is that the objects must be easily stackable by the youth.

Preparation

Create an open space in the middle of a room or of an outdoor area.

Place the cups and saucers in a pile for each team.
Set up teams an equal distance from the piles in the center. The further away, the more difficult the game becomes.
Give each team a ball.

What to Do
1.

The first person on each team must run to the pile in the center for his or her team in the play area and stack all the
plates and cups. The cups and saucers must be stacked so that each cup rests on a saucer, then the next cup and
saucer is placed on top, continuing until a tower of cups and saucers is built.

2.
3.

After the tower is built, the youth runs back to his or her team and tags the next person.
The next person has a choice. EITHER run straight to their own teams tower in the center and unstack and re-stack

4.

the cups and saucers OR

Toss the ball to knock down another teams tower. If the ball is tossed, the next person in line must retrieve the ball
and bring it back to the group before the person who tossed it can run to their tower in the center and unstack and restack the plates and saucers.

5.

6.
7.

If a teams tower is knocked down by another team, the person who originally stacked that particular tower must run
to the center and stack them again before the next person can go to the center and unstack and re-stack the plates
and saucers.
The first team to have everyone on the team finish unstacking and re-stacking their tower wins.
Strategically, a team has a choice to focus on building their own towers or taking time to knock down other towers so
that they slow others down. Bear in mind that they could knock down more than one tower with one throw including
their own!

Take It to the Next Level

In all our relationships the things we do and say can either build up or tear down. It always seems easier to tear
someone down rather than build them up. It takes a long time to build someone up with positive words, words of life,
words of blessing, but only a moment to tear them down. And often, all the positive that was done before is wiped out
in an instant.
We can all remember occassions when we have personally been torn down by someones hurtful words. Most of us
have been intentionally, or unintentionally torn someone down with our words or actions.

Paul tells the Christians to let no unwholesome talk come out of their mouths. What are some things that might be
called unwholesome talk? Words that tear down?

Why do people speak to others with hurtful words?

What are some examples of words that build up?

How should we respond when we have been hurt by words?

How should we respond if we have hurt others? What can we do to make it right?

Before we do or say things to others, we need to ask ourselves, will this build up or tear down? Will it benefit, or
harm?

How can we build up others who have been hurt?

Closing
Give each youth some adhesive address labels and a something to write with. They must write down encouraging
remarks on the stickers and place them on the backs of other youth with a personal comment to encourage them. Be
sure to let the youth know this is a time to be serious and if they can not do it in a meaningful, caring way youd rather
them not participate. You might want to have some soft music playing while they do this. Tell them to go build each
other up.
Then ask for volunteers to come to the front and read the words on their back. Let the youth keep them and ask them
to place them some place at home where they will be reminded of the encouraging words.

Action Point
Issue the youth a challenge to speak positive words to at least 2 persons everyday for the next week and then in the
next meeting ask them to share their experiences.

Love Your Neighbor

Materials
Get enough chairs to have one for each participant then remove one chair.
Icebreaker Description
In this icebreaker / crowdbreaker, youth will discover some common characteristics of others in the group.
Preparation
Arrange the chairs in a circle.
Icebreaker Activity
1.

Sit the group in a circle.

2.
3.

Stand in the center of the circle, and ask one person in the group Do you love your neighbor.
The person you ask can give either of two possible responses: 1) Yes and then the youth on his/her right and left
must switch seats. OR 2) They can say no but I love everyone who has brown hair, is wearing blue, has been
water skiing, name starts with K

4.
5.

Everyone who meets the characteristic has to get up and change seats to a new seat.
While people are changing seats the person in the center of the circle tries to grab one of the empty chairs.

6.

Whoever is left without a seat get to repeat the process of asking someone in the circle Do You Love Your
Neighbor?
Optional Debrief

What types of people do you find it easy to love? Difficult to love?

What are some ways that people show their love toward others?
Conclusion
Scripures tell us that others will know that we are Christians by our love. We are told to love not only those people we
can get along with, but to also love our enemies.
Application
Commit to one way to show love for your neighbor this week.