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Games with an Islamic theme: We have done all these games at fITRA and they have worked well for the primary school age (5-10) group…for the nursery-reception (3-5) group, we have also done all these games, but adapted slightly and without having any winners. It works well to have a briefing session before and/or after so they can see the point of the games. Memory game: Prepare a tray full of items related to being a Muslim. Ideas include compass, Qur’an, scarf, money (for charity), picture of Kaba, spider (from Prophet Muhammad’s time in the cave). Cover the items until you are ready. Let children see the items, teacher covers with cloth, and get them to write down what they can remember. Can work individually or in pairs. Younger children would just speak out. Extra points if they can work out the Islamic connection!Prophets game: First go through with the children what Prophets they know, and jog their memories. Give them a few minutes to revise! The children line up (individually or in pairs) and the child at the front says a Prophet then runs to the back. Aim is to see how many Prophets the group can name without getting stuck or repeating one already said. Tests knowledge, team work (if in pairs) and listening skills. Teacher can give clues if necessary. Repeat game several times trying to beat previous score as a group.(Can use this with other lists eg order of surahs in the Qu'ran, 99 names of Allah. ) My parents went to Makkah and…Children sit in a circle. Each child comes up with something you can do in Makkah eg pray, tawaf, touch the stone, visit Mina, shop, eat at KFC! When it is the child's turn, child says 'my parents went to Makkah and' followed by all the ideas that have gone before their turn, adding on their idea at the end. Idea is to see how long a list the group can get without anyone forgetting. Helps children to imagine what Makkah is like and practising listening/memory skills. Safa/Marwa: Have 4 simple signs related to Safa, Marwa, Makkah, Mina. Put the signs up in each corner of the room. When teacher calls out a place name, pupils have to rush to that place. Out for being slowest or for crushing people in the rush! You can also ask people to do this in pairs to emphasise caring about others. Musical sujood: Prepare a ‘Kaba’ i.e. a box with black paint or crepe paper and gold rim. Place on a table if it is small. Children walk anti-clockwise around it with Islamic music in the background. When the music stops, they must make sujood in the right direction ie towards the Kaba. Out for being slowest or facing the wrong direction. Good for getting children to see that as a muslim you can pray in many different directions and still be ‘facing Makkah’.Pin the door on the Kaba: a variant on the more usual donkey-tail game! Can vary or accommodate larger numbers of children by getting pupils to work in pairs, with one blindfolded starting at any point around the Kaba and the other giving directions, within a specified and short time limit. If you want extra chaos, you can have more than one pair working at once! |
