|
* THIS POST CONTAINS BOTH AFFILIATE AND PRODUCT LINKS,
ALONG WITH LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES MENTIONED IN THE POST.* - repost - 
It's one of my favorite games for the Halloween/Fall season. It's a little messy, a little gross, and a whole lot of fun! Pumpkin Puzzles! Easy to prep. Easy to play. And so much fun to watch.
The Halloween season can be a fun time with Halloween and Fall themed games. This month of October, we are bringing in the seasonal fun with games that use some of the items we think about when we think Fall. One of the first games is one that I came up with a number of years ago. I was planning a pumpkin themed costume party for our students. I wanted every game to utilize a pumpkin ins some way. I surfed the internet for ideas, but I could find enough game ideas that would fill our time or involved more than simply smashing, rolling, or pitching. So I cleared my desk and just started thinking.
1. Get your pumpkins
You're going to need a number of large, jack-o-lantern style pumpkins that are approximately all the similar sizes. In the Fall, pumpkins are in ample supply. Just run to your grocer or local farm. I purchased my pumpkins at Aldi's for about $3.00 each. Since this game is best played with teams, be sure to have one pumpkin per team.
Before the students arrive, cut the pumpkins up into puzzle-like pieces with unique angle or Tetris-like features. Don't make the cuts too small or intricate. You might find the pumpkin difficult to take a part and reassemble. keep track of how many pieces you cut so that each pumpkin has the same number of pieces to reassemble with. Don't worry about the contents, they can stay adding a gross, slimy aspect to the game. Note: to help with set up and clean up, I covered the tables with plastic table clothes and used hard plastic trays for the pumpkins. If you are on carpet, you might want to put down drop clothe to keep the deacons happy.
Set up for this game is pretty easy. I think it took me 15-20 minutes to cut up four large pumpkins into 11 piece each. Just have a sharp knife on hand to cut through the pumpkin skin. to give your students an incentive to complete the task, award the winning team with a prize like Reese's Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter pumpkins, or Bach's Pumpkin Candies!
Clean up is fairly easy as well. If you cover the tables with plastic, simply roll everything up in the plastic and put it into a trash bag. But don't leave the trash in your building. Make sure it reaches a dumpster. You don't want the pumpkins rotting and smelling up the church or your youth room. Here's a short video our my students playing Pumpkin Puzzles!
If you decide to play the game, let me know what you think! How did it go? What did you learn? Any fun variation you created? Share in the comments below! And thanks for reading the blog! There are plenty more ideas, games, resources, and content coming in the future! And, subscribe to the YouTube channel for more videos and content for your youth ministry!
- jay
2 Comments
THIS POST CONTAINS BOTH AFFILIATE AND PRODUCT LINKS,
ALONG WITH LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES MENTIONED IN THE POST.*
** Bog & Podcast Repost **
Back in 2020, I had the opportunity to welcome Mac Lake, to the Conversations with Every Day Youth Workers Podcast. We had a great conversation about leadership and developing leaders. If you are looking to grow your leaders, or your leadership team, take a listen to our conversation.
Welcome to episode 15 of Conversations with Every Day Youth Workers, the podcast of The Youth Worker Daily. How are you developing leaders? In this week's episode, I get to have a conversation with Mac Lake, founder of The Multiply Group, and author of The Multiplication Effect, Leading Leaders, and his just released, Leading Others.
Mac has served as a youth worker, a pastor, a church-planter, and a leadership developer. His passion is growing leaders for the local church. Today we talk about the importance of pouring into our volunteer leaders as it relates to and impacts student ministry. Grab a pen and some note paper because you are going to want to write some of this stuff down! 
BE A DEVELOPER OF DEVELOPERS
|
|
Do you want to win a free book? Then make sure you listen to the end of the episode for details!
If you found this episode helpful and encouraging, would you help us get the word out? Share us with your friends, follow or subscribe to the podcast, give us a rating, and leave comment! And, we'll see you next week! |
|
|
meet Mac Lake
Mac felt called into ministry when he was 17 years old. Growing up in a small church in rural West Virginia he was surrounded by a loving group of people who believed in him and encouraged his spiritual journey.
In 1981, Mac packed his bags and moved to the Windy City, Chicago, to attend Moody Bible Institute. After graduating Moody, it was time to head south, where he took a position as a youth pastor at Northwood Baptist church. It didn’t take long for Mac to realize he needed more training so he and his new bride Cindy, moved to Dallas, Texas to attend Dallas Theological Seminary. Over the following years they had three amazing children: Brandon, Jordan and Brianna. After graduating seminary, they moved back to South Carolina where Mac served for seven years as an Associate Pastor at Pawleys Island Community Church. An incredibly supportive group of people poured their best into Mac and gave him amazing opportunities to grow in ministry. |
Order Mac's books
  |
  |
  |
  |
[ affiliate links ]
  |
|
meet jay
Jay Higham is a veteran youth worker of over 30 years; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay has been married to Amy for 27 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, (4 boys and 1 girl). Jay is an aspiring author, blogger, speaker, vlogger, and social media junkie. He is also the host of the podcast, Conversations with Every Day Youth Workers! Jay is passionate about student ministry, family ministry, and connecting and networking with youth workers to help them serve their students with passion and excellence.
|
* THIS POST CONTAINS BOTH AFFILIATE AND PRODUCT LINKS,
ALONG WITH LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES MENTIONED IN THE POST.*
ALONG WITH LINKS TO THIRD PARTY WEBSITES MENTIONED IN THE POST.*
Welcome to the reimagine, The Youth Worker Daily. Wow, this site has transformed over the years. From a simple blog where I shared my youth ministry musings, to what has become a fully functioning resource site for youth workers. In 2020, during the Covid Pandemic, what was known as the Student Ministry Today blog became The Youth Worker Daily. It was part of a rebranding to include a podcast, while expanding the resources.
Since 2020, The Youth Worker Daily has been a hit or miss. As a full-time youth worker, I had to balance my ministry with the site and, quite frankly, ministry came first. But things have changed. My roll in full-time ministry is different, and now I have time to really work the site as I've always hoped.
Since 2020, The Youth Worker Daily has been a hit or miss. As a full-time youth worker, I had to balance my ministry with the site and, quite frankly, ministry came first. But things have changed. My roll in full-time ministry is different, and now I have time to really work the site as I've always hoped.
|
My goal for The Youth Worker Daily, has always been to encourage youth workers, particularly youth workers who are just beginning their journey. Through tools, tips, and resources I want to help youth workers thrive in their ministries.
Today represents the relaunch of The Youth Worker Daily, and it's very exciting. It's exciting because I'm going to finally have a chance to do what I've always wanted to do and publish a true, online student ministry resource for youth workers. What will the reimagined site look like? |
 
[ affiliate link ]
|
New Content
New content. I'm looking forward to sharing new thoughts and ideas, while sharing more of my experience and expertise. The youth culture is rapidly changing and with it, the world of youth ministry. As youth workers we need to be up to speed and aware of the needs our students.
Refreshing some old content
With the new content, I will be revisiting past posts. I will be sharing the more popular and helpful post that have been sitting in the archives, along with posting articles that have been in my drafts folder.
Resources. Resources. Resources.
There are so many great resources available for youth workers. Game ideas, curriculum, videos, books, movies, podcasts, and so much more. Each week we will have a highlighted resource that I have used and found helpful.
Conversations with Every Day Youth Workers
The podcast, Conversations with Every Day Youth Workers, will return for a new season! The Conversations podcast sits with "in-the-trenches" youth workers who are doing incredible ministry with their students. It's a chance to share stories, get a glimpse of neighboring ministries, and talk about student ministry.
The Youth Worker Daily Vlog
The Youth Worker Daily Vlog fires up again on later this year! This 10-15 minute vlog is the heart of the site. It's where you'll get your tools, tips, and more. The vlog will post every Monday, so you will want to be sure to subscribe and follow along here on the site or on our YouTube channel: YouTube.com/@theyouthworkerdaily.
It all gets started right here in October. Then look forward to new blog content on Tuesday mornings. Wednesday will welcome our Resource of the Week. Thursday's will play host to the Conversations With Every Day Youth Workers podcast (returning in mid January 2024). And, Flashback Friday's bring the week to a close as we share something from the archives! And if that's not enough, coming in January 2024, TYWD hopes to help youth workers with strategic ministry planning, and speaking opportunities.
It's going to be a great adventure, and we can't wait to get started with you!
- TYWD
It's going to be a great adventure, and we can't wait to get started with you!
- TYWD
|
Jay Higham is a veteran youth worker of over 30 years; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay has been married to Amy for 27 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, (4 boys and 1 girl). Jay is an aspiring author, blogger, speaker, vlogger, and social media junkie. He is also the host of the podcast, Conversations with Every Day Youth Workers! Jay is passionate about student ministry, family ministry, and connecting and networking with youth workers to help them serve their students with passion and excellence.
|
RSS Feed
Author
Jay Higham is a veteran youth worker of over 30 years; having worked with students in the local church and Christian camping settings. Jay is currently serving as the director of family ministry at a church, located in West Virginia. Jay has been married to Amy for over 25 years. Together, they are raising 5 kids, (4 boys and 1 girl). Jay is an aspiring author, blogger, speaker, vlogger, and social media junkie. He is passionate about student ministry, family ministry, and training youth workers to love and serve their students with passion and excellence.
Archives
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
February 2022
January 2022
March 2021
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
August 2016
July 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
November 2015
August 2015
June 2015
May 2015
Categories
All
Bible Study
Blog
Church Growth
Conferences
Curriculum
Games
Holiday Idea
Ministry Recap
Networks
NYWC
Podcast
Repost
Resources
Sermons
Spiritual Growth
Star Wars
SYMC
Training
Vlog
Weekly Recaps
YWTW
