Lesson 23: Choosing and Adapting Discover Time Activities

Discover Time Activity Options

In our last lesson, we explained that most Discover Time activities use methods and supplies that kids have enjoyed in the past and will continue to use in the future. Materials we often use include sand, water, LEGO bricks, art, food, obstacle courses, Play-Doh, and more!

Each Elementary lesson typically has six different Discover Time activity options, and each Preschool lesson includes two Discover Time activity options.

Each class or group of children does ONE Discover Time activity each week.

Here is an example elementary Discover Time rotation:

• Pregame & Worship – all elementary students together, large group style
• Discover Time – students get divided into their classes – Kindergarten-2nd grade and 3rd-5th grade
  • Kindergarten-2nd grade class completes their 15 minute Discover Time activity at the Sand Station.
  • 3rd-5th grade class completes their 15 minute Discover Time activity at the Food Station.
• Bible Lesson – after completing their Discover Time activity, the two elementary classes go to their classrooms for the Bible Lesson.

Note: In Quarter 4 (June-August, summer in the Northern Hemisphere), the Elementary and Preschool lessons often include one large-group-style Discover Time activity rather than the usual DT stations. This activity may include obstacle courses, scavenger hunts, relay races, or other larger hands-on experiences, and can be done indoors or outdoors.

Adapting Discover Time Activities for Your Church

It is typically best if you, as the director, choose which Discover Time activity you’d like each group of students to do. Some large churches use many or all of the DT options each week, but most churches pick 1-3 activities. Many of the DT activities can be adapted to work in a variety of spaces, with resources that are accessible in your context. Each group of students also has the option to complete the Mission Lesson once each quarter; you will find more information about this in Lesson 25 (“The Mission Lesson”).

We recommend that children’s ministry directors download and edit the Word version of the curriculum, selecting Discover Time activities in advance. This is why we provide the curriculum in Word format—so you can easily edit the file and remove any Discover Time activities you do not plan to use.

To download and edit the Word file from the DLG website:

1. Log in to the members’ area of the DLG website.
2. Find the quarter of curriculum you need to prepare.
3. Click the linked text for that quarter. It will download a Word version of the curriculum, a PDF version of the curriculum, and digital files of printable resources.
4. Save the Word file to your computer or upload it to Google Drive.
5. Edit the file by keeping the Discover Time activity your group will use and removing the unused options.

To download and edit the Word file from the Alliance Kids website:

1. Log in to the Director’s Dashboard on the Alliance Kids website.
2. Select the “Quarter Downloads” link for the quarter you need to prepare. This will open a Google Drive folder with the curriculum and resources for that quarter.
3. Click the “Quarter Downloads” folder.
4. Click the folder for the age group you need.
5. Select the Microsoft Word version and download it to your computer or save a copy in Google Drive.
6. Edit the file by keeping the Discover Time activity your group will use and removing the unused options.

Once the file is ready, you can save it as a PDF and send it to your team.

If you ever need help adapting or thinking through a Discover Time activity, please reach out to the Discovery Land Global team at members@dlglobal.org. We have seen Discover Time activities done in MANY countries and in MANY ways, and we have lots of ideas for how to adapt activities to fit your church context!

Click this link to see examples of how churches around the world set up their Discover Time activities: Discover Time Station Photos Google Folder

Direct link to photo folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jTqm7s5Fx9fe-YUstjL7bS5Fo64VVz-m?usp=sharing