Clean Up

By Jared Treadway

I take them out on the playground and collect trash in one bag and recyclables in the other. There's some grumbling and goofing off, but we also get a cleaner playground.

Materials: trash bags

Tournament Days

By Gary Hartoin

One thing we do to stay connected is have occasional “Tournament Day” which students can create and then run the brackets, rules. Some examples are tic tac toe; chop sticks; rock, paper scissors; 10 fingers; hoops 1v1; NCAA March Madness brackets; DDR; Guitar Hero; etc. Many other games can be done in tournament format.

Materials: various

Scripture Time

By Steve McCollum

Every day students look up something in the Bible that relates to a particular theme. We have also done Bible trivia and sword drills, but at least once a day we want to open the word of God together.

Guys have shared some amazing verses and concepts with each other. They have also gotten more familiar with their Bible and how to look things up and where to find particular subjects.

Materials: Bible

Service Day

By Tom Gullett

Every Thursday, I take my advisory students and we go out into the building and clean up. They sweep the stairs, clean teachers' white boards, pick up garbage off the playground, pick up the halls, clean windows, do projects for Lonnie when he needs help, clean the tops of lockers, etc.

The guys don't complain at all, they know it's Thursday and they know they have a job to do. I would suggest that you assign jobs that rotate every week, because obviously some jobs are coveted more than others. :)

Materials: cleaning supplies

Bible & Snacks

By Judy Cox

On a selected day, one student brings in snacks for everyone. Another student selects a chapter of scripture to read while everyone eats their snack. A schedule is posted for the entire year for who is responsible which week. Students usually choose the week of their birthdays to bring in the snack. After the reading, students raise their hand to respond in any way to what has been read.

This works well because:

1. While eating, the kids are a "captive audience" to the scripture being read.
   
2. The scripture reader doesn't have to prepare a "devotion," just read!
   
3. We get to hear a "chunk" of scripture in context, instead of just a verse or two.

Materials: Bible

Cookbook

By Debbie Day

The students created an advisory cookbook and took turns bringing in a snack that they created on their own at home (keeping within the food allergy guidelines). Each student selected a snack, made it at home or brought in the materials to make it with the group, and then typed out a recipe for their snack. On the day they presented their snack, they shared their recipe, the background of it, and anything else they wanted to share and then passed it out. It helped to build connection among the students in my advisory and also was something really, really fun that the students looked forward to doing. I collected all of the recipes and then published a book of them for each of the students to take home with them. Many of them have re-created the snack ideas of others at their house. :)

It worked really well and was a big hit overall with the students. There were no real issues or pitfalls other than if a student forgot their snack or recipe or was absent on their presenation day (so just have a back up activity for them to do, if that arises).

Materials: none

Favorite Verse

By Todd Slaughter

Every Wednesday, a student is to come prepared with a Bible verse that they enjoy or from which the gain personal insight or benefit. The student reads the verse and then shares what he feels it means and how it applies to them. After sharing, the other students in the advisory are given opportunity to discuss, agree or disagree with comments made.

It worked great! Students were very involved and weren't afraid to share their faith or opinion. Discussions were not shallow but fruitful and it most always led to opportunity for spiritual growth, personal assessment of our walk and even opportunities for salvation.

Materials: Bible, paper, pen

Share Day

By Julie Dietrich

Think "show and tell" without the "show." Share day is an opportunity for the kids to share something that is going on in their lives that they want others to know. It can be as simple as "I'm getting a new puppy!" or as serious as "My parents are getting a divorce." There are rules to keep it moving along (and not become a play-by-play of their weekend). Prayer requests and praises are most welcome - but can also be kept as a separate part of advisory if already scheduled into your time

Depending on time restraints, you can choose "3 shares today" or give everyone a chance to share. If you limit the number of shares, you tend to get more meaningful content. If everyone shares, you tend to get more fluff. It can also be "themed" around things going on in school (bullying, Mexico mission trip, Thanksgiving, SLEW, etc.)

Rules:

1. Keep it simple - 3 sentences or less. (Gets them to the point and doesn't take away from everyone elses share time).
   
2. After they are finished sharing, they ask for "Questions or Comments?" from the group. (Allows for clarification and shows genuine interest - connection! - from the group)
   
3. All questions or comments must reflect directly back to the person who shared. (Cannot say "That happened to me once too! Blah, blah, blah - this shifts the focus away from the person who shared. Instead, they can say "I had a similar experience, I know how you feel and Im sorry/happy/excited for you")
   
4. There is absolutely no talking/fidgeting/etc during someone's share. (If you want people to pay attention to your share, you must pay attentiont to theirs.)

I have done this with 5th graders and 8th graders alike. Both enjoy it very much. I have had genuine conflict resolution experiences, tearful homelife stories, and really cool "God-moments" with my 8th grade girls advisory. My 5th graders find it more of show and tell time, but they are learning how to respectfully communicate with their peers. I will continue this activity once a week for any grade level advisory I teach.

Materials: none

Current Events

By Pam Tackett

I research current situations or events that are happening in our society. Twitter is a good place to find interesting nuggets of info for our kids. So, for instance, the Susan Boyles video, I had found a few days before it was shown in chapel and I showed this in advisory and had a conversation about it afterwards.

It went over well. The girls were surprised and had a lot to say about the reactions of the judges and audience.

Materials: Computer

Rose and Thorn

By Melissa Reisinger

The Rose and Thorn activity can be done any day. A student shares a rose for the day (something good) and a thorn (something bad). The topics are then talked about, and if there is a problem then the students may help talk through the issue. This activity needs to start with the teacher covering ground rules (such as leaving out names, etc).

This activity helps me learn about what is important to my kids on a daily level. I often use this information to connect on a social level with my students during the day.

Materials: n/a