“Get To Know You” Games

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Games are always a fun way to get to know other people and help break the ice. Here are 3 suggestions for your first day of school:

Ooga Booga: Have all company members stand in a circle with their arms around each other’s shoulders. All participants will look down at the ground and say, “Ooga Booga, Ooga Booga, Ooga Booga, look!” and look up at another person in the circle on the word “look”. If two participants look each other in the eye, they will leave the group and talk to each other. Repeat the game until two to three people are remaining. Make it fun by giving the participants a fun topic to talk about. For example: “Talk about your favorite music/ice cream flavor/vacation.”

Do I Know You? Begin by numbering the company off by ones and twos. Have all ones create a circle, and have all twos stand in the middle of the circle. Have all twos find out a fact about another number two. Then each two will find a number one and tell each other the fact about the other number two. Ones will then go around the circle and try to find the person whom the fact is about by saying, “Do I know you? You like to read/are a twin,” etc. When all ones have found the person they are looking for, play another round. Remind them to ask and remember names.

Two Truths and a Lie: In groups of three to eight (depending on how much time you want to devote to this exercise), have individuals take turns making three statements about themselves—two that are true and one that is not. After an individual makes three statements, the other youth in the group discuss among themselves which statements seem most plausible and which one is most likely to be the “lie.” After giving the group time to talk about their decisions, the individual who made the statements not only tells which one is not true but also provides a bit more background about the truths.

Fun Group Games: Aura & Stinger

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Aura: Participants will get into pairs and face each other. They will place their palms together between them, a little above shoulder height. Both of them will close your eyes, pull their palms apart (approximately 12 inches), and turn around in their spot three times simultaneously. Their goal is to reconnect palms after spinning while keeping their eyes closed.

Stinger group game

Stinger: Have the group members form a circle and close their eyes. A Teacher circles the group and selects a “stinger” by squeezing an individual’s shoulder. The group members then open their eyes and spend time introducing themselves to others while shaking hands (and trying to spot the stinger). The stinger tries to eliminate everyone without getting caught. The stinger strikes by ”injecting poison” with an index finger while shaking hands. A person stung may not die until at least five seconds after he/she is stung. The more dramatic the death, the better! When someone thinks he/she has discovered who the stinger is, he/she may announce that he knows. If he gets a “second” from someone else in the group within 10 seconds, the two of them may make an accusation. If the person does not get a second, he/she must wait until after another person dies to challenge again. If another person does step forward to second the challenge, both point to whoever they think it is on the count of three. If they do not point to the same person, or they both point to the wrong person, they are both automatically dead. If they select the correct person, the stinger is dead and the game is over.

Source: Here

Fun Group Games: Mumble Jumble & Hagoo

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Mumble Jumble: Before the activity begins, a Teacher will cut up a few pictures into puzzle pieces. Each group member will grab a piece of a puzzle from a bag. The group members will keep their puzzle piece to themselves until the Teacher says, “Go!” At this point, the group members will try to locate the other members of the group with the pieces to form the appropriate pictures. Whichever group does it first, wins. This is a good activity for breaking into smaller groups.

Hagoo: Separate the group into two even groups and have them stand in two separate lines (shoulder to shoulder) facing each other. The two groups should be about three or four feet apart. The players at the opposite ends of each line are opponents. They will step out of the lines so they are facing each other and looking down the middle of the two rows (like an old cowboy shootoff). They will both say, “Hagoo,” and start to walk down the row toward each other. They must not break eye contact, and their object is to get to the opposite end of the line without laughing or smiling. When the players pass each other, they must continue to maintain eye contact. If a person breaks eye contact, laughs, or smiles, he then must join the end of the line of the opposing team. The teams can do or say any silly things to make the opposing player crack up, but they must be careful not to make their own player lose concentration. The teams may not touch another player. This process will continue until everyone has had a turn. The team with the most players at the conclusion of the game wins.

Source: Here

Summer Activities For Kids- The List of Idea Lists

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I’ve recently been browsing for activities to do in the summer with kids. And I’ve found TONS of good lists. Here they are:

25 Activities to Keep Kids’ Brains Active in Summer by Education World

At Home Learning Activities for School-Age Children by Bright Horizons

Summer Learning by Family Education

20 Fun and Educational Summer Activities for Kids by Rusty & Rosy Reading

Say No to Summer Brain Drain: 20 Educational Activities for Kids by Green Eggs &

20 Creative Summer Crafts and Activities for Kids by Babble (Courtesy of Disney)

14 Cheap Summer Activities for Kids by Frugal Dad

101 Fun Things to Do in the Summer by Parenting Magazine

40 Free (Or Nearly Free) Summer Activities for Kids by Centsible Life

30 Summer Activities for Kids by Lil’ Luna

Streets and Alleys (Outside Game)

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I recently saw a class playing this game outside. It’s called Streets and Alleys. This is definitely fast paced and will keep the kids running around a good bit. I couldn’t get a great picture, but I found an excellent description from a great website for kids games.

Before You Begin

15 or more players
Ages 7 and up

Go!

Three players will stand on the sidelines while the other players divide into 3 groups of the same number of kids (or very close to the same number).

Each team stands side by side, arms outstretched, and hold hands, to form 3 rows.

Each team faces front with about 5 feet between rows – this forms “streets”.

The players on the sidelines become the runner, the chaser and the game leader.

The runner lines up on the end of a street. The chaser lines up in front of the first row. The leader stands in front of the first row as well.

The leader shouts, “one, two, three, GO!” and the runner runs down the streets and the chaser chases her.

The leader can call out “alley” if she wants.

The players lined up in the rows, drop their arms, turn to their right and, with arms outstretched, hold hands with these other players. This forms “alleys”.

Players who are running and chasing have to run down the streets or alleys. They cannot duck under the other player’s arms.

The leader will continue to call out either streets or alleys and the players have to run that way.

Once the runner is caught, a new round begins with a new chaser, leader and runner.

If the runner is not caught after a preset number of minutes, that round is over.

Tip

Set time limits for each round depending on the number of players.

Keep it shorter if there are a large group of children playing.

Not a great picture (sorry!), but you can see the kids standing in a grid formation so they can turn to make the streets and alleys…

Dr. Seuss Field Day- Station 21

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I recently learned about an awesome Dr. Seuss-inspired field day planned and organized by Patti, an elementary school PE teacher. Here is the last of her 21 stations:

Station 21

Title: “The Sneeches Frankfurter Roasts”

Skills: relaxation

Description: This is the refreshment and first aid station. Students are to get a cup of water. If they want another please have them reuse and fill up the same cup. Also, each student gets 1 otter pop (no color picking they can trade with a class mate if they like). There will be extra BANDAIDS here if a student needs them.

[Your school could also have a picnic lunch or snack bar at this station.]

Dr. Seuss Field Day- Station 20

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I recently learned about an awesome Dr. Seuss-inspired field day planned and organized by Patti, an elementary school PE teacher. Here is one of her 21 stations:

Station 20

Title: Great Day For Up!

Skills: team work, upper body strength

Description: space students equally around the parachute. Have students in “elevator down” position and roll edges 3 times. Divide the class in half (ex. 28 students #1-14 on 1 team; #15-28 the other team) Give each side a color. Place 2 different sets of color objects in middle of chute. On the cue of “elevator up” students bring chute to waist level and start to shake the chute trying to bump the other team’s items out. The team that gets all the other teams items out. 1st team to succeed scores a point. The game begins again until the rotation horn is heard. (K-2’s hands might get tired after 2 min so elevator down let them wiggle their fingers and start again you can see when they are getting tired.)

Dr. Seuss Field Day- Station 19

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I recently learned about an awesome Dr. Seuss-inspired field day planned and organized by Patti, an elementary school PE teacher. Here is one of her 21 stations:

Station 19

Title: Hop on Pop

Skills: gross motor, balance

Description: Divide students into 6 equal teams with the first person from each team sitting on a hoppity hop ball. On the signal to begin, these players hop on the balls around the cone and back to the start. The next person in the starting hoop will sit on the ball and wait for the next signal to begin. This is an individual race, not a team relay. These races should continue until time has been called.