Variations:

1.  You can invent other sounds and gestures.

2.  Begin an elimination mode in which kids that mess up must sit down, till there’s only two people left standing.

SPLAT

Type: Warm-up, Focus

Purpose:  A great game to start off a session to warm-up voices and bodies, and get everyone to have some fun.

Procedure:

1.  Ask the group to make a circle. Teacher stands in the middle.

2.  The teacher throws an imaginary pie at one person in the circle.

3.  That person must duck and the two people on either side throw an imaginary pie at each other and shout “SPLAT!”.

4.  If the first person doesn’t duck, she is out.  If she does duck in time, the last person to throw their pie on either side is out.

5.  Continue until you are down to just two people left.

6. When there are only two people left begin THE DUEL:  The two remaining players stand back to back in the middle of the circle. A category of objects is called out, such as ‘cereal’. Each time the teacher calls out a cereal, the players take one step forward. When an object that is NOT a cereal is called out, they must throw their custard pies. The first to throw the pie is the winner!

Bomb and shield

Type: Warm-up

Purpose:  Great to play as a fun warm-up or a mid-session activity if the kids have been sitting for too long.

Procedure:

1.  Have the kids stand in a circle.

2.  Ask the kids to silently choose two people in the circle and label them: 1 person as a “bomb” and 1 person as a “shield”.  They should do this without letting anyone else knowing.

3.  When you say “Go”, the kids are to move around the room, always keeping their “shield” between themselves and the “bomb”. They must never stop moving.

4.  After awhile, say “Switch!”.  Now the “bomb” becomes your “shield” and your “shield” becomes your “bomb”.

5.  At the end of the activity have the kids circle-up and one by one share who was their bomb and who was their shield.

Pass the sound

Type: Warm-up, Focus

Procedure:

1.  In a standing circle, pass a “whoosh” around the circle. This is done by saying “whoosh!” and throwing your hands toward the person next to you.

2.  After it goes around a couple times stop the “Whoosh!” and send a “Bing!” going the opposite way, using a different hand gesture.

3.  Now tell the kids they need to put their focus caps on, because you’re going to send a “Whoosh!” going one direction, then a “Bing!” going the opposite direction.

4.  At some point they of course will overlap over one student so that student needs to be prepared.

5.  Try this out a few times. If they’re up for it, try adding in a 3rd layer, “Ooga!”.

Look and scream

Type: Warm-up

Procedure:

1.  Have the class stand in a circle.

2.  Tell everyone to look down.

3.  Assign a counter to count “1, 2, 3…look!”

4.  On “look” everyone must look up and directly at someone in the circle.

5.  If the person you are looking is not looking back at you, you are “safe”.  If the person you are looking at is looking back at you too, you both must scream “ahh!” and fall to the ground.

6.  The counter begins another round with the remaining people standing in the circle.

7.  Play until everyone is sitting or there’s just one person remaining.