Tag: Active Game

Red Light, Green Light

Grade:

Grades 1-3, Grades, 3-5

Setup:

Campers form a line

Directions:

In this game, one person plays the “Stoplight” while the other players try to cross to the other side. At the start, have the campers form a line across from the Stoplight. The Stoplight will give a series of color commands that control how the players move. Teach Campers these Colors and Meanings beforehand and gradually add more complexity! 

 

Basic:  Green Light – Run or Skip/ Yellow Light – Move Slow Motion/ Red Light – Stop and Freeze

Expansion: Blue Light – Dance/ Orange Light – Hop, If campers like Dinosaurs or Minecraft or Purrmaids you could add a related light and moves! 

 

If a camper does not follow the command they are kindly told they are caught and they return to start. The goal is for all the campers to make it to the other side!

Human Ladders

Grade:

All

Setup:

Two lines facing each other

Objective:

Assign each player a partner. Have campers sit in two long lines, partners facing each other, legs outstretched and feet touching. Their legs are the “ladder rungs.” Assign each pair a number and then call out one of the numbers. The pair with that number must stand up and race each other down the center of the ladder, avoiding the rungs. Once a player reaches the bottom of the ladder he must run around the outside of the ladder to the top and then head back down the center until he returns to his original space. The partner who arrives at his space and sits down first earns his team a point. The game finishes when players on one side of the ladder have earned a set number of points or when the game has peaked.

Video:

Beans

Grade:

Grades 1-3, Grades 3-5

Setup:

Campers spread out 

Objective:

The Adventure Guide calls out the name of a bean and the campers respond appropriately. Possible beans might include:

  • Runner Beans – children run into spaces
  • Jumping Beans – children jump into spaces
  • Kidney Beans – children (kids) hop around holding onto a knee
  • Baked Beans – children lay flat on their backs as if they are baking in the sun
  • Broad Beans – children move around making broad shapes with their bodies
  • String Beans – children move around making skinny, string-like shapes with their bodies
  • Chilli Beans – children act as if they are chilly

The Adventure Guide may also like to call out ‘Freeze’ from time to time for which the children should freeze in the position that they are in.

 

Shipwreck

Grade:

All

Overview:

Nautical mayhem!

Setup

Before starting: Identify the playing boundaries, and make sure all the players understand all the commands. Have all the players line up on a clearly marked line in the middle of the playing area.

Commands:

  1. Roll call: the crew must line up at the midline of the playing area, feet together, toes on the line, salute and say “aye-aye captain!” The crew may not lower their salute until the captain salutes and says “at ease.”
  2. Crow’s nest: players act as if they’re climbing up a ladder to the crow’s nest, the top of the main mast, an area at the highest point of the ship to lookout.
  3. Swab the deck: players act like they’re mopping the deck.
  4. Shark attack: the captain becomes a shark and tries to tag the crew. Those tagged go to the “brig” to dance or perform an designated exercise.
  5. Break time: active crew members can run to the “brig” and tag as many people as possible. Those that are tagged can come back in and play again. Make sure everyone gets let out of the “brig” during break time.
  6. Sailor overboard: crew pairs up and decides which one gets on their hands and knees and which one stands a places a foot gently on the other’s back while acting like their using a spyglass to find the sailor in the water.
  7. Drop anchor: crew lies on their backs with legs up and acts like an anchor.
  8. Pirates: crew closes one eye, puts up a hook finger, hobbles around like they have a pegleg and say “Aaargh!”
  9. Row to Shore: crew gets in lines of 4; players act as if they are rowing to safety, while singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”

How to play:

  1. The leader explains that s/he is the captain of the boat/ship and is going give commands to the players/crew to perform a specific movement or sound.
  2. Explain that the crew is sailing treacherous seas and need to work together and follow the captain’s commands to survive.
  3. If crew members does not follow the commands correctly or is the last to follow the command they must go to the “brig” or break-room.
  4. Explain the playing area and designate which end is the “bow” of the ship and which end is the “stern.” The goal is to be the last crew member standing.

Video:

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Giants/Wizards/Elves (Full Body Rock Paper Scissors)

Grade:

All

Overview:

A team spin-off of ro-sham-bo

Instructions:

  1. Split players into two team, standing on opposite sides of a linear boundary.
  2. Before each round, each team will collectively decide whether they want to be giants, wizards, or elves. (wizards beat giants, giants beat elves, and elves beat wizards).
  3. During the round, each team will line up facing each other by the boundary, then all chant “giants, wizards, elves.”
  4. After chanting, each team will act as whichever character they chose (giants wave their hands in the air, wizards stick their arms out and get low to the ground like they are casting a spell, and elves squat and use their hands as elf ears).
  5. Whichever side has the character that is winning, chases the other team and tries to tag them before they cross the far boundary. Any member tagged has to join the other team, and the round starts over.

Video:

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Fruit Basket

Grade:

1-3

Overview:

A fruity fun active game

Instructions:

  1. Make a circle of chairs with 1 less chair than the number of players.
  2. Assign each player a fruit (apple, orange or banana).
  3. The student who does not have a seat, calls out a fruit, and the players assigned that fruit must try to change seats, while the caller tries to sit down as well. This switch will leave a new player standing.
  4. The new player may call another fruit, or say “FRUIT SALAD” in which case all of the players will have to switch seats.

Video:

Bridge Ball

Grade:

All

Setup:

Circle, large group (10+)

Objective:

A funny ball game

  1. Have all players circle up with their feet touching the feet of the players next to them, leaving space between everyone’s legs.
  2. Using open handed, low-five hits, pass a ball along the ground and try to get it through someone’s legs.
  3. When the ball goes through a players legs, that player then has to turn around and play the game backwards.
  4. Once every player is playing backwards, then the game restarts.

Video:

What Time is It, Mr. Wolf?

Setup:

Cones to mark the playing field, all campers in a line on one side

Grade:

all

  1. Choose one player to be Mr. Wolf. Have him stand at the other end of the playing field, facing AWAY from other players. Mr. Wolf may not look back at the players at any time.
  2. The other players line up at the opposite end of the field, facing Mr. Wolf. Have them say in unison, “What time is it, Mr. Wolf?” And Mr. Wolf will respond with a time, for example, “Three o’clock!”
  3. The players then must take three steps forward. Again, they will ask, “What time is it, Mr. Wolf?” And Mr. Wolf will continue to give them times (up to 12 o’clock), and the players will continue to take the same number of steps as the time.
  4. When Mr. Wolf senses that some players are close at hand, instead of saying something – o’clock, he can shout, “Lunch Time!” and all players must dash back to the starting point while trying to avoid being Mr. Wolf’s lunch. The first person Mr. Wolf tags becomes Mr. Wolf in the next round.

NOTE: If AG is Wolf then face towards the campers, so they can be watched simultaneously

Video:

Wax Museum (a.k.a. Sneaky Statues)

Grade:

2-5

Setup:

1 Curator & the students acting out the scene

  1. Explain to the students that they are all statues in a wax museum. You, the teacher, are the curator.
  2. Explain that in the beginning, when the curator is in the room the statues do not move or speak. Once the curator leaves the room, the statues come alive and interact with one another. When the curator re-enters the room, the statues all freeze in their current position arid location.
  3. The curator reacts to these changes and may even begin to correct the obvious problems that have occurred while he/she was out. Some comments: “How could this have happened? “My statues must be melting. “I need to turn up the air condition.’
  4. The statues are now allowed to move while the curator is in the room; but you must not get caught. If at any time the curator sees you move, you are out and must remove yourself from the game.
  5. The last statue standing is the winner and becomes the curator for the next round.

Video:

Lemur Leader

Grade:

all

Setup:

Cones to mark the playing field, all campers in a line on one side. One camper is “Lemur Leader” in the middle

  1. Choose a player to be “Lemur Leader.”Lemur Leader stands in the middle of the field
  2. Line the rest of the players up on one side. Players chant: “Lemur Leader, Lemur Leader, may I cross the river?”
  3. Lemur Leader then decides who may cross the river based on descriptive attributes such as “Only if you’re wearing red.”(NOTE: Lemur Leader MUST chose a trait that more than one person shares. No singling campers out please )Those who were described by the attribute attempt to run to the other side of the field without being tagged.
  4. Those who are tagged also become “Lemur Leaders”
  5. Repeat until everyone has been tagged

Tip: For the first two or three rounds, you may want to be Lemur Leader so that the campers have an example. If you have younger campers you may want to continue as Lemur Leader (or co-lead with a camper by providing suggestions and support). If you have older campers you may be able to make one of them Lemur Leader sooner.

Video:

*Note in this video the game is called Uncle Sam. While it is the same gameplay and a great example, we have our leaders called Lemur Leader to stick with the Mister Lemur’s Adventures in Writing Camp Theme 🙂