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Staff
Training - How to liven up meetings and
encourage your staff.
Icebreakers
- Get to know me! Get to know others! And have fun
doing it.
Teen
Recreational Programming - Games and crafts
teens actually like to do...and why!
Getting
A Group Quiet! - Or at least getting their
attention
Bandana
Trick - Houdini-like challenge
Chess
& Checkers - Why you should teach them and
how to do a life-size version
Word Doodles - Can you make
sense out of these word-pictures? Very
addicting!
Getting A
Group Quiet!
(Or at least getting their attention)
Laughing Handkerchief
When the group sees a handkerchief thrown into
the air, they laugh as loud as possible. When the
handkerchief hits the ground, they go silent.
Clapping is another alternative and a great way to
get such uproarious applause that you need to bow
in front of the group.
Count Down
Just start loudly counting down, "10,9,...1,0,
Blast off!" Everyone will join you by the last
couple of numbers.
Match In Gas Tank!
Yell those words and have the group yell as
loud as they can "BOOM, BOOM!"
Shave And A Haircut, Two Bits
Loudly sing out this classic melody (famous as
a rhythm for knocking on doors)
"Bom-Da-Da-Da-Da...." Then let your group finish it
with two hand claps. Keep repeating until everyone
is involved.
Hush
Shout "AND A HUSH FELL OVER THE CROWD!" and the
kids reply "HUSH !"
Contributed by Brenda, San Diego
Rock
For some reason, kids love playing this
repeatedly and never realize you're getting a few
minutes of peace and quiet. Basically, they have to
be as still and quiet as a rock. If they move,
they're out. Keep going until you have a winner or
have passed a time limit. As kids get eliminated
from the competition, let them help you watch the
others for signs of movement. They can't touch or
disturb the "rocks," and movement due to normal
breathing is acceptable.
Bandana
Trick
Equipment needed: one bandanna or piece of
string
The challenge is to tie a knot in a bandanna
without letting go of the ends. Have your kids try
to do it, especially your super smart 12 year olds.
Really, play this up - let them have a good long
try at it. Then you do it, with a big smile on your
face. Here's the trick: fold your arms
first. Grab the ends of the bandanna (this will
be slightly awkward), slowly unfold arms, thus
tying a knot, and then stand back as everyone else
wants to try it.
For more puzzles and cooperative challenges like
this, check out my Hip
Pocket Activities booklet.
Chess
& Checkers
In A New Light
Many children do not know how to play basic games
like Chess and Checkers. As a Recreation Leader,
you can help teach these classic, yet timeless,
games to young people. You may feel that children
will get bored with these since they don't seem as
exciting as video games.
A few reasons why you should teach them:
They teach deduction and reasoning (fundamentals of
math!)
They are building blocks to other board games (when
you learn one, you can play many similar type
games)
They can be played throughout a person's life.
They are universally appreciated by people of all
ages around the world.
Human Chess/Checkers
This is my favorite way to spice up these
games, as it can incorporate a variety of
programming elements, including arts & crafts,
theater, and even cooking. These games are truly
life-size in nature since you use real people as
the playing pieces. There are two people "playing"
the game, making the call for their side. The
players must follow the direction of their team
captain. The Checkers costumes can be hats made
from brightly colored plastic picnic plates with a
piece of elastic for a chinstrap. When the pieces
"jump," the two players leapfrog one another. When
the pieces are "crowned" the king gets either
another plate or a special crown to wear. Chess is
a bit more complicated since many different
costumes need to be created. Posters advertising
the activity can be made, snacks made in advance to
be served during the match, and a simple game has
now transpired into a day-long (or even week-long)
event spectacular!
Word
Doodles
Every day there can be a quiz, brainteaser,
riddle, or word doodle for the kids to challenge
themselves. When I substitute taught a dreaded 5th
grade class, it turned into a pleasure when I wrote
down ten word doodles a day. The boys especially
loved this challenge and some even came in during
recess just to try to figure them out. At the end
of the day I went over each one. Hands were raised
and I called on individuals to give an answer. If
correct, they were congratulated and we moved on to
the next one. If not, they were given an
affirmation and another person was selected to make
a guess. I did not give prizes other than the
positive comments. Bribery was not necessary - they
loved it for the sheer intrinsic joy gained from
it! This was the most popular activity I did with
this age group in an academic setting. Have some
easy and hard ones so there is both success and
challenge.
Here are a few examples of Word Doodles:
eggs greennvhe's/himself
i i hist.ory
easyoo
Answers:
eggs over easy, green with envy, he's beside
himself, circles under the eyes, and a period in
history. How did you do?
For more jokes, riddles, and brain-teasers like
this, check out my Hip
Pocket Activities booklet.
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