Warmups

Fruit Basket Turnover

1. Position everyone in a circle. Everyone needs a “place holder” This can be as easy as everyone takes a shoe off, or chairs, or whatever. 

2. There needs to be one less place then people because someone is stuck in the middle. 

3. Before the game starts, give everyone one of 3 labels. The game is a fruit basket so I use fruit but you can use just about anything as long as there are three. I use apples, oranges, and bananas. Go around the circle and make sure everyone (even the person in the middle) has a label. Just like when you count off you do the same with the labels so that there are close to even labels.Then the game starts. 

4. The person in the center calls out one of the labels and everyone with that label has to find a new place.  

5. The person in the middle tries to find a place in the circle hopefully leaving a new person in the center.

6. Every once in a while the person in the middle can say Fruit basket turnover and that means everyone has to find a new place in the circle. There is no real end to the game. Just when the teacher ends it. 

Things to help the game.

• Give them a time frame for how often they can say Fruit Basket Turnover, otherwise they are saying it every time.

• Watch for those kids who are ALWAYS in the middle, they may need to sit out and “watch how the game is playing correctly”. If the same people are in the center it gets less fun for everyone else.

• I love this game as a class warmup because it mixes people up and the talkers get moved around. I have them put their stuff at the front of the class and then I teach from the center of the circle. It's amazing!!!

Kitty Can I Have A Corner 

1. Everyone gets in a circle, you will need place marks like the previous game. One person is in the center. They walk up to someone and ask, “Kitty, can I have a corner?” that person responds “I’m sorry, I don’t have a corner but you can go ask…” and they can say another person's name.

2. The person in the center then has to go to the person they were sent to.

3. They need to fully approach the person they are talking to and need to face the person they are talking to.

4. While this exchange is going on, people are trying to SILENTLY communicate with each other and switch places.

5. If they can’t do it quietly the person in the center can turn around and steal a seat. There is not real end to the game. Just when the teacher decided to end it. 

Things to help the game

• The person asking for a corner can’t keep turning around during the exchange only if they hear people moving.

• Only the people involved in the silent exchange can move. Some people think its cute to jump into a random seat, if people are watching the kitty person they can run into that random person or have to suddenly change directions and that can lead to twisted ankles or knees.  

• Everyone MUST walk. There can often be several silent exchanges in a turn and if people are running they will run into each other and someone can get hurt. 

• You need to set a limit to how close people can be to change seats. It's no fun if people sitting directly next to each other switch places because there is no time to get to them.

• They can’t purposely try to trick someone in the middle. I have seen a silent exchange and then one of the people who agreed to move doesn’t get up and makes noise so the kitty person can steal the seat of the other person. I tell the kids this is bullying and won’t be tolerated. Even if it's in good fun it's not fair to the person who is now stuck. I often sit the person out who tricked and I make the kitty person go back to asking and let the tricked person take their original seat.  

• *warning, this game has been banned for at least one of my classes every year. Normally the jock group that can’t follow these safety rules*

Do You Love Your Neighbor 

This is a mix of the previous two games.

1. Everyone needs a place holder and one person in the middle.

2. The person in the middle walks up to someone and says, “Do you love your neighbor.” 

3. That person can say 1 of two things.

   1. They can say “no”

   2. They can say “yes” but then they have to say, “But I don’t love people who…” and have to come up with something random. (examples could be… students who attend this school, people wearing the color blue, people who have cats at home.)

4. If they say “no” the people on either side of that person have to try and switch places.

5. If they say the yes line anyone that was described, has to find a new place.

6. The person in the center tries to find a place and get out of the center. 

7. If the person says “Yes I love my neighbor but I don’t love…” and that applies to their neighbors, the neighbors are safe and don’t have to get up. However if they get up accidently that is their problem, they made the mistake and if they end up in the middle they should have been paying attention. 

8. *See the games above for things to remember, just adjust for the game.*

My precious 

1. You will need an item. I use a little stuffed koala from TY. That is my precious. You want it to be small enough to grab and try to conceal but not so small  it can be hidden in the palm of your hand.

2. Break the class into a couple groups. I try to do groups of at least 8 but no more than 12.

3. You need a large straight space to play this game.

4. The point of the game is to capture the precious and get it back to the starting line.

5. You stand on one side and place “My Precious” in front of you and turn around with your back to the groups. 

6. You have to say My precious 3 times and then turn around to face the group again.

7. While your back is turned the group moves forward towards the precious. When you turn back around, red light green light rules apply. Everyone must be frozen. If you catch someone moving the group is out and it's the other group's turn.

8. If no one is moving you repeat the process you turn around and say it again and again.

9. If they get to my precious and pick it up they still have to get it back. If you catch them moving after you turn around they are out. 

10. If you turn around and they have my precious you get two guesses to see if you can pick the person holding my precious. If you can guess then the turn is over and it's the other group's turn. If you can’t guess in two turns then you turn around and repeat the process until they get my precious to the other side or you can guess who has the precious. 

11. The group that can work together and get the precious across the other first is the winning group.

Things to remember

• You are frozen in the spot, you can stand on your toes and bend over and turn around, but you can’t move around to try to figure out who has my precious. 

• The kids can pass my precious to each other but only one person can have the precious when you turn around. 

• If you can see my precious on the ground because they tossed it and didn’t catch it, the turn is over and it's the other group's side.

• The other team is your back up. They can see who has it, while you can’t, if you guess, the group can’t lie because the other group is going to keep them honest. 

• I have the rule that everyone must stay standing, I have had people try to lay down on top of the toy and that gets really weird, for me but to each his own. 

The Magic Shoes-

1. The point of the game is to get everyone in your group from one side of the room to the other.

2. Break the class into two even groups. If you have an uneven number have the kids decide which group gets an extra kid or you have a referee that helps keep everyone fair. Your choice.

3. Tell the kids they are standing on an island surrounded by lava and they have to get across the lava to safety.

4. They have been given a pair of magic shoes but the shoes only work once for each person. The shoes allow them to walk across the lava one time.

5. The shoes have to travel back and forth until everyone is across the lava. You cannot “throw” the shoes back to the other side. They must be walked back across the lava. 

6. The group has to work together and figure out how to get everyone across. 

Things to remember

• *Don’t tell them this* it will require a few people carrying 2 people across the river. 

• I like to have some yarn or a sticker or some symbol that can be handed to a person that has used up their magic shoe powers. This can also be the job of the ref and they can write it on the board. This acts as a reminder of those that can’t walk across the lava a second time.  

• If a person being carried falls they have to “Die dramatically” I challenge them to have the most epic of deaths. Their team has to start over from the beginning. 

• If you have a hard floor each team can designate two “fairies” (you can name them whatever you want) their job is to act as spotters for people being carried so they can keep people from being dropped on their heads. This means they cannot play and they cannot help carry the people they stay close with their hands at the read so if someone falls they don’t get hurt.

• I have played this for years and I have never had someone get hurt because I use the spotters for every game.

Ninja-

This game Is a lot of fun and requires students to be completely aware of their surroundings at all times. It also requires them to track and memorize orders and patterns. 

1. Everyone stands in a circle facing inward. Pick a start person and establish which direction around the circle you are going. Let the kids know this is the order no matter how the circle changes and they need to know the order.

2. Count to three and say “Ninja.” Everyone strikes a ninja-like pose and all hands must be completely visible. 

3. The point is to be the last person with a hand still in the game.

4. Starting with the established first person they make one move. The moves can be one of the following

   1. Offensive moves- people try to tap another players hand but can only take one step forward

   2. Defensive move- Students can move in any direction taking one step at a time. Hands must remain out where they can be tapped later.

   3. A step can be  moving one foot forward and bringing the back foot to them.

   4. If they are close enough not to step they can sweep their hand once but if they miss their hand must stay where they stop. They can’t circle their arm and they can’t bring their arm back up to the starting starting point after its been swooped down. 

   5. Students can jump but feet must stay together. If they can reach for a hand while they jump they may.

   6. If a student makes a move that makes them fall on the floor, first their hands must be visible at all times and when it is their next turn they can establish that they are using their move to stand back up but they are not allowed to go for anyone's hand. They must also stand up in the place they’re laying at.

   7. Any student that is “under attack” by another student's offensive move, may make a defensive move, moving their hands out of the way from the other person's attempt at a hand tap, but their feet must stay planted and they are frozen in a new position. 

5. Students do not have to stay in the circle once the game has started but they can not make a move until it is their turn. They also cannot go out of turn so it's important that they memorize the order. Not knowing the order or not paying attention doesn’t     exempt them from hand tapping. Smart players will watch for those not paying attention. 

6. Slapping hard enough to leave marks will result in a dead hand from the slapper. Meaning that the person who is making the slap wll lose a hand.

7. If your hand is tapped you must put it in a pocket or behind your back to symbolize its out. It is common for a hand that is out to find its way to the side of a person and can be mistaken as an in hand. I use gentle reminders every 5-7 turns but if an out hand is slapped, it happens and that is a dead play. The tapper can move their hand back to a safe position but that's it. It is the next person's turn. It sucks but it happens and trying to reset just wastes time and it's easier to just move on.

8. Once someone loses both hands, they are out of the game and can cheer on the game. I have a rule that they must sit against the wall and if they get in the way of the game I get to pick where they sit for the remainder of the game.

9. If someone gets out of the game, it is important that the rest of the players pay attention to the order change. The order stays the same but with one less person. 

10. People can move all over the room, they do not have to stay in the circle. It is important to set boundaries. You will have students that just try to run away from the game in hopes that they won’t be noticed. I like to play with the kids and I make sure to chase those kids back into the game. Plus the kids love when you play with them.

11. I have a wrist rule, more than half of the tappers hand must be above the wrist bone, if more then half is below the wrist bone then the hand is still in play and the tapper is stuck in position. I stress the idea of honesty with the kids. Oftentimes I can see the tap but sometimes it takes personal integrity. 

12. When you get to the last two players they stand toe to toe and they aren’t allowed to move their feet. They take turns making only offensive moves until someone is out. This often looks like two robots swatting at each other but it is a lot of fun and everyone is on pins and needles to see who wins. Remind them once they make a move they are frozen until they are defending against the other players tap or it is their turn. Be sure they aren’t circling their hand back around or moving their hands out of the way once they swipe.

13.  Students can’t fake a slap, if they do their play is dead and it's the next person's turn. 

14. If a student goes out of turn in the first few rounds (you set the number) just reset and keep going. Once the order has been established, if a student goes out of turn after a few rounds you can make up the punishment. I like to keep it simple by just having them take a hand out of play but the other option is the student has to position themselves that is optimal for others it swat at their hands. 

3 Blind Mice-

This one takes some supplies. You need 3 blindfolds and an item. I use a small stuffed TY koala. The same bear that I use for the My precious game. 

1. You need 6 players. Put the player in groups of 2. One person is blindfolded and stands against one wall and the other three kids go into the hall. 

2. The leftover students helps build an “Obstacle course” out of stuff in the classroom. Once the obstacle course is set up, I have to hide the bear somewhere in the obstacle course. It doesn’t need to be hidden in a difficult place. Just not clearly visible.

3. The kids in the hallway come back in and stand against the opposite wall. 

4. When I say go, the people that can see have to find the toy, but they can’t leave the wall. They have to shout out instructions to the other side of the room and use the blindfolded person to find the toy. 

5. I don’t allow chairs or desks to be turned upside down while building the obstacle course. I also don’t allow precariously stacked items to happen. I don’t mind stacking but I don’t want things to come crashing down. Blindfolded people need to walk not run. As they move things around they can’t throw things. 

6. Winning group gets candy or something.  

25 squares

You need masking tape and a big open space. Before the kids get to class you use the tape to create a grid that looks like the grid below on the ground. Make it large enough that people can stand in the squares. 

1. Have everyone sit around the grid, they need to be at least a foot away from the edge of the grid to give people walking space. 

2. Before the kids get to class you need to create a path on the grid, Follow the numbers above for an example path. I always have 6-8 grids ready to go on a sheet of paper that stays in my hands.

3. Tell the kids the grid is a maze they have to figure out how to get in (1), get through it and get out (this requires them to get to 25 and physically step out of the maze.

4. One student at a time they get up and try to figure out the maze if they step in the wrong square they are out and it's the next person's turn. 

5. I normally have some sort of small prize, like chocolate kisses or jolly ranchers or something simple. The first student that can get into through and out of the maze gets the prize.

6. All squares have to be used and can only be used once.

7. Kids can’t move diagonally to a new square; the square must be fully touching the square they are standing in, in order to be the next square. 

8. If they step in an incorrect square you say no and it's the next person’s turn. 

9. If they step in the correct square, you say yes and they get to attempt to find the next correct square. 

10. Whatever square their foot touches first, that is the square they have chosen, EVEN if that square was stepped in accidentally. This is why it's important to have the kids sit at least a foot or so back from the border. Kids like to move fast and are often careless. This teaches them to slow down and pay attention to what they are doing, reasoning and logic, and higher order thinking skills. 

11. Standing in the middle of the maze is very different than sitting on the sidelines. Watch out for teasing when the same mistake gets made over and over again. It happens ALL THE TIME!

12. I don’t say step out. I tell them they have to get in, get through, and get out. You would be surprised how many kids get to square 25 and think they win and turn around and walk through the maze and lose. 

13. This is my kids FAVORITE GAME. You can add squares but it needs to be an even square or the path doesn’t work. 

Bang- Bang and Peace are pretty much the same game with a few differences. The objective is to be the last person standing.

1. Have everyone make a circle. I always start in the center and that person is titled (this can change for the age of your group because you know there are kids that will laugh) “The Banger.” 

2. The Banger moves around the circle and at any moment they point to a random person and say bang.

3. If you are pointed to you must duck while the two people on either side of you, point at each other and say bang. The person that is last to say bang is out and sits down right where they are at. 

4. There are many ways to get out. As stated before if you are last you are out but if someone that should say bang says bang, they are out instead. Not ducking when you are pointed at can get you out. Not saying bang when you point at the other player will get you out. 

5. My rule is only one person out per round. It makes the game go longer. To me someone saying bang out of turn trumps the last person.

6. Even if they don’t finish the word, any resemblance of the word bang from the wrong person gets them out. 

7. When the kids are out they sit where they are at and the game continues. Kids have to pay attention to who is being pointed at and sometimes their are big gaps between kids so attention to detail is important.

8. When there are two kids left they stand back to back, the banger gives them a secret word (must be a real word and a single word, no phases) the two start walking apart and when they hear the magic word they turn and say bang. They must remain facing away from each other at all times. The banger can tell a story or simply wait in silence. The winner becomes the new banger.

9. The banger always gets to decide who is out, I am the only person that can only overrule the banger. If kids argue with the banger they are out. Its okay if there is a tie, no one is out just move on and keep playing.

Peace

All the rules from the above game apply but there are a few changes. This one is a little more complicated but I think it's a lot more fun.

1. Everyone stands in a circle and when the game starts the group begins to walk in the circle. The circle is constantly moving.

2. Instead of saying “Bang” the person in the middle calls out someone's name. That person ducks and the two people on either side say “Peace.”  Same rules above for people getting out apply. 

3. When someone gets out they need to sit against the wall out of the way because the circle is moving. 

4. Ending is the same, they just say Peace.

Charades relay

1. Break the kids up into 3-5 even groups. 

2. Each kids needs a chair and the team makes a straight line, each chair needs a little space between each other so you can act out the idea.

3. Everyone sits in the chairs facing forward.

4. I have pre-made charades cards that are in both English and Spanish. The last person in line meets you in the back and you draw a card and show everyone. Make sure that everyone understands what the word is. All other kids should be in their chairs facing forward.

5. You go to the front of the room so you can make sure everyone is playing fair.

6. When you say go the last person taps on the person in front of them and silently acts out the card. ABSOLUTELY NO TALKING!!!!!!

7. When that person thinks they know what the word is they give a thumbs up. The last person's job is done and they sit. The second person taps on the person in front of them and repeats the process the person in the back cannot help. The process repeats until they reach the front of the line.

8. When the last person thinks they know what the word is they raise their hand. Pay attention to what order the hands raise and be as far as possible. I am a stickler for exact wording. If the word is “Fisherman” I won’ except “Fishing” 

9. If the team guesses wrong everyone has to sit back down and look forward and the last person starts the process ALL OVER AGAIN. A second guess cannot be made until the word has gone through the line again.

10. If you catch anyone mouthing the words or whispering or the wrong person is helping that team is out for the round and no chance at a point.

11. Once a word has been guessed, Everyone moves down one seat and the person in the front moves to the back seat. That way everyone gets a chance to play different positions. 

Dog and his bone- 

1. Everyone sits in a circle and creates a boundary for the game. Only two people actually get to play but it's a lot of fun for everyone.

2. One person is picked to be the Dog and they are given a blindfold to put on. They sit in the middle of the circle.  And are handed an object that is going to be the bone. This could be any item you have laying around.

3. The dog's job is to protect the bone. They can’t sit on the bone or hold onto the bone. They can tap to see if the bone is still there but they can’t hold onto it.

4. Once the dog is in place and blindfolded, I tap on a person whose only job is to steal the bone from the dog. They can move around and distract the dog but they can’t touch the dog. If they can grab the bone and get back to their seat they win. If they get tagged by the dog they lose. This game is hilarious and has a lot of laughs. I just let the stealer become the new dog.

5. The rest of the group has to stay quiet. It isn’t fair to the dog if everyone is trying to distract him. 

Cat and mouse.- This is a very similar game to the one above but requires two blindfolds.

1. Everyone sits in a circle and creates a boundary for the game. Only two people actually get to play but it's a lot of fun for everyone.

2. You need two blindfold that are two different colors. Establish which color is the cat and which color is the mouse. 

3. Everyone puts their heads down and you hand out the blindfold. Without looking up the kids need to look at the color and figure out which character they are, then they need to put the blindfold on without looking up. 

4. Once the blindfolds are in place everyone can look up. You say go. 

5. The Mouse’s objective is to find the cat’s chair and sit in it. The cat’s job is to find and tag the mouse. The rest of the circle is there to keep both players in the game boundaries. 

6. Students need to stay silent so that the cat and the mouse can listen for movement and try to figure out where they are going. The game ends when one of the two characters completes their objective.