The Moogie Blog

Hankie Hop or is it the Bandana Bounce?

2009-04-28T13:06:00.000-04:00

Hankie Hop
Prep & Props: a hankie for each team
Form two even teams and give each team a handkerchief.
To play, the first player of each team has to balance a handkerchief on his foot and hop to the finish line and back. Then the next person in line goes.
If a player drops the hankie, he has to start over.
The first team to finish wins.

Farmyard Frolics

2009-04-23T08:42:00.000-04:00

Prep & Props: cards with the names of animals on them.
Each player is handed a card with the name of an animal. On the signal to start, each begins to silently act like their animal show, at the same time looking out for others of the same species. When three or more have been collected, they may begin to make the sound of the animal. The first herd, covey or flock in full chorus is declared the winner.

Musical Islands - a musical elimination game

2009-04-22T07:30:00.001-04:00

Prep & Props: music, a sheet of newspaper for every player except one
Place the sheets of newspaper on the floor, with one less than the number of players.
This version of Musical Chairs doesn't require chairs - just "safe" sheets of newspaper. As the music plays the players dance - either with partners or alone, depending on what suits the group. When the music stops, everyone scrambles to find an "island." To get onto an island, you need to stand with one foot and one hand on a sheet of newspaper and hold that position. Anyone who loses his or her balance is out. A sheet of newspaper is then removed for everyone who is out, and the music starts again. The game keeps up until only one player is left, the winner.

Doctor, Doctor! Game

2009-04-21T07:59:00.000-04:00

All but two players join hands forming a human chain. One of the two remaining becomes the Dr and stands so that they cannot see the group. The other then attempts to put the group into a knot by getting players in the chain to weave over and under each others arms and legs without breaking their hold on each other. When ready the group calls out "Doctor, Doctor." and the player who was selected to be Doctor then has to work out how to unravel the knot again without breaking any part of the chain.

Avoid the Octopus Game

2009-04-20T13:19:00.001-04:00

First, pick one person to be the octopus. Then, draw two lines that are at least 20 feet apart.
The other players, the fish, then line up on either line.
When the octopus shouts "hungry," everyone tries to cross to the other side while the octopus tries to tag them.
When a fish is tagged, he becomes a tentacle and has to hold hands with the octopus, working with him to try to tag the other fish.
The last fish left wins!

Act out the alphabet Game

2009-04-17T20:26:00.002-04:00

Act out the alphabet
Prep & Props: Cards with alphabet letters, list
Using the alphabet letters, choose words that start with that letter, like the list given below, and have the players act it out. Allow them to make up more as you go to add to the choices.
A = alligator (alligator crawl), around, airplane
B = bounce, bend, bear walk
C = cat arch, catch, crawl, crab walk
D = lame dog, dance, duck walk, dribble
E = elephant walk, egg roll
F = freeze, fall, frown, frog jump
G = giggle, gallop, giant steps
H = hop, hiccup, headstand
I = inchworm
J = jump, juggle
K = kiss
L = log roll, leap
M = march, mop, mule kick
N = nod, neck rolls
O = Octopus (2 players stand back-to-back and walk sideways, waving their arms and legs), on, off, over
P = point, paint, pose
Q = quiver, quiet
R = run, rake, roll
S = skip, sit, sweep, smile, seal crawl, stretch
T = tiptoe, throw, tripod, tuck, type
U = upside down, under
V = vault (leap frog), vacuum
W = walk, wiggle, wink
X = flex, wax, mix
Y = yawn, yell
Z = zigzag, zip, zzzzzzzzzz

This game is lots of fun and very active.
It can also be played as a guessing game where the player chooses a letter to act out but keeps the letter hidden. The correct guesser is the next to choose a letter.
All you need to play are cards with the letters of the alphabet on them and some space to act the letters out. It's also a great vocabulary builder to try to add more possibilities to the list.

Musical Chairs with ANIMALS! (no, not real animals, Silly!)

2009-04-16T06:37:00.001-04:00

Prep & Props: Chairs, music, Cards with animal names,
Set up just like traditional musical chairs. Set up one less chair than players and have the players walk in a circle around the chairs, until you stop the music. When the music stops, each player tries to sit in one of the chairs. The player left standing must pick a card with the name of an animal. Then, they must act it out while the other guests try to guess what the animal is. Start the music again and repeat the game until all the animals in the hat have been acted out.

I love games where people have to act out an animal and guessing games. This combines them both for lots of fun.

Above and Below- A circle elimination game

2009-04-15T19:07:00.001-04:00

1. Above and Below

Prep & Props: Create list of items found above and below ground.

Players stand in a circle. Leader calls out names on things that are

Found above the ground or below. When you call something that is above ground, the players stand; if below, they sit down. Failure to do this eliminates the players who miss. (For example, Leader calls out ‘strawberries’, players stand. Leader calls out ‘yams’, players sit). The list of things to be named should be worked out in advance to keep the game going smoothly.

This circle elimination game is great for ages 5 and up.