If you have children who require a certain amount of physical activity during the day lest they become monkeys swinging from any and all available furnishings, then you spend a lot of time trying to find games to keep them occupied. Our most recent game is a take on Simon, the memory game of the 80's where players repeat ever increasing strings of colored light patterns. But in this game, active participation is key.
Setup
First, make a six-sided die, preferably out of something more durable than paper, that you can write on. On each face of the die, write an instruction. Ours included, "clap your hands three times" and "spin around on your toes" and "jump up high two times". Anything you can think of that gets them moving.
Game Play
The first player rolls the die and does what the instruction says.
The next player rolls the die. Before he can do his instruction, though, he must do all the instructions that have already been rolled.
Example:
Player one rolls "jump in the air". She jumps in the air. Player two rolls "spin around". He jumps in the air, then spins around. Player three rolls "clap your hands twice". She jumps in the air, spins around, then claps her hands twice.
Penalties and Variations
There are a few ways to play this so that it is either competitive or not.
Method 1:
If, on any turn, a player cannot remember the full sequence, he is eliminated and the next player rolls the die and takes her turn. When only one player remains, he/she is the winner.
Method 2:
If, on any turn, a player cannot remember the full sequence, the game ends and a new game begins. Keep track of how many instructions you made it through. The goal is to keep the game going as long as possible and beat the previous record.
Method 3:
Have all children in the group do the actions at the same time. They can help each other remember the actions.
Benefits
This game improves memory and coordination.
You can change the game up as often as you like by making new dice with new instructions on them!
Have fun!
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