ART, MUSIC & LANGUAGE ARTS

GROUP GAMES
What are Group Games?
In a good game for preschoolers, the children are playing together according to conventional rules which
specify:
what the goal or purpose is,
what the players should do, in roles which are complementary or opposed, or
interdependent.
Criteria of Goo Group Games
To be educationally useful, a group game should
suggest something interesting and challenging for children to figure out how to do,
make it possible for children themselves to judge their success,
permit all players to participate actively throughout the game.
Eu!atio"a# $a#ue of Group Games
Educational oals:
suggest something interesting and challenging for children to figure out how to do
logical thinking, problem!solving and strategi"ing
decentering coordinating different points of view
language having to e#press themself, understand others, e#change ideas
$ocial oals:
feelings of group belonging
decentering as children decide on rules, handle conflicts about rules, etc., they are forced into
reali"ing that others may not necessarily have the same ideas as himself
cooperation even competitive games re%uire children to assume complementary roles, or the game
would fall apart
%asi! Guie#i"es for P#a&i"' Games (ith Ru#es
&eep participation voluntary.
$elect a variety of games that offer opportunities to master $ocial, 'ognitive, and (otor skills.
)void offering pri"es or placing undue emphasis on winning.
&eep games fun and challenging (atch game to *evelopmental +evel of children, this includes the
si"e of the group.
-e fle#ible about rules .emember, rules are arbitrary, and as long as all agree, any rule is
acceptable.
.educe adult authority .emain, as much as possible, a player in the game, avoid making all the
decisions, enforcing the rules.
&eep introductions brief and to the point.
A!ti)e Games
/. %a!*+to+%a!* 0layers are in pairs. 1It2 gives a direction, such as 1back!to!back2 and the pairs touch
each other on that body part. 3ther e#amples would be, 1foot!to!foot2 or 1nose!to!nose.2 4hen 1It2 says,
1'5)6E72 everybody, including 1It2 finds a new partner.
8. ,itt& Wa"ts a Cor"er 9our players occupy the four corners of a s%uare marked, for e#ample, with four
pads or bases. 1It2 :a fifth player; tries to get a vacant corner as the four other players e#change places.
<. -u!*s .#& The leader calls out, 1*ucks fly, birds fly, horses fly = .2 4hen s>he names something that
flies, players flap their arms. 4hen s>he names something that doesn?t fly, they must keep their arms at
their sides.
@. I Sa& Stoop The leader stoops or stands, saying with each action either, 1I say stoop,2 or 1I say stand.2
3ccasionally, he stoops when he says to stand and vice versa. The players must do what he says rather
than what he does.
A. Mr/ Wo#f 3ne child is (r.>(s. 4olf, who stands at %uite a distance from the players. The players call
out to (r. 4olf = 1(r. 4olf, (r. 4olf, what time is itB2 5e then answers, for e#ample, 13ne o?clock.2
The players then take one step forward. They ask again and move accordingly, until, one time, (r. 4olf
answers, 1It?s midnight72 and runs to catch one of the players, who then either becomes the new (r. 4olf
or joins him.
C. O# Mother Cat 'hildren :kittens; sit in a circle, with one player :3ld (other 'at; sitting in a chair in
the center, eyes closed. The kittens hide while they recite the following verse:
23ld mother cat lies fast asleep
5er babies, too, make not a peep.
-ut little kittens like to play,
$o they softly creep away.2
4hen all have found a hiding place, they say:
13ld mother cat wakes up to see
6o baby kittens. 4here can they beB2
$oftly she calls, 1(eow.2
&ittens must answer once each time the mother cat meows, until they are all found. )s mother cat finds
each kitten, she says, 1I found you, DDDDDDDDDDD:child?s name;2 and each child then returns to the circle.
E. Up a" -o(" a" A## Arou" 4e all walk around on our two feet, but there are other parts of the
body that could support us. This activity starts by the players marching around the play area chanting,
1Fp and down and all around.2 Then the leader calls, 19ree"e7 Three7 :or any number up to /G;.2 )ll
players stop and touch the floor with three body parts possibly two feet and one hand, for e#ample.
Then the leader calls, 1(elt72 and all move around again with the same chant, until the leader calls
19ree"e72
Hariation 4hen the leader calls, 19ree"e72 have the players pair up and, in combination, put down the
specified number of body parts. 4ith the call of 1two,2 how about one player standing on one foot,
helping her partner stand on her hand by holding her feetB = Interesting test of number
comprehension and cooperation7
I. .ro0e" %ea" %a's )ll the players balance a beanbag on their heads and move around the play area.
If the beanbag falls off, the player is fro"en and cannot move. To be defrosted, another player must
pick up the fallen beanbag and place it back on top of the player?s head, while keeping the beanbag on
his>her own head. If it falls off while trying to help a friend, both are now fro"en.
J. Re Li'ht, Gree" Li'ht This can be played in the traditional way, only instead of running, the leader
chooses a method of locomotion, such as crawling, tiptoeing, etc.
/G. Charaes )nimal charades is very popular. The child who will act out an animal should come up and
whisper in the teacher?s ear what animal he>she will do, this way, the teacher can provide some
guidance if necessary, and be assured the child doesn?t switch animals midstream7 In the beginning, it
may be a good idea to have pictures of animals up by the teacher and the child could choose one of
those to act out. Hariations $ummer or winter activities have lots of potential for charades:
$ummer= swimming, skateboarding, bike riding, picnicking, gardening, fishing, canoeing, baseball, etc.,
4inter = ice skating, ice fishing, skiing, sledding, hockey, etc.
3ther charade ideas: occupations, tools.
//. Tou!h %#ue 4hen the leader says, 1Touch -lue,2 all players find something blue to touch, either on
someone else or in the room. 'ontinue with different colors. Hariations 5ave something, such as a
bell that any player can come up and shake to be the leader. )lso, the players could continue to touch
the first color while doing a second, getting everyone all tangled up7
/8. Char#ie, the Tu"a .ish 'hildren form a circle with one person in the middle :'harlie;. 4alking
around the circle, they chant: 1'harlie over the water, 'harlie over the sea, 'harlie caught a tuna fish,
-ut can?t catch me72 3n 1me7,2 all stoop %uickly while 'harlie tries to tag someone. If 'harlie catches
someone, that person is the ne#t 'harlie.
/<. Musi!a# Carpets 'arpet s%uares :/ per child; are placed randomly on the floor. These are 1stones2 in
the 1river.2 4hen the music is played, the players hop from stone to stone, but must free"e when the
music stops. )s a transition idea, you could, prior to the game, tape a picture to the bottom of each
carpet s%uare, and ask each child, one at a time, to turn over their carpet and talk about the picture,
then go on to the ne#t activity.
/@. Chase the Ra11it The players stand or sit in a circle. ) stuffed bunny is started around the circle,
being passed from hand to hand as %uickly as they can, until it gets back home. )fter they have
practiced this a while, announce that the ne#t time a hound will chase the rabbit. $tart the rabbit and
then start another stuffed dog as the hound. 0layers pass both the rabbit and hound as %uickly as
they can, seeing if the rabbit will get caught.
/A. .ruit %as*et Upset 'hildren are seated in a big circle, on chairs. Each child is holding a picture of
some kind of fruit. 3ne child, in the middle, has a fruit but not chair. The object is for the child to
get a chair. 4hen the 1chef2 in the middle calls, 1apples and oranges,2 for e#ample, all the children
holding either an apple or orange must get up and change chairs, while the chef tries to get a chair. If
the chef calls out, 19ruit -asket Fpset72 all the children must get up and change places.Hariation 'an
be done with any kind of pictures, such as shapes, etc.
/C. %ar"&ar 'hildren are seated on the floor in a circle formation. Each child is given a card with a
picture of a farm animal on it. 4ith eyes closed, the 1animals2 try to find other 1animals2 of the same
kind by repeating their animal sound :mooing, baaing, etc.; 4hen they find one another, they should sit
down together. 4hile you may have four sheep, it is easier for the children to have them only search
for a pair and end up with two pairs of sheep rather than trying to find the whole group They are
not able to keep their eyes closed that long7
/E. Ma'i! %#a"*et :)ctually more of a creative movement activity as there is no real goal;. The teacher
has a 1magic blanket,2 which is used to cover the children, who are crouched in the center of the circle.
The teacher recites the chant:
1(agic -lanket = 4hat will I seeB
Twenty :or however many children; hopping frogs = 'roaking as can be72
The teacher then lifts up the blanket and the children act out being the frogs, until the teacher gives
the signal to come back. :I use a wand with a couple of jingle bells for sound. This control should be
practiced ahead of time7; 6ew animals are chanted about and acted out.
/I. Mo)eme"t -i!e 5ave two large dice, one with either dots or numerals and one with a different
picture on each side, depicting actions such as jumping, hopping, tiptoeing, leap!frogging, arm swinging.
Each child gets a turn to throw dice and do as directed. ) good transition idea.
/J. Pi" the Tai# o" the -o"*e& (odify this traditional game by having the animal on the wall cut out of
corrugated paper, so the children can use their tactile sense and problem solving to figure out where
the animal is. )lso, include several pieces to be taped on the animal = ears, tail, eyes, so that more
children play in one round to complete the funny!looking animal.
8G. %o(#i"' 0layed with homemade pins :such as dish soap containers; can be great for counting,
scorekeeping, problem solving :4hat is the best configuration for setting up pins to ma#imi"e the
number that will fallB; *on?t tell children how to keep score, they will come up with their own ideas,
which then will clue you in to their number concepts7
8/. Ra!e (any kinds of races are possible and preschoolers thoroughly enjoy them without any
consideration of who won. In fact, most often, four!year!olds will all say they?ve won7 4inning is not
stressed, enjoyment of the race is. E#amples: spoon races :carry a tennis ball on a spoon to the finish
line, three!legged race, blowing objects race, etc.
88. 2a#f+a+2eart 'ut a bunch of homemade cardboard valentine hearts into halves. 3n one half, write
a numeral and on the other half, draw that number of small shapes. *istribute half of a heart to each
child, then have them skip around to music. 4hen the music stops, each child tries to match up his
half to its pair. .edistribute hearts and try again. This can be modified to suit any theme.
8<. 2eart Is#a"s Kou will need four large cardboard hearts and some music. 0lace the hearts around
the floor. $tart the music and have the children skip around the room. 4hen the music stops, each
child tries to place a toe on one of the heart islands. Each time the music restarts, another heart is
removed until all the children are trying to get their toe on a single heart. This inspired cooperation7
8@. Peop#e C#assifi!atio" -egin by making paper shapes :circles, s%uares, rectangles, and triangles;, or
have the children make them. )ltogether you need two of each shape in four different colors :red,
yellow, blue, green; so that each child will have one and there will be another child also with that shape.
0lace the shapes on the floor. 0lay some music and have the children skip around. 4hen the music
stops, each child picks up a shape and finds the other child with that shape. 6e#t time have them find
someone with the same color, or all the kids with the same shape regardless of color :a larger set;,
etc.
8A. Pu00#e Part"ers 0air up the children, and when the music is played, they must go away from their
partner. )s soon as the music stops, both partners rush toward each other, join hands and s%uat down.
8C. A#pha1et Peop#e Teacher calls out a letter and children raise hands if they think they can make this
letter with their body. 'hild comes to center of circle, and if necessary, asks for a partner :or even
more7; to help form this letter. This makes for some kinesthetic learning7
8E. Ru11er %a" .u" ive each child :only a small group; a wristful of rubber ands. 3ne child tosses a
rubber band onto the ground, and the children then take turns throwing one at a time, trying to hit any
other rubber band on the ground. )ny child who is successful gets to pick up all the bands and
redistribute them. 'an be played with stones, paper clips, etc.
3uiet Games
8I. Pi!ture Poster Guessi"' Game 5ave a poster board that has glued to it several different
interesting scenes cut from maga"ines. 3ne child is chosen to come up to the front, think of two clues
about one of the pictures, and the others guess. 'hild who guesses correctly then comes up to the
front.
8J. Po#i!e Offi!er 4hile the 1police officer2 is out of the room, the rest of the group decides who will
be the 1lost child.2 4hen the officer is invited back, he calls for someone to describe that person
without naming him. )fter each clue, the officer has a chance to take a guess. The player who gave
the last hint becomes the new officer, or the officer chooses the ne#t person.
<G. S4uea*, Pi''&, S4uea*5 )ll the children are seated in chairs in circle formation. 3ne child is in the
middle and blindfolded :I use a 5alloween mask with the eyes covered over;. This child is turned
around and led to sit on someone?s lap. 5e then says, 1$%ueak, piggy, s%ueak72 and the child on whose
lap he is sitting must s%ueak. The blindfolded child then guesses who it is.
</. Who6s That ,"o!*i"' :This is more of a musical activity than a game, a good beginning of the year
activity;. The children are seated in a circle on the floor. 3ne child is given two wooden spoons, and
another child across the circle from the first is given a metal spoon and a metal cup of some sort.
Every one sings a song, 14ho?s that tapping on my windowB = 4ho?s that knocking at my doorB2 'hild
with the metal spoon taps while every sings his name, 1Tommy is tapping on my window = $arah is
knocking on my door.2 :(eanwhile, $arah is knocking with wooden spoons;. Then the spoons get
passed to the ne#t person so everyone will get a chance with one set.
<8. -o''&, -o''&, Where6s 7our %o"e? 4hile the 1doggie2 covers his eyes in the middle of the circle,
a hider takes his 1bone2 :a block or some such item; and hides it in the immediate area of the room, say
the block area where circle time is. )ll the children chant:
1*oggie, *oggie, where?s your boneB
$omebody took it from your home.2
4ith this signal, the doggie begins to search for the bone, while all the children tell him if he?s 1hot2
or cold.2
<<. M&ster& %a' 3ne child picks an item from an assortment of objects, which is then placed in a
mystery bag. 5e then gives each child in the circle one change to feel and guess what it is, seeing how
many children it takes to figure it out. The child who guesses correctly then chooses the ne#t object.
<@. The Or!hestra Co"u!tor 1It2 goes out of the room while the rest of the group, sitting in a circle,
selects a 1conductor.2 )fter 1It2 returns, the conductor does a variety of actions for the other
children to imitate, such as waving hands, clapping, etc. -y watching the children, the guesser tries to
figure out who is conducting.
<A. Name Ca## %a## 'hildren seated on floor in a circle. Teacher rolls a ball across the circle, calling the
child?s name to catch it. 'hild then rolls the ball and calls out the name of the child it is going nearest
to. This is a good beginning of the year game to learn everyone?s name.
<C. Co11#er, Co11#er, Me" M& Shoe 'ircle formation = 3ne child, in center, gives an old shoe to a
child in the circle and then closes his eyes while children in the circle pass the shoe around behind
them, chant: 1
1'obbler, 'obbler, mend my shoe.
5ave it done by half!past two.
$titch it up and stitch it down.
6ow see if it can be found.
'hildren keep passing it around while the cobbler guesses.
<E. I Sp& 3ne child hides a small object in the room, somewhere it could be found without touching
anything else. 3ther children remain outside of room until hider tells them to come in and search.
This is also fun with a wind!up musical toy, so that the searchers use their ears.
<I. What Sou" Is That? $et up some kind of screen, perhaps a sheet hanging down, so that a person
can be behind the screen making some kind of noise that the others will have to guess. 0ossibilities are
endless, such as:
tearing paper rattling keys
pouring water sweeping the floor
dropping a block cutting with scissors
bouncing a ball crumbling paper
4hoever guesses gets to go behind the screen and make the ne#t noise.
<J. Shape Out#i"es 0lace an object on the overhead projector, using a screen to block the children?s
view, so they must figure out what the object is by its image on the screen.
Resour!es8
&amii, 'onstance Koung 'hildren .einvent )rithmetic, Teacher 'ollege 0ress, 'olumbia Fniversity, /JIA.
&amii, 'onstance roup ames in Early Education, 6ational )ssociation for the Education of Koung
'hildren, /JEJ.
3rlick, Terry 'ooperative $ports and ames -ook, 0antheon -ooks, /JI8.
.ogers, 'rosby and $awyers, Lanet 0lay in the +ives of 'hildren, 6ational )ssociation for the Education
of Koung 'hildren, /JII.