Four Team Volleyball

OBJECT - Win a game of volleyball against three other teams.

GAME TYPE - Four team game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Three. You need at least three players per team.

WHAT YOU NEED - Two movable volleyball nets, an extra pole or two, and a volleyball.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Set up the court. Put a pole in the middle. Set up the nets so the middle is tied to the pole, and the ends make a ninety degree angle to each other, creating four equal quadrants. Alternately, you can have two poles in the middle and wrap the nets behind them.
2. Each team goes to a quadrant.
3. The serving team must serve the ball into the quadrant that is directly across diagonally. After that, the ball can go anywhere.
4. After the serve, each team has three tries to get the ball over the net. One player cannot hit the ball twice in a row.
5. If the ball hits the ground, or if a player commits a foul such as hitting the ball twice in a row, their team gets a point.
6. If the ball goes out of bounds, the team that hit it out of bounds gets a point.
7. The serving team keeps serving until they get a point, at which point the next team to the left serves. Alternately, you can set a five serve limit before they must pass.
8. Players rotate the serve whenever it is their team's turn to serve.
9. Once a team reaches 15 points, the game is over. The team with the lowest point total is the winner.

This game requires a lot of focus becauser the ball could be coming from anywhere. Players will learn how to fake each other out, so make sure everyone is paying attention.

THIS WORKS ON - Athletic ability (volleyball skills), competition (playing against three other teams), observational skills (paying attention to the ball), teamwork (playing as a team)

Bedlam

OBJECT - Make it from corner to corner.

GAME TYPE - Racing game and/or elimination game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Two. You need at least four, but really, the optimal number would be twelve or more to make it true bedlam.

WHAT YOU NEED - A large square or rectangular space with clearly defined border. Also, a stopwatch or timer of some sort.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Have the players stand in different corners of the playing area. There should be an equal number, or close to it, in each corner.
2. On the word "GO", all players have ten seconds to race from one corner to the opposite corner, meaning all players will meet in the middle and create bedlam.
3. Everyone who makes it to their corner within the time period gets one point.
4. On the next run, give them nine seconds. Then eight, then seven, etc. You can go as low as you want.
5. When you reach a point where no one can make the opposite corner in the time period, the game is over. Add up the points to determine the winner.

For an alternate, more competitive game, put two flags on each person's waist. Give a ten second time limit for all rounds. Players still cross the square and must end up in the opposite corner. They can grab other player's flags in the middle, but must be in the correct corner within the time limit. Any player who loses both flags or does not make it to their corner in time is out. Redistribute the players so the number in each corner is close to equal. The last one standing wins.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (racing against others), time management (getting to corner in time), spatial awareness (knowing where you are, the space you have to get to, and obstacles that must be avoided).

Bucket Brigade

OBJECT - Fill the bucket.

GAME TYPE - Racing game, passing game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. You should have at least five people in a line, and if you have enough players, you can have several lines going at once.

WHAT YOU NEED - A bucket full of water, an empty bucket, and a lot of plastic cups.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Line the players up. At one end of the line, place the full bucket. At the other, place the empty bucket.
2. On the word "GO", the player next to the full bucket fills a plastic cup and passes it to the next player. The cup makes its way down the line to the other end, where the last player dumps it in the bucket.
3. The first player keeps passing full cups down the line, one after the other, until the bucket at the other end is either full, or full to a predesignated level.
4. If you only have one line, try to record the fastest time. If more than one, have a race.

This can make the floor pretty wet, especially if the cups are full when passed. Be careful

THIS WORKS ON - Eye-hand coordination (passing the cup, receiving the cup, not spilling), teamwork (passing quickly without spilling)

Table Baseball

OBJECT - Score the most runs.

GAME TYPE - Two team game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Three. There should be at least three people per team, but as in real baseball, no more than nine per team.

WHAT YOU NEED - A ping pong ball, a scorecard, and a marked square table. The markings are described below.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. First, set up the table. At the center of one side, mark a home base. From there, mark diagonal foul lines to one third the distance of the sides. These are your foul lines. At the other end of the table, draw three lines parallel to the end. The area closest to home plate is a single, the next area is a double, and the third area is a triple. There should be some room between the foul lines and the single line.
2. Place the ping pong ball on home base.
3. One player from the batting team kneels so his mouth is right behind the ball. This is the batter.
4. Three players from the other team make up the outfield, and kneel on the opposite side of the table.
5. When ready, the "batter" blows the ball. He may only blow it once. He is trying to blow it over the edge where the "outfielders" are.
6. The outfielders also blow the ball. Their object is to blow it off the edge of the table before it scores either a run or a hit.
7. If the ball goes off the edge of the table in foul territory, the batter may try again. However, they only get three total chances. If it fouls on the third try, they're out.
8. If the ball goes off the edge of the table between the foul line and the single line, they batter is out.
9. If the ball goes off the edge of the table in the single zone, the batter goes to first base (mark this on your scorecard). If a double, they go to second base. If a triple, they go to third base. If it goes off the edge of the table where the outfielders are, it's a home run.
10. Keep track of which base each batter is on. They may only advance on force moves. If a batter is on second with no one on first, and the next batter gets a single, the batter on second does not move. If a batter is on second with no one on first, and the next batter hits a double, the batter on second may only move to third. Of course, a home run scores everyone.
11. Each team gets three outs or five runs per inning. This means that if a team gets their three outs before getting five runs, the next team is up. If the team gets five runs before it gets three outs, the next team is up.
12. Keep playing for a predetermined number of innings. The winner is the team with the most runs scored.

Be sure to rotate players - have a lineup, or order, for the batters, and if you have more than three players per team, make sure everyone gets a chance to be in the outfield.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (playing a baseball game), oral motor (blowing the ball), strategy (knowing where you should aim the ball for the batter and outfielders).

Bottle Ball

OBJECT - Knock down the bottles!

GAME TYPE - Two team game, dodge game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Two. You should have at least three per side, but no more than eight.

WHAT YOU NEED - Twelve to twenty 2-liter plastic soda bottles, some empty, some filled with water. You'll also need two or three playground balls and a marked off space for the playing area.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Divide the group into two teams. The two teams go to opposite sides of a playing area, separated by a line.
2. Set up the plastic bottles at the back of the playing area, with space between them.
3. Place the three playground balls at the center. All players line up in front of their plastic bottles.
4. On the word "GO", players race to try and get the balls. No player may cross the center line.
5. The object of the game is to knock down all of the other team's bottles. The full ones should be harder to knock down than the empty ones.
6. This game also adds elements of dodge ball, in that if you hit another player with your throw (unless the ball touches the ground first), they are out. However, as soon as a bottle gets knocked over, all out players on the team whose bottle went down may reenter the game.
7. If a player catches a throw, they may return one player from their own team to the game. Nothing happens to the thrower.
8. If a ball goes out of bounds, one of the players from the team on the side where it went out of bounds may retrieve it. They may not throw the ball until they have come back in bounds.
9. Once all the bottles of one team have been knocked down, the game is over.

For a variation, give one point for each empty bottle knocked over, three for each full bottle knocked over, and set a time limit.

THIS WORKS ON - Athletic ability (throwing, running), competition (playing against another team), eye-hand coordination (aiming at targets), teamwork (playing as a team).

Balloon Sweep

OBJECT - Be the first to sweep your balloon over the finish line.

GAME TYPE - Racing game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. You need at least two to play this one, more to make it a relay.

WHAT YOU NEED - Several blown up balloons (in case one pops), and two brooms (or more, depending on how many teams/racers you have).

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Divide the players into teams.
2. Give the first runner on each team a broom and place a balloon on the floor.
3. On the word "GO", players sweep the balloon towards the turn-around point, which can be a line, a chair, a wall, whatever.
4. At that point, they turn around and head back to the start.
5. When they cross the start line, they give the broom to the next player who now sweeps the balloon toward the turn around.
6. The winners are the first ones to have everyone cross the finish line.

The balloons will go all over the place, so definitely have more ready in case one pops. Also, you can have every player race individually rather than in teams, keeping track of the fastest time.

THIS WORKS ON - Eye-hand coordination (using the broom to sweep the balloon), competition (racing)

Red Handed

OBJECT - Find the object.

GAME TYPE - Observation game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Three. You should have enough people to make it hard for IT.

WHAT YOU NEED - Some sort of small object, such as a beanbag or a marble.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Have everyone stand in a circle.
2. Choose one person to be IT.
3. IT must close his eyes and count to ten slowly.
4. While IT is counting to ten, the people in the circle start passing around the chosen object behind their backs.
5. When IT reaches ten, he can look and try to figure out where the object is.
6. The members of the circle must keep[ passing the object, but to make it confusing, they are allowed to fake it (pretend to pass when they don't have it).
7. IT may make three guesses. If they get it correct in those three guesses, they win. If they can't figure out where the object is, the group wins.

This is not a competitive game in that no points are awarded, but the group does need to work together in order to keep IT from finding the object.

THIS WORKS ON - Strategy (distracting IT from the proper location), observational skills (looking to figure out where the object is), teamwork (working together to defeat IT)

Threeball

OBJECT - Score the most points and win the game.

GAME TYPE - Individual game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Two. You'll need eight or so players to play this game.

WHAT YOU NEED - Three kickable balls, a box, and a large field to play in.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Set up the field, with three bases and a home plate. They don't have to be as far apart as in standard baseball, but there should be some distance between them.
2. Set up the box in the middle, where the pitcher's mound would be.
3. Everyone plays defense and should go in the field, except for one player who is the first kicker.
4. The kicker stands at home plate with three balls on the ground in front of them.
5. The kicker kicks all three of the balls in different directions, and starts to run the bases.
6. The kicker scores a point every time they cross a base. If a player crosses home plate, they can keep running, and each base is worth two points.
7. The defense must corral the balls and put them in the box.
8. Once all three balls are in the box, the kicker is out. Add up the number of bases they crossed before being out for their score.
9. A new kicker comes up, while the old one goes to the field.
10. The winner is the one, at the end of the game, who scored the most points.

With enough players, you can even have two teams, with all players kicking before taking the field.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (trying to score/prevent scoring), following directions (rules of the game)

Rooms

OBJECT - Switch rooms quickly, or be eliminated.

GAME TYPE - Elimination game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. It doesn't matter how many people you have to play this game.

WHAT YOU NEED - An area, inside or outside, sectioned off into at least four squares. The squares can be in a box shape, or in a line. The squares also need to be labeled with the name of a different room - living room, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Set up the playing area as described above.
2. Have all players stand in one room.
3. You call out a room. All players must move to that room.
4. The last player to make it to the room is eliminated.
5. If you call out a room where everyone already is, they must stay there. Anyone who moves to another room is eliminated.
6. The last person standing is the winner.

As a variation, you can set a time limit for moving into the enxt room, like five seconds. Anyone who doesn't make it in that time is out.

THIS WORKS ON - Following directions (going to specific room), attending (to what room is being called)

Calvinball

OBJECT - Make up your own game.

GAME TYPE - Creative game.

WHO'S IT FOR - All groups can play. You can have as many or as few as you want playing.

WHAT YOU NEED - It depends on the rules you decide. You may want to have some options ready when making the rules, then you can figure it out from there. You will need a chart for the rules and masks for everyone.

HOW TO PLAY:
Calvinball is a game played in the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. As Calvin says in one strip, the only permanent rule in Calvinball is that you can't play the same way twice. Therefore, you'll have to make up this game as you go. You may want to take two sessions with this game, at least at first. In the first session, set the rules. In the second session, play the game.

• SESSION ONE: Set the rules. Each group will be different in the way the rules get set. For Group One, for example, you may want to have more limited choices (what type of ball should we use...a basketball, a soccer ball, or a football?), while Group Three can have a broader choice (what type of ball should we use?) In the comic, Calvinball seems to be a cross between croquet and Capture The Flag, but you can play it however you want. Encourage creativity in the choices (seventeen bases, shoot a football into a basketball hoop, can only carry the ball between your knees, etc). You'll need to establish how to score, roles of the players, number of players per team, number of teams, penalties for breaking rules, and any other things you can think of. This will take a while, which is why I recommend taking an entire session.
• SESSION TWO: Play the game. When playing the game, make sure everyone is following the rules they came up with. However, in the spirit of true Calvinball, players can make up more rules as they go, as long as they don't conflict with the original rules (if an original rule was to hop on one foot when scoring a point, a new rule cannot be to run in a circle when scoring a point). New rules must be stated alound and added to the rule chart. Also, the official uniform of Calvinball is a bandit mask over the eyes.

This game is more about inventing the rules than winning. Encourage lots of creativity.

THIS WORKS ON - Creativity (making up the rules), following directions (following the rules), competition (playing the game).

Greedy

OBJECT - Make the most baskets.

GAME TYPE - Elimination game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Three. You should have no more than ten people playing this game at once.

WHAT YOU NEED - A basketball hoop and enough basketballs so each player can have one. The basketballs should be unique enough that players can tell them apart. This can be a marking on the ball, or an entirely different style of ball. You should also have a scorecard.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Have each player line up outside the three point line, and give each a basketball.
2. On the word "GO", every player shoots their basketballs to try to make a basket.
3. When a player misses, they must get the rebopund (and make sure it is their ball), and shoot from where they got the rebound. They may not move closer to the basket. If a ball goes out of bounds, the player may bring the ball back in bounds before shooting again.
4. Once a player makes a shot, they yell "POINT" and run back to the three point line to start shooting again.
5. Keep track of the points. When a player scores five baskets, they can stop and move off the court.
6. The last player shooting (who doesn't make five points) is eleiminated.
7. Players start again from behiond the three point line. In the next round, you only need four points. The next round, and all rounds after that, need only three points.
8. Players can use their basketballs to block other shots, throwing their balls in the air to knock another one off its flight path. The danger in this, however, is that you have to shoot from where your ball goes, which will probably be somewhere in the wrong direction.
9. Keep eleiminating until one player is left standing. This player wins.

This game can get pretty chaotic, so make sure everyone knows exactly which ball is theirs.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (trying to score the most baskets while everyone else is shooting), athletic ability (basketball skills)

Costume Relay

OBJECT - Win the race.

GAME TYPE - Racing game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Two. You need at least four people for this race, but the more the merrier.

WHAT YOU NEED - Lots of old clothes, including hats, scarves, shirts, pants, skirts, gloves, shoes, sunglasses, masks, etc. Be creative.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Divide the players into at least two teams, more if you have enough.
2. Have the players stand at one end of the race track, with a box of clothes at the opposite end.
3. Before starting the race, let each team know what they must have in order to win. For example, they should have a hat, pants, a shirt, a scarf, a belt, shoes, and one other item they can decide on. The players may decide which article of clothing to grab when they reach the box of clothes, or you can designate each player to get something.
4. On the word "GO", the first two players race to the box and grab one of the clothing items from their list (or the article of clothing they have been assigned). They must put it on and race back to the start.
5. When the players reach the start, they take off the clothing piece they grabbed (such as a hat) and put it on the next player. The next player then runs to the box, grabs another article of clothing, puts it on, and runs back.
6. Whenever a player reaches the start, they must take off everything they've gotten from the box and put it on the next player.
7. When a runner puts on the last article of clothing they needed from the box, they run back to start and put the entire costume on the next player. That player must run back to the box, put everything back, and run back. The first team to finish the race wins.

You don't have to have the last player put everything back. If you want, you can end the race when they've completed the costume, then take votes on who has the best outfit.

THIS WORKS ON - Athletic ability (running the race), teamwork (dressing your teammates), creativity (deciding what the best outfit would look like), functional skills (dressing, identifying articles of clothing)

Eyes and Feet

OBJECT - Guess who's behind the sheet.

GAME TYPE - Observation game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. Three or more people can play this game, but it's more fun and much harder if there's more.

WHAT YOU NEED - A sheet with a hole for the eyes cut out. The hole shouldn't be too high on the sheet, but high enough so the shortest player can look through them.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Hang your prepared sheet up in a doorway. Make sure you can't see around it.
2. Choose one player to be IT. All other players go to the other side of the sheet.
3. One at a time, a player comes up to the sheet and puts their eyes to the eye hole.
4. IT must decide who the eyes in the eyehole belong to.
5. Have every player look through the eyehole, and have IT decide who belongs to each pair.
6. Once IT has seen all the eyes, choose another IT. They go through the same process.
7. The winner is the player who identified the most eyes correctly.

As a variation, and the reason this game is called Eyes and Feet, you can raise the sheet high enough so only the player's feet are visible, and have IT identify them that way.

THIS WORKS ON - Observational skills (noticing attributes that belong to others), matching (matching eyes or feet to other players)

Paper Football Tournament

OBJECT - Win the paper football tournament!

GAME TYPE - Individual game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Groups Two and Three. You need two people for a game, and more for a tournament.

WHAT YOU NEED - A table and a paper football for each game. Find instructions on how to make a paper football here.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. You can set up the tournament in a couple of different ways. You can do a single elimination tournament, bracket style like the NCAA tournament. You could also have all players play everyone else and keep track of wins and losses, with the top two players meeting for the championship at the end. You can also come up with your own format.
2. To play paper football, seat two players across from each other at a table. There shouldn't be too much space between them.
3. Have players flick the football to the other end of the table. The goal is to get part of the football hanging over the edge of the table. You can check this by running your finger across the edge of the table. If the football moves, it's a goal.
4. If the football goes over the edge and falls to the floor, it doesn't count.
5. If the football does not score a goal, the opposing player must flick it from the place it stopped. The only way a player may move the football is if the football goes over the edge.
6. Whoever scores five points first is the winner.

Play as many games as you want, but try to keep it competitive and fun.

THIS WORKS ON - Fine motor (flicking the football), eye-hand coordination (aiming, trying to get the shot just right), competition (trying to score more goals than the other player)

Pass The Present

OBJECT - Open the present!

GAME TYPE - Passing game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. You need enough people to make a circle.

WHAT YOU NEED - Music, and several prewrapped presents. The presents should be wrapped with several layers of paper.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Players sit in a circle.
2. When the music starts, players pass a present from person to person.
3. Whenever the music stops, whoever is holding the present gets to unwrap one layer of wrapping paper.
4. The music starts again and the present gets passed.
5. Keep going until someone unwraps the last layer of paper. Whoever unwraps the last layer gets to keep the present.
6. Repeat with another present.

This is a great Christmas game, but can be used for other occasions as well. When you wrap the presents, try to make it very difficult to unwrap more than one layer at once. Also, make sure everyone gets something.

THIS WORKS ON - Sharing (passing the present), fine motor (unwrapping presents), attending (listening to the music), following directions (only unwrapping one layer)

Spoons

OBJECT - Make four of a kind, and don't be the last one to grab a spoon.

GAME TYPE - Elimination game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Three. This should ideally be played with a group of no more than seven or eight.

WHAT YOU NEED - A full deck of playing cards and one spoon for each player, minus one.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Have all players sit in a circle with spoons in the middle. There should be enough spoons in the middle so every player except one can grab a spoon.
2. Have one player shuffle and deal the cards (help if you need to). Four cards get dealt to each player. All extra cards are placed in front of the dealer.
3. The object is to make four of a kind in your hand. This means you want to have all four 3s or all four Kings, etc.
4. On the word "GO", the dealer takes a card from the extra card deck. The dealer must then discard one card and pass it to the player on his/her left. While the next player decides if he/she wants to use that card, the dealer draws another one.
5. Play continues like this, with each player discarding and passing. You may only have four cards in your hand at a time, and you may only pick up one card at a time.
6. When the last player discards, instead of passing the card to the dealer, they make a discard pile. Should you run out of cards without someone getting four of a kind, the dealer may shuffle those cards and use them as a new deck.
7. When someone makes four of a kind in their hand, they must grab a spoon. However, they want to do this in such a way that no one else notices.
8. If anyone notices that a spoon has been taken, they can grab a spoon as well, even if they don't have four of a kind in their hand.
9. Whoever does not get a spoon in the round is out.
10. Remove a spoon and play again.
11. Keep playing until only one remains. They are the winner.

Sneakiness is encouraged when grabbing a spoon. When someone does notice, it usually turns chaotic quickly.

THIS WORKS ON - Observational skills (knowing when someone takes a spoon), matching (making four of a kind), competition (playing a game with peers)

Magazine Scavenger Hunt

OBJECT - Find the most items on your list.

GAME TYPE - Scavenger hunt.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group Two. Have as many people as you want. If there are less than four, everyone will work individually. If there are four or more players, teams will be made of two or three, depending on whether there's an odd or even number.

WHAT YOU NEED - Lots of magazines, scissors, glue, and a list of the items you want the players to search for. You can either have a list with a box for each item, or just a list with a separate piece of paper for a collage.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Divide the players into teams of two or three.
2. Give everyone a list that you've made previously. As mentioned before, the list can be simply a list of items, or it can have a box for each item.
3. Have each team search through the magazines, looking for each item mentioned and cutting them out.
4. At the end of a set time limit, the searching is done. The players can now glue the pictures either to their list or make a collage by gluing them onto a separate piece of paper.
5. The team that found the most items, or that were the most creative, wins.

If you want to try a variation, have the players come up with the list they need to search for.

Some suggestions for items to search for:

• A car
• A boat
• A hat
• A shoe
• Something red
• Something tiny
• Letters that spell the names of everyone in your team
• Something to eat
• Something shiny
• A celebrity

THIS WORKS ON - Creativity (coming up with items for what is listed), artistic ability (cutting and pasting), finding items (finding what's listed)

Octopus Tag

OBJECT - Don't get tagged by the octopus or any tentacles!

GAME TYPE - Tag game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. You can have as many people as you want to play this game, but at least six.

WHAT YOU NEED - A rectangular space to run with clearly defined borders.

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Set the borders of your area, which should be rectangular. The ends of the area are the safe zones.
2. Designate one person to be the octopus.
3. The octopus stands in the middle of the area, while all other players go to one of the safe zones (everyone in the same place).
4. When the octopus says "GO!", all other players must run from their safe zone to the other, trying to avoid the tag of the octopus. Players may not cross over the edges of the area.
5. If someone gets tagged by the octopus, they become a tentacle. Rather than attaching to the octopus, however, they must stay in the same place they were when they were tagged.
6. Once all players who have not been tagged, the octopus returns to the center of the area and says "GO!" again. Players race back to the other safe zone, this time trying to avoid the tag of the octopus AND any tentacles.
7. Tentacles may not move from their spot, they are rooted to the ground. However, they may take one step as long as their other foot is firmly planted.
8. Anyone who gets tagged by a tentacle becomes another tentacle and must stay in place to try and tag people the next time.
9. The last person who can avoid all tentacles and the octopus is the winner, and becomes the new octopus.

If any tentacle needs help staying put, you can use a carpet square, or draw a big circle where they need to stand using chalk, or tape.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (trying to avoid the tag), following directions (staying inside the borders, staying in place as a tentacle)

Around The World

OBJECT - Score all the shots first!

GAME TYPE - Individual game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Groups Two and Three. You need at least two for this game, and probably no more than 8.

WHAT YOU NEED - A basketball, a basketball court (or half-court), and some means of marking spots (chalk, tape, carpet squares).

HOW TO PLAY:

1. Mark ten spots around the basketball court, with shots increasing in difficulty. For example, spot #1 might be right by the basket (lay up) while shot #10 is behind the basket.
2. On their turn, each player will start at spot #1 and try to work their way up to spot #10.
3. If a player makes a shot, they move ahead and shoot again.
4. If a player misses a shot, their turn is over and the next player tries.
5. Each player starts their turn from the last place they missed.
6. The first person to make all ten shots is the winner.

Know your group's abilities, and don't make the shots impossible, but do make them challenging. If your group can barely get the ball to the hoop from the free throw line, don't make them shoot from midcourt.

THIS WORKS ON - Competition (trying to make all the baskets before anyone else), athletic ability (basketball skills), eye-hand coordination (making shots).

Jingle Tag

OBJECT - Catch the jingler.

GAME TYPE - Tag game.

WHO'S IT FOR - Group One. You'll need four to ten people for this game.

WHAT YOU NEED - For variation one, jingle bells for everyone and one blindfold. For variation two, blindfolds for everyone and one set of jingle bells. For both groups, have an area with clearly defined borders.

HOW TO PLAY (Variation One):

1. Choose one person to be IT and blindfold them.
2. Give everyone else a set of jingle bells.
3. At the word "GO", IT tries to find someone else by listening for their jingle bells.
4. The jinglers must jingle their bells if they are moving. They also may not leave the defined area.
5. Adults can scatter around the area to help IT stay inside the borders.
6. When IT tags someone, they become the new IT.

HOW TO PLAY (Variation Two):

1. Choose one person to be IT, and blindfold everyone else.
2. Give IT a set of jingle bells.
3. At the word "GO", everyone tries to find IT by listening for the jingle bells.
4. IT must jingle the bells when moving. IT may not leave the defined area.
5. Adults can scatter around the area to help the blindfolded people stay in the area.
6. When someone catches IT, they become the new IT.

Watch out for the safety of anyone who is blindfolded. They shouldn't move too fast, and be sure the area is cleared of anything they might trip on.

THIS WORKS ON - Sensory (using ears instead of eyes), competition (trying to tag/not be tagged).