Hobbies And Interests
Bounce-and-Freeze Games
When the music halts, players pause their bounce house movement in "Freeze Bounce Dancing." When a leader starts the music, kids start bouncing and dancing. If kids do not freeze in place once the music stops, they exit the bounce house. Once the music starts up, kids resume bouncing and dancing. The last player remaining wins.
Similar to how traffic signals control traffic, each "green light" command sends players bouncing around the bounce house in "red light/green light." Once a leader shouts "red light," kids freeze in place; kids exit the bounce house if they do not freeze upon the "red light" command. The last kid remaining wins the game.
Capture the Flag
Sticky notes serve as "flags" that teams try capturing in "Capture the Flag." Kids divide into four teams, with each team guarding a corner pillar of the bounce house (if only two teams play, they guard opposite pillars). An adult writes a team's designated color on a sticky note and sticks the flag on the pillar. Kids tuck a 1-foot streamer into their waistband and try guarding their own "flag" while trying to grab other teams' flags and streamers. Players exit the bounce house if members of an opposing team grab their streamer and pull it out. The team that captures the opposition's flag wins (or, in a four-team game, the team that captures the most flags wins).
Alternately, players may compete individually minus flags, protecting their streamers while trying to grab opponents' streamers. Kids exit the bounce house if an opposing player pulls their streamer. The last player remaining with his streamer intact wins the game.
Sequence Game
Kids must follow a sequence of safe, non-aerial flip actions or face eviction from the bounce house in "Sequence Game." After one kid performs an action, all kids repeat the action. The next kid then repeats the first kid's move, and performs his own action. All kids then perform the two moves together. The third kid performs the first two actions, then adds her own action, and so forth. All kids then perform all three actions. If players do not perform the actions in the correct order, they exit the bounce house. The last player remaining wins the game.
Simon Says
An adult leader commands players to perform actions in "Simon Says." Actions should fit the bounce house environment--for instance, bouncing on knees or rears, doing a split in the air or jumping as high as possible. Should the adult utter a command without "Simon Says" preceding it, and a player perform that action, that player exits the bounce house. Players also exit the game if they perform an action different from the command. The last player remaining wins the game.
Tumble Race
Kids show their somersaulting speed in "Tumble Race." After lining up on one side of the bounce house and hearing the command, kids somersault their way to the opposite side. Upon reaching the opposite side, kids touch the net or wall, lay down and roll back to the other side. The kid returning to the starting point first wins. Adults should ensure that kids perform somersaults on the bounce house's floor and not in the air.