Hobbies And Interests
Airplane
This game adds a twist to the classic game pin the tail on the donkey. A leader writes kids' names on cardboard airplane shapes and hangs a map on the wall, with a "runway" spot in the middle. As players converge on the side of the room opposite the map, the leader places nonbreakable obstacles on the floor, such as chairs, pillows and wastebaskets. Players study the runway and the obstacles' placement. The leader blindfolds each kid, distributes the airplanes and spins kids around once or twice before they start moving in the map's direction. One at a time, kids must avoid touching obstacles and try pinning their airplanes on the runway. Kids who touch an obstacle "crash" and exit the game; kids who pin their planes on "water" suffer a crash landing and also exit the game. The kid who pins her airplane on "land" closest to the runway wins the game.
Copy Cat
In a circle, one player starts this game by making a body movement. The next player repeats the move and adds a new movement. The third player copies the first two movements (in order), and adds another movement, and the fourth player duplicates the first three movements and adds another. Play continues in this manner, with players exiting the game if they perform movements out of order or they fail to repeat movements. The last kid remaining wins the game. Kids may use sounds and words in other variations of the game.
Dancing Games
When playing freeze dance, everyone must pick a dance spot, dance when the music starts and freeze once it stops. A leader starts and stops the music and watches players to ensure they instantly stop and hold their pose until the music starts again. If someone does not stop or moves before the music starts, he leaves the game. The last kid standing wins. Chain reaction tests players' observational skills. Two kids assume the roles of "it" (who leaves the room) and "dance teacher" (who stays), with everyone else spreading out. When the music starts, the teacher performs a dance move that everyone imitates. The it kid returns and tries guessing the teacher's identity. The teacher constantly changes moves while music plays, without making it obvious she's leading the others, while the kids only glance at the teacher, so they do not give her identity away. Once the it kid guesses the teacher, two other kids should assume the roles.
Telephone Charades
In this variation of charades, kids stand shoulder to shoulder and look to the right. Beginning at the left of the line, the first person taps the person next to him and whispers an action clue. That person then taps the next person and acts out the clue, without making a sound. Once the third person thinks she knows the action, she taps the next person and acts out the clue to him. Play continues in this manner until the last person in line guesses the action. If there's a large number of kids, they may divide into teams and compete to guess the correct action first.