Hobbies And Interests
Pin the Shell on Ariel
Pin the Shell on Ariel is the mermaid version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. It requires a large cutout of a mermaid with a necklace and a seashell shape hanging from the center of the necklace. The girls use identical seashell shapes with sticky-tack on the backs to play Pin the Shell on Ariel. Once a little mermaid takes her turn or pins her seashell in the correct spot, she may then make her own seashell necklace just like Ariel&'s.
Mermaid Song Tag
Mermaids are known for singing to people and gods to enchant them, so your little mermaids sing in this fun twist on tag. One girl will be "The Sailor" ("It"), and the rest of the girls will be the mermaids. The sailor wears a sailor hat, and the mermaids wear mermaid costume pieces. Blindfold the sailor and tell the mermaids to begin moving around and singing. (The mermaids may all sing the same song or each girl may sing her own; songs from "The Little Mermaid" are a good choice.) The sailor must then follow the mermaids&' voices and try to tag one. The tagged mermaid then becomes the sailor and wears the sailor hat. The girls should walk rather than run to avoid any slippery mermaid falls.
Treasure Hunt
Treasure Hunt requires a treasure chest and a little treasure bag for each participant. The treasure bags may include items such as play jewelry, seashells, chocolate coins and ocean-related candies. Place the treasure bags in the chest and fill up the rest of the chest with coins, seashells or jewelry. Hide the chest and use beach-related objects, such as flip-flops and goggles, as clues in the treasure hunt. Your little mermaids will have a blast hunting for the treasure, and when they find it they can dress up in their found jewelry and enjoy their candy treasure.
Feed Flounder
This game requires a large cutout of a fish with a big open mouth. The girls will take turns trying to throw play jewelry into the fish&'s mouth. Each time a little mermaid throws her jewelry into the mouth, she gets to wear that piece of jewelry. Whoever is wearing the most jewelry by the end of the game is the mermaid princess and wears a crown for the next game.
Mermaid Crown Race
Create a mermaid tail for each child using heavy-duty drawstring garbage bags. You could have the girls decorate their tails beforehand with plastic jewels, glitter and paint. Have each girl step into a garbage bag and secure it around her waist with duct tape. Apply another strip of duct tape around her knees to create the mermaid fin look. Once each girl has a tail, the mermaids lie on their bellies on one side of the room or yard. On the other side, place a plastic crown for each girl. Then the girls squirm and wiggle their way across to the crowns, put their crowns on, and race back.
Fins and Feet Freeze Tag
In this mermaid-appropriate twist on freeze tag, one girl will be "It" and will chase the other girls. When one of the girls is tagged, she must sit on the ground, cross her legs at the ankle and pull a pillow case over her feet and shins because she is now a mermaid with a fin. Another girl who is not "It" must then come by and tag the mermaid, thus giving her back her human feet so she can rejoin the game. The girls should take turns being "It."