LINE-UP GAMES Name game: Kids stand in a circle, first child shouts their name and adds an action to it (claps hands, pats heads, jumps) the group has to repeat the child s name and action. Second child shouts their name and does a different action. Group has to repeat first child s name and action, then second child s name and action. Continue through entire circle. Name game: Going to the Picnic: Kids stand in a circle. Tell them we re all going to a picnic and we all have to bring something to eat. Each child says their name and what they are bringing. You can make it harder by requiring they choose an object that begins with the same letter as their name. ( we re going to outer space, we re going in a submarine - use your imagination) Making friends: Tell the kids they are going to try and read each other s minds. Practice making a food motion rub your belly and say yum. Practice making a fire-works motion throw your hands up and say bang bang bang bang. Practice making a stoked motion fist pump and say YES! (You can change the motions and sounds). Partner children up. Have them stand back to back. They stand very still and try to read their partners mind to figure out which move they are going to make. On your count they turn around and each makes the move and sound. Making friends: Whisper in each child s ear what kind of animal they are make sure that there are at least 2 children the same kind of each animal. Each child makes the sound of the animal they are. After they have all made their sounds, the children try to match up with the others who are the same animal as them. Allow the children to discuss what they will name their animal. (You can use this to keep organized later on in the lesson all the cats line up, now all the horses, now all the pigs ) Making friends: Separate kids into small groups (2-4) and give them a few minutes to have a conversation. Tell the groups that you want them to be able to tell the class 3 things they ALL really like and 3 things they ALL don t like. Being silly: With one hand make the thumbs up sign. With the other point your index finger out. At the exact same time, switch so the other thumb is up and the other finger is out. Harder than it sounds. Using imagination: Kids stand in a circle. Start game by saying Oh when I woke up this morning I.(had a gorilla sitting next to me). Next person has to top what first person said. You think that s strange? When I got in my truck this morning, my steering wheel grew wings and flew out the window, etc. Using imagination: Have the children create a story you act out. Involve your gear if possible. Help them get started. One day I was just walking around in the snow when.. Encourage the children to take up the story from there. Have you Ever: Line kids up facing you. Ask questions, every time the child can answer the question in the affirmative, they take a step forward. Every negative, a step backwards. Whoever gets to you first wins! (You don t have to make this a competition depends on age) Ex: Have you ever.rode a horse, Have you ever owned a dog & a cat at the same time
Would you rather: Have children stand on one side of imaginary line. Give them a choice between two options. Everyone who chooses option #1 stays, everyone who chooses option #2 moves to the other side of the line. Example: Would you rather be a bear or a wolf? OK! All the bears stay on this side, all the wolves move to the other side. Would you rather eat pizza or ice cream? OK! All the pizza eaters on this side, all the ice cream eaters on this side! Word game: Stand in a circle. Holding a snowball say a word and throw it to a child. Whatever pops into the child s head based on the word you said, they say and throw the ball to another child. (This game is probably going to be more successful with older kids/more outgoing kids).
LESSON GAMES Putting on gear: Snowboard The Tiger and the Snake: Show kids how to attach their foot to their snowboard binding. Tell them the ladder strap is the snake and the ratchet is the tiger. The snake goes in the tiger s mouth and the tiger chews him up! Let the kids practice and encourage them to think of new animals to use. Putting on gear: Ski Shark Skis: The binding toe piece is the smiling face. The heel is the shark. Their toe goes in the smiling face; and their heel in the shark s mouth. The locking mechanism on the heel is the sharks fin. Explain when the fin should be up, and when it should be down. Trigger Word Game: Linking trigger words to specific movements in static drills are a great tool. Once kids are moving, you can throw out a trigger word to remind child of desired movement. This is great for auditory learners. Clap your hands rhythmically and in a sing song voice say Concentration, Concen Concen tration: I say.. you do.. Example Concentration, Concen-Concen-tration: I say ready! you do the child drops into an athletic stance Concentration, Concen-Concen-tration: I say sit! you do the child moves weights into high backs and gently tips board onto heel edge Concentration, Concen-Concen-tration: I say:santa Clause! you do child pushes belly forward and drops knees to gently tip board to toe edge Balancing: The Hokey Pokey is a good game for balancing on one foot and then the other with gear on or off. Simon Says: After you ve practiced a series of moves, allow the children to be Simon, calling out their favorite move of the ones you ve taught them. Red light, Green light: Good game that kids are familiar with. Letting kids call out red light & green light to YOU as you demonstrate the stopping move is a good way to engage and hold their attention as you demonstrate moves. Box of crayons: Everybody is a crayon pick your favorite color. Instructor goes first, drawing their track in the snow. Each child follows the track, drawing their color over the first. This is a good variation on follow the leader that emphasizes following tracks in the snow rather than the vague follow me. Following tracks allows practice in specific turn shape, size and pace. Kick-ball: Place a small bean bag or snowball next to the outside of skis, near the tail. Try and kick the ball sideways with only the tail of the ski - moves legs into wedge position.
Story Time: making up a story is a great way to coach children through a series of movements. Examples: FLEX & EXTEND: (ski & snowboard) See that mountain over there? Well, there used to be an old trapper that lived in a cabin on that mountain. He was the tallest man in the whole state [stretch up TAAALLL] He had two pet beavers that loved to have their tails scratched [bend knees and get LOWWW to scratch the beavers]. MOVING FEET TO CORE : (ski) One day the beavers wanted the trapper to come see their new house they had built in the river. The river was surrounded by reaaalllly sticky mud. The man had to pull his legs up one at a time just to get through the mud. MOVING CORE TO FEET: (ski & snowboard) When the trapper got to the side of the river where the beaver had built their new house, he noticed a GIANT bear taking a drink. The grass around the river was high and he knew he could hide in it, so he dropped down fast to hide! (drop rear quickly and let feet come off ground in a small hop). He stood up but the bear was still there, so he dropped down again! Obstacle course: Space children at random. Choose two students and tell them to begin skating through the other children. They must not run into each other or any of the children standing still. Miss the train: Have a child skate directly toward you and you toward them. Tell them you are a train and when they hear the train whistle blow choo-choo they have to change directions to get off the train tracks Count your skates: Set up an object several feet away from the children. Let the children skate toward the object and count how many pushes/skates it takes to make it to the object.
CREATIVITY You don t have to invent a whole game to make learning fun. Simple use of imagery and imagination can engage a child and attract them to the learning process. Snowboard: To teach pressuring one foot or the other, use the image of a beaver slapping his tail on the water to warn strangers away. Bend back leg; straighten front and slap, slap, slap the water. Ski: To teach children to step skis independently, play cops and robbers, have one ski be the robber with the cop following it every time it makes a move. Snowboard: To teach tilting the board, pretend the snowboard is a door and there is a tiny mouse running from a giant cat. If the child will open his door by tilting the board, the mouse can run in, and then the child can close the door to hide the mouse from the cat. Spacing: For safety when skiing/riding in a line, have kids pretend they are the planet earth and the person who is in front of them is the sun. Remind them if they get too close to the sun they ll burn up but if they get too far behind they ll freeze!