Time to Move Spring 2013 Unit One: Playground games around the World : 3. Skip, Circle and Under the Arch. Hallo, Diane here, and welcome back to our exploration of playground games from all around the world...on the move! For our warm-up today, you re going to choose a fantasy-character or an action-figure, and make up some moves-on-the-spot, to suit that character. Could be a superhero or a robot,...a wizard or a witch,...a doctor or a pirate! Everybody find a space... It ll be a game of Who s Who?, so see how many parts of the body you can warm up (starting with your toes), to show what your character is like. Are you ready? Warm up their toes...now their feet and legs...don t forget the hands and arms...and the shoulders and head...and now the whole body! Wow! What a portrait gallery I wonder who s who? Your teacher could take a pause for a minute or two, to let everyone guess some of the different fantasy-characters now. Time to move on to some games in pairs, so find yourself a partner: All in pairs?...you re going to do actions together for an old-fashioned game often played in the Autumn, when the chestnut-trees drop their big, shiny seeds...and the game is called...conkers! So, you ll need to stand facing each other... Imagine that you ve each got a big conker-seed tied at the end of a piece of string, held in your hand... And you re going to take it in turns to perform exaggerated movements for swinging your conker, to knock the other one to smithereens! But you ll have to take aim very carefully each time, and don t forget some movements to show how it feels when your conker gets whacked... Ouch!!! See if you can both time your conker-swishing movements to fit the beats in this African music from Tanzania. So, conkers at the ready?...change your angle...really react to each other s moves. And stop! Last time, you explored movements for all sorts of ballgames. This time, you and your partner are going to devise a sequence for a teeny-tiny ball-game played with lots of little balls, usually made of glass...yes, you ll be doing actions for playing Marbles. So, instead of using your whole bodies, this marbles-game will focus on careful use of your hands and fingers to flick and roll the 1
imaginary marbles, almost as if they re doing a dance together! Hallo, Diane here, and welcome back to our exploration of playground games from all around the world...on the move! For our warm-up today, you re going to choose a fantasy-character or an action-figure, and make up some moves-on-the-spot, to suit that character. Could be a superhero or a robot,...a wizard or a witch,...a doctor or a pirate! Everybody find a space... It ll be a game of Who s Who?, so see how many parts of the body you can warm up (starting with your toes), to show what your character is like. Are you ready? Warm up their toes...now their feet and legs...don t forget the hands and arms...and the shoulders and head...and now the whole body! Wow! What a portrait gallery I wonder who s who? Your teacher could take a pause for a minute or two, to let everyone guess some of the different fantasy-characters now. Time to move on to some games in pairs, so find yourself a partner: All in pairs?...you re going to do actions together for an old-fashioned game often played in the Autumn, when the chestnut-trees drop their big, shiny seeds...and the game is called...conkers! So, you ll need to stand facing each other... Imagine that you ve each got a big conker-seed tied at the end of a piece of string, held in your hand... And you re going to take it in turns to perform exaggerated movements for swinging your conker, to knock the other one to smithereens! But you ll have to take aim very carefully each time, and don t forget some movements to show how it feels when your conker gets whacked... Ouch!!! See if you can both time your conker-swishing movements to fit the beats in this African music from Tanzania. So, conkers at the ready?...change your angle...really react to each other s moves. And stop! Last time, you explored movements for all sorts of ball-games. This time, you and your partner are going to devise a sequence for a teeny-tiny ball-game played with lots of little balls, usually made of glass...yes, you ll be doing actions for playing Marbles. So, instead of using your whole bodies, this marbles-game will focus on careful use of your hands and fingers to flick and roll the imaginary marbles, almost as if they re doing a dance together! You could roll marbles towards each other, add some bigger arm-actions, and so on. Take turns of just a few 2
seconds each, to keep everything on the move. Decide who ll be first...then hands and fingers at the ready... Off you go: roll...and flick...and roll... now try some bigger arm-actions... don t forget the little flicks... and roll again, marbles! And rest those hands...i wonder who won?...and now everyone up on your feet, ready for some... skipping. See if your pair can get together with another pair, to make a group of four or five: All around the world, children play skipping-games with the help of a rope, where two people stand still to swing the rope round and round, while the others dance in and out of the rope-swings, all keeping in rhythm together. So you ll need two people, standing still, a little way apart from each other, to swing that imaginary rope with their hands, round and round. Choose who s going to do that and where now -- The others will each dance some lively jumps, skips and hops in turn, going into the rope-space for about eight beats (that s a few seconds), then moving out and around the rope-swingers, for the next person (and going round again if there s time). Try to keep in time with the music, twisting and turning lightly as you go. Ready to give it a try? Off you go!... Lift those knees, skippers!...and point those toes! Well done, Time now to swap over, so that rope-swingers change to become dancers, and dancers change to become rope-swingers! Get organised in your groups for that now -- All know who s where? Then off we go again, Let s skip! Well skipped... That famous tune (about a dancer called Matilda) is from Australia, where there are lots of Skippers! But next, see if you can get the class into two big circles. Organise that now: All in two big circles?... Our exploration of playground-games, old and new, has taken us all around the world, from Britain, Europe and Russia, to North and South America, and to Africa and Australia. And now we ve an Asian tune from India, to help bring just a few of our playground-moves together, into a big ring-game, or circle-dance. So, to begin, hold hands in your circle, just gently...and let s all step around to the left for eight beats (your teacher will show you which way to move) 3
Ready? a- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8... Then let go hands...and stand still for eight beats of claps, taps and slaps on any parts of your body: it doesn t matter where (hands, heads, toes, knees or nose), as long as they fit THIS rhythm: So, let s try all that (starting with the circle-steps) to the notes of a tune from India. Hold hands first:...and then, a-1 2 3 4 5 6 7, stop and clap n tap!...and rest. OK, that routine will come four times in the circle-dance, and in-between there ll be some percussion-sounds, where I ll call out some actions and moves to perform as we go along. You ll need to listen out for all the changes (but don t worry, they re all familiar, easy movements from our various playground games). Are you ready to give it a try? All holding hands in your circles, ready to step left?...and it s: a-1 2 3 4 5 6 7, stop and clap n tap!... make spider-move ments (tickly and wiggly!)......and hop-on-the-spot......hold hands and STEP 2 3 4 5 6 7, stop and clap n tap... now do football-actions......and bounce that ball......hold hands and STEP 2 3 4 5 6 7, stop and clap n tap... and spin like a top......and do a wiggle-dance...... hold hands and STEP 2 3 4 5 6 7, stop and clap n tap... and end with a gentle shake-down. And rest... In a moment, you can try the whole of that again but this time I ll just say a word or two for the beginning of each action. So, when I say STEP you ll hold hands and circle left for 8 beats, when I say clap n tap, you ll stop to clap the special-rhythm, and so on. Get ready to try our Round the World Raga from India? Everyone holding hands in your circles, ready to step left?...ready and STEP... and clap n tap!... and spider-tickles......and hop...... and STEP... and clap n tap...now footballactions......and bounce a ball......and STEP...and clap n tap... and spin......and wiggle-dance...... and STEP...and clap n tap... and shake-down. and rest - Phew! Well, we ve certainly been right round the world and back again! For a final celebration-dance, we re going to Thread the Needle, by having each circle change into a thread of people-in-a-chain, to perform a 4
wiggly-dance going Under the Arch. So, to get ready, hold hands in your circles again...and your teacher will choose somewhere in each circle to make a break. Do that now - OK, whoever has a RIGHT hand free, hold it up in the air... You re going to be the thread, leading the way. And the last two people at the other end of the two lines, show everyone the hands you re still holding together, by lifting them up into an arch shape... that arch made by those hands is going to be the eye of the needle that the thread has to go through. You re all wiggle along steadily, in time with the rhythm of some African music, called Chum Chum Pah! See if you can step in time with that Chum Chum Pah rhythm each time it comes: Chum Chum Pah. Once everyone s through the needle, keep wiggling around the room in new pathways all threading through the spaces. ready to thread the needle?...off you go!...chum Chum Pah!......Chum Chum Pah! Chum Chum Pah!......Chum Chum Pah!......Chum Chum Pah! And rest... and everyone into pairs...to find a place to sit together, cross-legged on the floor. Playground games don t always have to be lively, sometimes it s good to be slow and still and thoughtful...so, to cool down, imagine that you re playing a game of chess or draughts with your partner...in turn, gently move the pieces from square to square in front of you... and relax... I hope you can keep having fun making your playtimes really creative!...from me Diane Louise Jordan, Bye for now! 5