Favorite Games For Different Grade Levels

Submitted by Laura McDonald, Indiana

Idea posted January 8, 2003

K-2

(This has MANY variations; check the MusicK8.com Mailing List Archives and pick one.)

K-1

All stand in a circle, raise arms to make "windows." Two Bluebirds fly in and out of the circle until, "Oh, Johnny, aren't you tired?" Then they are trapped in or out to "Choose another friend and tap them on the shoulder" verse.

2-4

Sit in circle. Detective leaves room. Choose one frog. All others are flies and buzz on different or same note. Detective returns and has three guesses to discover frog. Frog kills flies one at a time by getting eye contact and quickly sticking out tongue. (FAVORITE part!) Frog becomes detective.

3-4

An oldie from Girl Scout camp days... Sit in circle, left hands "glued" on left knee. Right hands move to the beat from own left to right neighbor's left. "It" sits in middle, closes eyes while "dollar" is started around the circle. At the end of first singing of song, "it" tries to guess who has the dollar. Play continues uninterrupted until guess is correct. "It" takes the place of player caught with object and caught person becomes "It."

These can be done simply by singing the songs and alternating sitting and standing: Bonnie - alternate every time a B word is sung. Duke - alternate on Up and Down. Start s-l-o-w motion and speed up.