Cooperative Games
for Children
These games invite children to move, imagine, and collaborate. Every round strengthens their sense of belonging, helping them grow into kind, capable, and connected learners.
No Elimination Simon Says
This game works well for groups of 10-20 people. Divide the large group into two teams. Both teams play Simon Says independently so there are two games running in parallel. It’s fun for the two teams to be just a short distance away from one another–close enough so that members can keep an eye on the other team’s game.
You probably remember the rules of traditional Simon Says: a caller says “Simon says: Put your hands on your head” etc. and players oblige. When the player sneaks in a command without prefacing it with “Simon Says”, players are supposed to stand still. Those who follow the command are eliminated from the game. The last person left in wins.
The difference between No-Elimination Simon says game and the traditional versions is that a player isn’t out of the game if she does what the caller says to do in without saying “Simon says” first. He or she merely goes to the other team and plays the game with them.
Suzanne’s Note: This is a much more inclusive and jolly version of Simon Says than the classic version. I found this game in Terry Orlick’s excellent book “Cooperative Games and Sports.” For an extra level of cooperation, do what the players at a democratic ed conference in Portland showed me: Players take turns being the caller.
Sardines
This game is a cooperative version of Hide and Seek. Kids can play it indoors or out. The player who is “It” hides first. Then everyone tries to find “It”. When a player finds “It” he or she stays in the hiding spot with them. The game is over when everyone huddles together in the hiding spot—like sardines.
Musical Memory Builder
This game is a cumulative memory game, similar to “Grandmother’s Trunk.” The basic idea is that players assemble in a circle then each person adds a bit of information. All the accumulated information must be repeated at each player’s turn. The game can get challenging if there are lots of players and therefore much info to remember. To make it cooperative, the group quickly helps any player who gets stuck.
In Musical Memory Builder, each player makes a musical sound when it’s his turn. The game is over when everyone in the circle has had a chance to add a musical sound and the entire group repeats the string of musical sounds as a grand finale. All together, the slaps, whistles, claps, etc. will make an improv musical phrase!
Suzanne’s notes: This game format is adaptable to just about any subject where students need to memorize material. For example, play “Solar System Memory Builder”; “Presidents Memory Builder”; River- in-Our-Watershed-Memory Builder”; “Exciting-Adjectives-Likely-to-Appear-on-the-SAT Memory Builder”; and so on-You get the idea!
Please, Please Smile
There are a couple versions of this game. In one version, a child sits in a parent’s lap. The child says to the parent “I love you but will you please, please smile?” The parent responds, “I love you, but I just can’t smile!” The game is over when either player smiles, smirks, or snickers.
In another version of Please, Please Smile! a group sits in a circle. A volunteer picks a seated player, leans down and stares face-to-face saying: “Darling, I love you and I want you to please, please smile.” The recipient tries to stonewall, saying “Darling, I love you, but I just can’t smile.” If the recipient smiles, he trades places with the volunteer. If the volunteer smiles first, he chooses another player and repeats.
Suzanne’s notes: I love this game! It’s a great way to snuggle and giggle with your child. I played it with my daughter when she was 12. We had a sweet and silly time 🙂
Giant Animals
This game is good for young kids. No materials are required. Children play together to turn their bodies into different parts of a giant animal. To begin, the children can suggest a specific animal or “giant” and propose its body parts. Each child selects a different body part to be. Children team up to make a total giant animal. Once they have their animal assembled, they can try to get it moving—rolling over, jumping, stretching, wagging its tail, etc. If you have a big class with lots of animals, you can make a GIANT animal zoo.
This game is adapted from Terry Orlick, “Cooperative Games and Sports.” Thank you for your work, Dr. Orlick!
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