<<< playmeo Launched >>>
Hey folks,
I’m excited to announce that my NEW online resource for play & adventure- based activities is now LIVE…
Sign up for a FREE account, or SUBSCRIBE to get access to all the new premium content – video tutorials, leadership tips, illustrations, variations, framing ideas, etc, etc.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT playmeo…
Very soon, all of the traffic from this site will be directed to playmeo, so bookmark it now. More than 135 activities have already been loaded, and dozens more are coming soon.
Be sure to add some feedback (look for the smiley face on LHS of page). This is just Version 1.0… so stay tuned, because so much more is yet to come….
Have FUNN,
Mark
Gotcha
… another sneak peek at the content that is NOW available featuring 100′s of play & adventure-based activities at playmeo.com…
At A Glance
Standing in a circle with their index fingers pointing downward into their partners’ open palms, everyone tries to catch the juxtapositioned finger at the same time.
Benefits
- Extremely fun
- Triggers raptures of laughter
- Tons of variations
- Sharpens reflexes
- Any size group
Time: 5 – 10
People: 2+
What To Do – Step by Step
- Form a circle, including yourself, facing inwards and standing side by side.
- Ask everyone to hold our their right hand palm-facing up towards their right-hand side neighbour.
- Ask everyone to place the end of their left pointer finger into the open palm of their left-hand neighbour.
- On “GO,” everyone attempts to catch the finger of their partner in their right palm while also avoiding their finger being caught by their left-hand neighbour.
- A person who successfully catches a finger in their palm yells “GOTCHA!”
- Repeat several times, or try one of many variations.
What To Do – Narrative
Ask your group to form a circle, including yourself, facing inwards and standing side by side.
By way of demonstration, hold your right hand out to your right hand side (about shoulder height) with your palm flat and facing upwards, extend the index finger of your left hand, and place it into the flat and open palm of the person on your left.
Look around, and your group should be inextricably linked. Next, explain that on the command “GO” – which, incidentally, works pretty well to start a game – everyone should attempt to catch the finger of the person on their right, that which is pointing downward, touching the centre of their palm, while at the same time, avoid being caught by the person on their left.
Of course, jocularity prevails in one instantaneous trigger of energy – it’s my favourite part, and never fails to produce plenty of excitement and laughter. Ask people to shout out “GOTCHA!” when they happen to catch their neighbour’s finger.
Now, you could try to move on, but I doubt you will want to. Not only will your group want to do it over and over again, but there are oodles of variations to try (see below).
My biggest Gotcha group? Two-hundred and fifty! Spectacular.
Practical Leadership Tips
There are ample moments of humour here. Observe the way in which the palms of some people that started out as flat are slowly curling with each round. Or the proclivity of folks to not want to touch their finger tip on their neighbour’s palm, lest they get caught!! It’s all so funny.
Activity Variations
- Try this again several times, switching palms from the right to the left (to benefit our left-brained friends), ie the left palm is facing upwards, and a right index finger is extended.
- Cross your arms as you play, ie extend the right palm in front of your chest to point toward the person on your left, and place your left index finger into the waiting palm on your right.
- Try all variations with your palms upside-down, and index fingers pointing up.
- Regular set-up, but this time each person attempts to catch the finger sitting in their right palm with their left hand. Try it. Hilarious.
- Original set-up, add a further challenge. Instruct people to place their right foot directly above, but not touching the left toes of their right-hand side partner. On “GO,” you try to tag the foot of your partner, whilst trying to avoid being tagged and performing the usual finger and palm routine.
- Everything above, but groups of only two or three or whatever.
Useful Framing Ideas
I’d like you to imagine that when it comes to lunch, we will all be seated in a five-star restaurant, and served from silver trays and cloches. Hold out your right hand as if you are holding a tray of your most favourite, gourmet lunch you can think of. Hmmm mmmm, my tray is vegetable lasagne. What’s yours? Now, move your tray in the direction of the person on your right-hand side so that they can see your lunch. At the same time, I’d like you to extend your left pointer finger and place it into the tray of the person on your left…
To be successful, it is critical that any group is connected in some way to one another. The connections need not be physical or indeed, visual, but there will always be some form of connectedness between a group of people that fuels their success. On many occasions, the link will be as simple as their shared values. What are the most important values of this group?
… extracted from playmeo.com – the world’s leading source of online content for play & adventure-based learning activities.
.
Exercise As Brain Food
In the past 12 months there has been a growing mountain of research that has generated a lot of excitement in PE and adventure-based learning circles which speaks to the CRITICAL VALUE of integrating play and exercise in our lives, every day! Especially for kids.
Click the image at right to read this short article.
As John Ratey says in his book ‘Spark,‘ exercise and play are as essential to human development and health as sleep and nutrition. I highly recommend reading his book for more details.
So… how often did you exercise / move your body today? That’s what it’s designed for.
Taking Play Seriously
Hi folks, I was sitting in a plane on Monday heading to Boston (to celebrate Project Adventure’s 40th anniversary this weekend), and read with interest the following newspaper articles from The Age (10/10/11):
- Exercise Linked To Higher Test Scores - in short, the more your students move and play, the more they learn in ALL areas of their education.
- Let The Children Play – New National Guidelines Advise - finally, official recognition that play makes a powerful difference to the quality of kid’s learning.
And, then today, Don MacDowall passed on a note regarding next week’s forum ‘Taking Play Seriously’ which, sadly, I can’t get to but figured some of you (in VIC) would be interested. Here’s the details (click here for pdf):
Taking Play Seriously forum: encouraging debate on risk and active recreation to assist in identifying the next steps for strategy and policy. Includes international keynote speaker Tim Gill, one of the UK’s leading thinkers on childhood and advocate for change.
Wednesday 19 October 2011, 2:00pm to 4.30pm
State Library, Village Roadshow Theatrette, Entry 3, 179 La Trobe Street, Melbourne
RSVP By Wednesday 12 October to rsvp@vichealth.vic.gov.au or call 0408 147 914
Enjoy!
End Of Year Wisdom
I received a wonderful ‘end-of-year’ letter from Adam Clark – one of my early Project Adventure buddies who now lives in Japan, and inspires me no end - and I was struck by this little gem he added – I figured you’d like it too:
LIFE IS LIKE A GAME,
SO REMEMBER TO PLAY
So true.
Have you played today?
Happy holidays everyone, and thanks for all of your support during the year.
Have FUNN, Mark
What Is Play?
Hey, I’ve been thinking, and sharing and doing some more thinking about this lately…
… just what is the true essence of PLAY?
I’ve come to the conclusion that play is not an activity (which is where most people’s minds go when they think of the word), rather … I’m beginning to view it is a state of mind.
When you “play” – truly play – you can not pretend. You are who are, and you behave and react and simply “be” who you truly are.
So, when I invite my group “to play” at the start of a program, I’m inviting them to consider what they will bring to the activity, the session, the program. And what they bring will make all the difference.
If they choose to play, then I can expect an extraordinary result because the group will be free of any pretense and will be prepared to deal with the “what is” and get to work on what they want to achieve together. Rather than deal with the crap most individuals carry with them into a group experience.
To me, play is not a game, it’s a state of mind, a place to “be.”
What do you think?
If you have a thought to share about play, click this link to leave a comment here. I’m all ears…
-
Who am I?
Hi, I'm Mark Collard.
This blog shares some of the most successful group games, team-building activities & programming tips I know.
--| FREE ACTIVITY eBOOK |--
Enter your name and email address in the form below to receive a FREE 30 page ebook which features ten of the BEST ice-breakers & group games I know!
Share: Tell others about this site...
@markcollard