The Levitan Website
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Blowing Balls
Minimum number = 4Divide the children into two teams and then divide each team in half. The two parts of each team now go to opposite ends of the room. Give each player a drinking straw, and one player from each team (at the same end of the room) a marble (or ping-pong ball). At the word GO they must steer their marble to the other group by blowing through the straw. When the marble reaches the other group, the next child takes over and blows it back… and so on until everyone has had a go, then they all sit down. The first to complete the relay is the winner.
Bring Me
Minimum number = 6
Before the children arrive, pairs of objects should be placed around the room, e.g. teaspoons, pens,
matching books. Make sure the pairs of items are placed such that when
fetched one team is not disadvantaged by having to go further to fetch
it, or that one item is better hidden than another. The leader should have made up a list of all these items
plus some that don’t need to be placed beforehand because they will be on the children anyway (e.g. shoes, hair).
Form into two teams at one end of the room and number them off. The leader then sits in a chair at the opposite end of the room and says a number followed by “Bring me…” the name of the item; e.g. “Number one, bring me a teaspoon”. The correct child must now locate the item and bring it to the leader. The first child to do so wins the point. Continue until each child has had the same number of goes (usually between 2 or 3 goes each is fine) – the team with the most wins is the winner.
Good bring me questions include another number (e.g. “Number one, bring me child number three”), a hair from their head, some fresh air (all they need to do is breathe on you), “Yourself, hopping backwards”, etc. As we play this in a church, we also use the hymn number cards, so "Number four, bring me the number 907" means the child must find the three number cards abd present them in the right order.
Cat and Dog
Minimum number = 10
Everyone except one child forms a circle leaving an arm’s length between each child. The one
left over is the cat and they start outside the circle.
At the leader’s signal the cat starts to run around the circle. They must touch one of the children’s shoulders: this child becomes the dog. The dog must now run after the cat,
who must continue to run the same way around the circle. The cat wins if she/he gets all the way round the circle to where the dog was.
If the dog catches the cat (by touching them) they win. If the cat has won, the dog becomes the cat for the next round. If the dog wins, she/he may return to their place
and the cat remains the same. Change the cat anyway after three tries.
