This week, Sarah and I decided to play games with the kids that would get the more excited about the play. We did not want spend another session reading through the script and wanted to give them a break from sitting and quietly listening, waiting for their chance to read. The first game we played with them was one that allowed them to use their improvisation skills. We all stood in a circle and each person had to say one word to create a story. While the stories never made sense at all, the kids really liked this game and had to focus on what was said before them so that they could supply a word that a least made marginal sense. We played this game a few more times before moving onto one called “Grandma.” For this game, one person stood at one side of the room while the rest stood on the other side. Grandma had her back to the group and while she was facing away from them they had to try to sneak up to her before she turned around and they had to freeze on the spot. If they were caught moving, they had to go back to where they started. The last game we played with them was by far my favorite. It is called “Mr. Fox” and is very similar to the “Grandma” game. The group of kids had to ask Mr. Fox what time it was and when  they were given a time they had to take that many steps closer to Mr. Fox. When Mr. Fox said midnight he turned around and chased them back to the start, if they got tagged they were out. The kids had to ask Mr. Fox “Mr. Fox, Mr. Fox what time is it?” so Sarah and I told them different emotions that they had to ask the sentence in. For example, we used sad, happy, angry, depressed, distressed, sleepy, etc. We also had them say it in ways they thought the characters in the play would.

Both Sarah and I really liked this game because it was a great break from reading the scripts while still paying attention to the play. I absolutely loved seeing the smiles on their faces while they played this game and am looking forward to what we do with them next week!