Grade:

All

Setup:

Everyone in a circle

Everyone stands in a circle. Ask the group to repeat the words “Zip, Zap, Zop” three or four times, all together. Tell them you have a bolt of energy in your hands. To start the game, send the bolt out of your hands with a strong forward motion straight to someone else in the circle (using your hands, body, eyes, and voice) saying “Zip.” Be sure you make eye contact with the person you pass it to. They should receive it with their whole body and pass it immediately to someone else saying “Zap.” That person passes it on with a “Zop.” The game continues “Zip, Zap, Zop.” If there is a mistake, encourage students to simply resume playing without discussion. Challenge students to NOT make the game about them by using funny voices or taking a long time to choose the next person.

Video:

Overview:

Detective vs hand-shake enchanter

Setup

Intro Story for the AG to tell the group: A great celebration is being held in the kingdom with royalty from all over attending. However, one of the guests is not what they seem and is actually an Enchanter and is leaving a trail of sleeping royals in their wake. The royals will shake hands but if the Enchanter tickles your palm like this (example) you will shake one other person’s hand and then give a big yawn and fall asleep and sit down. Can the Detective catch the Enchanter before everyone is put to sleep? We will see!

(Note who shows interest in the game so that you can select them later)

1. Have players circle up and close their eyes.
2. Let the players know that you will choose the detective by lightly patting their head once and the Enchanter by lightly patting their head twice. (Then select)
3. Have everyone open their eyes. Request the Detective wave to the crowd so everyone know who they are then have them step slightly away from the circle
4. Invite the rest of the players to mingle and shake hands before the game begins.
5. Once a few handshakes have occurred, announce that the Enchanter can start putting people to sleep.
6. Invite the detective back into the group
7. Everyone will walk around shaking each other’s hands, but the Enchanter will lightly tickle the palm of their victims while shaking their hands.
8. When tickled, the victim will shake another person’s hand, then Yawn dramatically and sit down .
9. The detective tries to decipher who the Enchanter is.

NOTE: This game is more commonly known as Murder Shake/Handshake Murder and the kids may mention it being known as such and make comments that it is “babyish” in comparison. Please hold strong to this theming and remind them that at Adventures in Writing Camp, we write stories and there are many stories to tell! 🙂

Grade:

all

Setup:

line up campers evenly

1. Line teams up by grade
2. Counselors tell the first camper in each line a phrase.
3. Campers then race to whisper their phrase to one another down the line.
4. The first team to whisper their phrase to the front of the line wins.
5. Have each camper at the end of their line say their phrase out loud and then compare with the original.

Video:

Grade:

2-5

Setup:

Circle Game

Instructions:

1. Sit in a socially distant circle and pick one camper to be the Detective. That camper must leave the room or move away from the circle and turn their back/cover their ears so they can’t see or hear who is picked to be the Leader.
2. Pick one camper to be the Leader. The Leader starts actions that the group must copy, such as clapping, dancing, patting parts of the body, or jumping up and down.
3. Bring the Detective back to stand in the middle of the circle. The Leader discreetly switches to a new action when they’re ready. The Leader must try to switch the action without being noticed by the Detective. As the Leader switches actions and the circle copies them, the Detective has three guesses to identify the Leader.
4. If the Detective guesses right, they win the round. If they don’t, the group wins. Praise both sides’ efforts regardless!
5. Choose another Detective and Leader and start another round.

Video:

*Note in this video, the game is called Indian Chief. While it is the same gameplay and a great example, we have our roles called Detective and Leader to keep with the writing theme (mystery!)