The Villager... a newsletter of Acorn Village Forest School |
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Issue #5 April 27,2020 Game Edition |
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Oh goodness! I miss you all so much. The other day, my children and I were feeling very stressed and we needed a realease. I pulled out a game from my bag of tricks that required us to chase each other through the house. A good thirty minutes of laughing erupted and the day went much better after that. This is our Game Edition of the newsletter, not quite the same as the swimsuit edition of some popular publicaitons, but hopefully more fun. We play all these games at Acorn Village, but some are more complicated than others. Hopefully there are some the younger children can enjoy as well. With all of our children, we do not play competitive games just yet so all of these games tend to go until you are all played out. |
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Knock-a-rock contributed by Teacher Michelle How to play: Each person searches for a rock to balance on the backside of his or her own hand (palm is faced down to the ground). Each person tries to keep his or her own rock balanced while simultaneously trying to knock off other people’s rocks from their hands. If a rock is knocked, simply pick it up and keep on playing! |
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Hit The Pot! contributed by Teacher Phillip One Person is blindfolded and gets a wooden spoon. Now the others are hiding a pot in an area, which was agreed on beforehand with everybody. The pot is upside down with a piece of candy, or a fairy or whatever kind of treasure underneath it. Now the blindfolded person searches for the pot with the help of the wooden spoon crawling on arms and legs. It is much fun to hit all kind of stuff with that wooden spoon. Meanwhile the others can give hints of the direction: Going to the direction of the pot means warm, warmer, hot … away from the pot is colder, colder, freezing cold … The pot is found when the searching person hits the pot with the wooden spoon. Bang! Then another person can be blindfolded and be the searcher and the pot is hidden somewhere else. Important safety advice: Do not go blindfolded alone, crawl and have others around to guide you. |
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What Time Is It Mr Fox? contributed by Teacher Sarah This game is sort of similar to "red light, green light". Set up by choosing someone to be Mr Fox. Once chosen, Mr Fox stands 20+ feet away with his back facing the child(ren). The child(ren) stay behind a designated starting point (like a line drawn in the sand or maybe a line of pillows on the floor). To begin, the child(ren) say "What time is it Mr Fox?" and Mr Fox answers with a time like, "2 o'clock!" The child(ren) will take two steps toward Mr Fox and then freeze. This is repeated several times, each with a different time given. The number designates how many steps the child(ren) should take. When the child(ren) are close and ask "What time is it Mr Fox?" Mr Fox says, "Lunch time!" and spins around to chase the child(ren) back toward the starting point. If the child(ren) gets back to the starting point without being caught, they are safe. If Mr Fox catches them, they become his lunch and also the new Mr. Fox! It's not at all important if the kids take the right amount of steps. It's more about the anticipation and the chase! Take turns and let your child be Mr Fox too. Have fun! |
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Jokes, Riddles and Tongue Twisters Contributed by Teacher Brenda What did the big flower say to the little flower? “Hi, Bud!” What do you call a funny mountain? Hill-arious How much ground would a groundhog hog, If a groundhog could hog ground? A groundhog would hog all the ground he could hog If a groundhog could hog ground. If a father, mother, and their children weren’t under an umbrella, why didn’t they get wet? It wasn’t raining. |
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Knock Knock, Whos there Iguana, Iguana Who? Iguana hold your hand Knock Knock, Whos there? Egg! Egg-who Egg-cited to see you! Knock Knock, Whos there Lettuce! Lettuce WHo? Lettuce in, its cold out here! |
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Bello Bello, Where's your bone? contributed by Teacher Tracy This is a great game for the youngest in our school. Grab a stick to be your "bone". Your family or class of chilren, sit in a circle. One person is chosen to be Bello (the dog). Bello closes his eyes and one person grabs the bone and hides it behind their back. All the rest of the participants put their hands behind their back as well. When the stick is hidden, you call out together, "Bello, Bello, where's your bone?" The dog goes from person to person sniffing and if she thinks someone has the bone, she barks. That person must reveal what if any bone is behind the back. Dog keeps going until he guesses correctly, then the one with bone becomes Bello! |
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LIZARD TAG contributed by Teacher Juliette Supplies: bandana or dish towel for each player to become a tail Start by creating a boundary line large enough for running around (and with some shade and sun is best), either with rope or simply walking a line to show the children where the playing area is. Each player gets a bandana and they tuck it into their pants or a back pocket to become a tail. {You can ask the children if they have ever caught a lizard. Is it easier to do on a warm and sunny or cold and cloudy days? What can happen to the tail if you are not careful? What does happen to the tail? What happens to a lizard that lost its tail but got away?} With the boundary set and the tails in place, one (or two) players will be “it”, the animal that eats lizards (a cat? a hawk?). The players who are “it” run to try to pull the tails off the lizards. When a tail is pulled, it drops to the ground and the lizard gets away. But, a lizard can regrow its tail, so if a lizard lost its tail they have to run around and find another tail on the groun (they can’t pick up the same tail) and tuck it back in and continue playing. Once this part is mastered, add-ons can include: If the lizard runs through a patch of shade, they slow down. If they are running in the sun, they can move very fast. If a lizard gets tired, they can sit down for a couple of minutes. In this game, there is no clear “winner”; it is just a game of fun and learning about lizards. Often several children want to be it at the same time which adds to the fun. The game ends when the children lose interest or are tired. This is great fun to play as a family! Be sure to drink plenty of water and have the children drink plenty of water after all that running! |
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Moment of Zen contributed by Teacher Juliette |
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Heartbeat of a tree From Sharing Nature with Children, by Joseph Cornell Supplies needed: one stethoscope A tree is a living creature . It eats, rests, breathes and circulates its
“blood” much as we do. The heartbeat of a tree is a wonderful crackling,
gurgling flow of life. The best time to hear the forest heartbeat is in the
early spring, when the trees send first surges of sap upward to their
branches, preparing them for another season of growth.
Choose a tree that is at least six inches in diameter and has thin bark.
Deciduous trees are generally better for listening to than conifers, and
certain individuals of species may have a louder heartbeat than others.
Press a stethoscope firmly against the tree, keeping it motionless so as
not to make interfering noises. You may have to try several places on the tree trunk before you find a good listening spot.
Children will want to hear their own heartbeat. Listen also to the
heartbeat of mammals and birds ~ the variety in sounds and rhythms is fascinating. |
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