Games: In-Class Fitness Activity: Non-Elimination Musical Chairs
If you need an activity on a rainy day and are stuck inside your classroom, try Non-Elimination Musical Chairs. It provides physical activity in a limited amount of space.
Setup
Set up a line of hula-hoops at the front of your classroom, or move some desks and place the hoops in a circle.
How to Play
The game is played the same like regular musical chairs: the music plays and students walk in single file around the hoops. When the music stops, they must all put a foot inside one of the hoops. Then one hoop is taken away and the music begins again.
And here's where the game differs from the traditional version. More than one student can use a hoop. So as hoops are removed, students aren't eliminated but more are forced to share the hoops that remain.
A great advantage to this variation is that you don't need to start the game with a hoop for every student. So you can play it with large classes.
Options
To make the game even more cooperative, you could have students stand completely inside the hoops when the music stops, forcing them to squeeze together.
Reference: "Non-Elimination Musical Chairs." Guy Bailey, "The Ultimate Playground and Recess Game Book. Educators Press, 2001. 5333 NW Jackson St. Camas, WA, 98607 360-834-3049.
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