In December, I wrote a post detailing some of the party games I play on the last day of school with my class. I thought I’d re-post it below for my northern hemisphere friends who are finishing school and are ready for Summer now. I can’t wait to feel the Summer heat again… boy has it been cold in Brisbane the last week!
parties? I do and there’s a couple of games that I love to play each
year and you only need a few simple materials:
- balloons
- table tennis balls
- straws
- plastic plate, knife and fork
- dice
- bar of chocolate
- prizes for the winners!
All of these games I
learned from another teacher so you may have seen them before. I play
these games during our end-of-year party so the desks are moved to the
side the room leaving a nice big (safe) playing space.
The
first game is an oldie but a goodie and you only need balloons. Throw
one up in the air and the kids have to try and stop it touching the
floor. For an added challenge, throw in more ballons or they can only
touch the balloon with a certain body part (e.g. elbows). Split the
class in groups and see how long each group can keep it up for and the
winning group receives a prize (Freddo frogs or other small
chocolates/lollies are always favourites at the end of the year). This
game can easily go for a few rounds!
Another
game I tried out last year was table tennis ball races! I split the
class into groups and stuck down masking tape for the start and end
lines. Each group took their turn to line up (most on their hands and
knees!) with a straw and a table tennis ball. On go, they have to blow
through the straw to push the ball past the finish line. They found
this a real challenge, it’s not as easy as it sounds! You could also use
balloons from the previous activity instead of the table tennis balls.
Of course, the winner of each race has to receive a little prize! We
played a few rounds of this – they got better at blowing through the
straws each time!
The final game is my fav
by far! A chocolate eating competition! All you need is a yummy bar of
chocolate, a plastic plate/knife/fork and 2 dice (forgot to take a photo
of them!). Everyone sits in a circle with the chocolate on the plate
with the knife and fork in the middle. Your kiddies take turns rolling
the dice and if they roll a double they get to scoot into the middle and
use the knife and fork to start cutting out a square of chocolate. Once
they cut one out, they put down the knife and fork and pick up the
square with their hands and eat it! Once they finish eating, they can
start cutting again and eat as much chocolate as they can before someone
else rolls a double. Once someone else rolls a double, they have to put
down the knife and fork immediately and go back to their spot so the
next person can start.
The kids LOVED this game
last year! They didn’t even get annoyed when they started to go in the
middle and someone rolled a double straight away or if they *just*
finished cutting out a piece and before they could pick it up someone
rolled a double! It was all just so much fun they didn’t mind at all!
Also,
these bubble wands are WONDERFUL!! I give them to the kids for their
Christmas/end-of-year gift and take them out in the morning before it
gets too hot. Seriously, they can play outside for an hour and complain
when it’s time to come inside!
9 Responses
FUN!!! I have to try the chocolate eating contest-could also incorporate fractions!
These are great games Kylie, I played the chocolate game yesterday with my kiddos on my last day at my school. I will file the balloon one away for next time, thanks.
Tania
Mrs Poultney’s Ponderings
Hi Kylie,
It’s been super cold on the Sunshine Coast too!! Not sure what happened to Autumn?
Love those giant bubble wands – I use them at school and have never thought of giving them as part of an end of year gift, what a great idea. 🙂
Lauren
Love, Laughter and Learning in Prep!
Loooveee it!
I remember playing the chocolate game at my Birthday Parties as a kid but we had to put on a scarf, beanie and gloves then try to cut the chocolate! Made it MUCHHH more difficult and sometimes you never even had time to try and cut the chocolate before your turn was over! 🙁
Liz – BaysideMathTeacher
You sure could, but I don’t know about your class, but mine weren’t really into doing math on the last day of school! It could easily be done during the year though.
I hope it all went well Tania! I’m sure there were lots of tears. Let us know how the move down to Tassie went!
I know! It has been freezing! I think we’re in for a very cold Winter.
The kids LOVE the bubble wands and it keeps them occupied while I’m organising all the food they brought in for morning tea!
That’s a great idea Liz! Would be a great way to play the game with older kids – the younger ones just have trouble cutting the chocolate with a knife and fork to begin with! Of course, it doesn’t help that the chocolate has been in the fridge and is hard – but otherwise, in the Summer heat, it would just be a gooey mess!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Yours is TOO cute! Chocolate eating contest…my kids know I would win that for sure! For our end of year party, we have a “water day” since it is SO hot in Texas in June.
Lindsay
For the Love of First Grade