Keep Playing Week 9
Game of the Week: Night at the Museum
This week, Playworks is featuring a challenge to help students better control their actions. This game is fun, active, and imaginative!
Skill Focus:
Impulse control – The ability to control your response to things that happen; controlling your behavior to respond in a way that is positive towards yourself and others.
Play In-Person
Play Virtually
Simplified Game Instructions
# of people to play: 2+
Best for ages: 5+
Setup/Teaching Time: 1-2 minutes
Equipment needed: None
Goal: don’t let the custodian catch you moving when they turn around!
How to Play:
- The facilitator will select one player to be the custodian.
- All other players are statues, and they can’t let the custodian catch them moving.
- The custodian closes their eyes or turns around and gives the statues 10 seconds to move around the room and freeze in a statue pose.
- It is important that the custodian counts loudly so everyone can hear!
- When the custodian opens their eyes again, everyone must freeze and be still like a statue.
- Blinking, breathing, and sneezing do not count as “moving.”
- If the custodian sees a player move, they will respectfully call out their name and that player will do 5 jumping jacks (or do another predetermined task) to get back into the next round.
- Players can move if the custodian’s eyes are open and their back is turned to them. However, if the custodian turns around and catches them, they will also need to do 5 jumping jacks!
- NOTE: Being caught moving can cause lots of feelings to happen, including stress and disappointment. Before you begin playing, have the players brainstorm ways they can manage these feelings and still participate positively during the game.
- Deep breaths
- Taking a break to reset
- After playing for a few rounds, restart the game with a new player as the new custodian.
Game Debrief
- How did you control your disappointment/stress when you were caught moving?
- Who in this game was positively impacted when you were able to be in control of your body and actions?
- How else can you show self-control at home or school?
Game Modifications
Academic Applications
- When the Janitor catches a statue moving, have the statue complete a flashcard question to return to the game.
- Use different themes for Museums. For example, if you are in a “Dance Museum,” players try to dance behind the Janitor’s back and freeze in dance poses. You can also try academic themes, such as Space, History, Dinosaur, Animal/Natural History, Art, or Science.
Challenge Ideas
- For older students, this game can be combined with other games, such as silent ball, for an added challenge.
Modifications for Physical Abilities
- Play the game with all students sitting and ask students to pose or ask that students move in a specific inclusive way.
Brain Break: Next on the List
Before You Start
- Make sure all players have space to stand up and move/dance..
- Next on the list is a group/individual chant and you will need to walk your students through each step.
- Become familiar with the group part of the chant so that you can teach your students. The group line of the chant goes like this: “P-O-W-E-R-we’ve-got-the-pow–er-cause…we are the super-stars.”
How to Play
- The goal of the game is to connect with your group and have fun.
- Everyone says the group chant together: “P….O-W-E-R-we’ve-got-the-pow–er-cause…we are the super-stars.”
- After the chant, one person stands up, steps forward or is highlighted and says,
- Player 1 – “My name is _____”
- Whole Group says, “Yeah!”
- Player 1 – “And I’m next on the list,
- I get a reputation ’cause I do it like this (does a dance or movement)
- Once Player 1 shows their move, the rest of the group copies the move and says,
- “Cause they do it like this
- They do it like this
- They got a reputation ’cause they do it like this.”
- After saying the final line, everyone repeats the group chant again and a new person is highlighted to show off their dance moves.
Additional Resources
Sample School Community Announcement
For the month of November we are focusing on the theme of self management. Self management allows us to make intentional decisions regarding impulses, emotions, physical actions.
One of the key determining factors of self management is the ability to control your impulses. Impulse control means you are pausing before reacting – making sure you are delivering actions that are appropriate. Playing Night at the Museum provides an opportunity for players to practice a pause, think, then act approach, while leaders have the opportunity to facilitate proactive conversations before the game on how to direct feelings and emotions as they pop up.
Teach students to play in class, and then empower them to lead the game and teach others!
Core Recess Game
In addition to our Keep Playing Game of the Week, we’re sharing bi-weekly Core Recess Games that will help kids be active, practice leadership, maximize recess time, and have fun.
This week, play BANDAGE TAG!
Return to the Keep Playing Homepage for archives of past weeks and other helpful resources.