Unfreeze a Friend

  1. Readiness Games

  • Any Size

  • Grades 1-2

  • Bean Bags

  • Less Than 10 minutes

Development Goal

To practice helping others.

Skills Practiced: Balance and movement.

Before You Start

  • Have the whole group stand in a circle.
  • Announce the boundaries and any safety issues.
  • Demonstrate how to balance a bean bag on one’s head.
  • Provide everyone with a bean bag and a chance to practice balancing on her or his head.

Set Up

You will need one bean bag for every player and a open space for everyone to move.

How to Play

  • Everyone must balance a bean bag on her or his head.
  • The game begins with the leader announcing a movement, such as walk, hop or skip.
  • Everyone must move around the space doing the indicated movement while still balancing the bean bag on his or her head.
  • If a player’s bean bag falls from her or his head, the player must let it drop to the ground and freeze their body.
  • Other players may pick up bean bags and hand them to the frozen players in order for them to return to the game.

Variations

  • Pre K-2nd students: Allow them to pick up their own bean bags in order to return to the game or allow unfrozen players to pick up the frozen players’€™ bean bags while holding their own.