Shake up how the children in your care learn new words, follow instructions, do math, and communicate by playing a twist on Simon Says that focuses on developing children’s ideas about position, time, size, numbers, characteristics, and patterns.
Prep It
Nothing is needed for this game- just some space for everyone to move around!
Play It
Standing somewhere where all children can understand your directions, follow the prompts below to get started, then change them up to make the game even more fun! The prompts are organized by what idea they inspire children to think deeply about, but feel free to go out of order.
Begin by saying: “Simon says…” and say one of the following commands. If you do not say “Simon says” before the command, the children should not do the action!
Give a big (large) wave to our neighbors
Walk in a small (little) circle
Point at the short table
Sit on the long couch
Put your chin up
Put your right foot behind your left foot
Put your elbow in front of your tummy
Put your hand next to your ear
Put your finger under your eye
Pretend to throw a football to someone who is far away
Pretend to toss a baseball to someone who is very near
Put your hands apart
Put your feet together
First hop on your right foot, then hop on your left foot
After you blink three times, stick out your tongue
Before you touch your shoulder, touch your nose
Hold up more fingers than I hold up
Hold up less than five fingers
Show me all your fingers
Show me none of your fingers
Do between 5 and 7 jumping jacks
Show me what it looks like when you’ve eaten something that was too hot
Pretend you’ve been out in the cold too long
Pretend to be asleep next to the shelf
Pretend to be a baby awake during nap time
Find something in the room that is old
Point at something that is new
Open your mouth as wide as you can
Close your eyes
Pretend to be a noisy animal
Tip toe quietly
Pretend to carry a full bucket of water
Put an empty cup on your head
Do the same pose as me
Do a different dance than me
Skip in a zip-zag line
Walk backwards in a straight line
Crab-walk in a wavy line
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