1. Fruit Salad (the Ladders version)The leaders may be terrified each and every time, but the girls love it! They know it by fruit salad (though we have like 7 other versions of it too), but rarley use fruit as names, but usually choose a theme related to what they are doing at the meeting. Brownies especially love this

2. CrocodileThis one is like @Sandra100's "catch me"- Girls sing rhyme "Crocodile, crocodile, can we cross the river? If not, why not, whats your favourite colour?" The crocodile chooses a colour and anyone wearing the colour gets a free pass to the other side of the river/chasing space. Often colours don't last long as we are in uniform and only have so many choices, so they will pick out other things like wearing trainers not sandals, in high school, likes chocolate etc.

3. Sneak up on the Giant (i <3 this too)Especially for little ones, this is a favourite which isn't energising or too boring/still and is quite quiet. Similar set up to what's-the-time-mr-wolf - One person is the Giant and stands at one end of the space, back to the group. The group start at a start line and tip toe (was originally for dance kids) quietly up to the giant with the aim to steal something placed behind the giant on the floor(or tap them on the back). Periodically (but not too often) the giant turns around and all the group must stand like statues. If the giant sees a statue move, they must go back to the start line (or in line with the last person) then the giant turns around and the stalking continues. The person who gets the object becomes the giant (or if they have already had a turn choose someone else)

2. Hoop RelaysA fun teamwork kind of game. Girls stand in a circle with hands linked. A hoop is put on a girls arm and then she holds hands with the next girl. They can't let go of hands or the hoop will fall out. The girls now race to get the hoop around the circle by putting it over their head and then stepping over it- but they can't really use their hands as they are joined. You can then have 2+ teams to race each other, or keep it as a big group. You can add more hoops going the same direction or add a hoop to go the other direction. If you are doing very competitive relays you can cut the circle up into a straight line and the hoop travels from the front to the back.

3. Clumps/ Clumps and BasesGirls move around the space until leader calls out a number and the girls get into groups of said number & sit down. Odd ones can be "out" or they can just get to mix in again next round. For clumps and bases, the leader calls out "clumps of X, bases of Y" and the girls get into groups of X and are need to have Y number of feet (or hands, knees etc) touching the ground. For example if you say clumps of 3, bases of 3: all the girls can stand on one leg in a group; or for "clumps of 4, bases of 3" they might have 2 girls being piggybacked (so no bases touching ground from the ones off floor) and have one of the lifters on 1 foot and the other on 2. The girls can get really inventive & its great for different ages and strengths/sizes- just watch the safety

4. Crazy CaterpillarsThis is a great energising, teamwork game! Groups of about 5 (more more to make it interesting) line up behind each other holding onto the shoulders/waist in front of them. The front person is the head and the back is the tail. The Head's aim is to catch the tail and the tail's aim is to avoid the head. The people in the middle pretty much go with the flow. You can't let go, if you do you have to stop, bandage you caterpillar back together (get back in order and hold on again) and then you can start again. Once the head catches the tail, the head takes the tail's spot and their is a new head. If you have a couple of caterpillars going at once, someone needs to watch to make sure they won't hit each other.

5. Paper warsThis somehow got into one of our thinking day programs one year and was great! There are 2 teams, separated by a wall of chairs or a line on the floor. There are heaps of scrunched up bits of paper (for ideas sharing you can write ideas then scrunch them). on go, the teams try to get all the paper to the other side if the wall. They have a specified period of time before "stop is called". The team with the least paper wins! If sharing ideas etc, girls can then each grab a piece of paper to read. Can also be played with balloons etc.

6. Quick energiser I originally used for dance & after school sports. you need sports markers (the flatter cone ones are best) and a couple of colours are useful. You can have 1 team placing them upside down and 1 team trying to put them the right way up between the call of go and stop. Or have 4 (depend on colours) teams with 1 colour each. Between go and stop teams try to tip everyone else's colour marker upside down and replace yours to the right way up. Team with most the right way at end win- or one with least is out- or one with most and one with least join to form a team and middle 2 scoring join a team too & go again.

Squirrel-Nutkin

Fruit Salad

Activity:

Form a circle of chairs that is one chair fewer than a total number of players.

Nominate a player to be 'in', that player stands in the centre of the circle.

Divide all players into three groups of fruit by going around the circle and naming them either apple, orange or pear.

The player who is 'in', calls the name of a fruit.

If he calls out apples, everyone who is that fruit must get up quickly and change places.

Players who are not apples remain seated.

The person who is 'in' tries to sit in an empty spot whenever players swap positions.

If they manage to sit in a chair, the player not sitting in a chair is then 'in'.

The person in the middle can also call 'fruit salad' and everyone who is seated has to change spots.

The game can finish whenever you like.

Simon says

This is common kids’ game. However, it works very well for adults and for language learning if you play it in small groups rather than the full class – more language practice that way – and if the person who makes a mistake becomes the next “Simon” instead of being out of the game.Language focus: imperatives (command forms) Preparation: none What to do:1. Explain the game. Point out that “Simon” is a man’s name. You will say a series of commands. If Simon says them (e.g., “Simon says, ‘Stand up.’”) they should do them. In you don’t say “Simon says” before the command, they should not do it. 2. (Optional). Brainstorm the kind of verbs useful for the game and write them on the board. (e.g., point, touch, stand up, sit down, open, close, put, etc.) Elicit by showing the motions.3. Demonstrate with the full class. Use commands like the following, preceding each with “Simon says”: Stand up. Point to the door. Touch your desk. Put your book under your chair. etc.. When someone makes a mistake (does an action that Simon didn’t say, that person becomes “it” and gives the next group of instructions.4. Once they understand the game, divide the class into groups of 4-5. One person in each group is “it.” When someone makes a mistake, that person becomes “it.” They continue.Variation: Instead of “Simon” students can use their own names, “Mari says…” This is especially useful early in the course when they are still learning each other’s names.