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Non-Elimination Musical Chairs
We have adapted 'Ladders' to be more suitable for Rainbows. Use numbers or names to fit in with the theme of your meeting (I have assumed that Guiders know how to play 'Ladders' as it is too complicated to explain. If you don't know ask another Guider).
Ask each Rainbow to find a partner and sit down with their legs outstretched in line with the other pairs as in 'Ladders'. Give each pair a number or name and repeat to ensure everyone knows what they are. Place chairs on either side of the teams at 1 - 2 metres from the girls. When you call out a pair's name or number, they both jump up, run around their respective team's chair, run back and sit down. We do not 'score', but you can if you wish.
This is a different name for the classic 'Duck, duck, duck. duck, goose' to fit in with our meeting theme and is one of our favourite games.
One Rainbow is chosen to be the fox and the rest of the Rainbows sit in a circle. The fox walks around the circle tapping each Rainbow on the head. As she does this, she says a word each time. For a few times this will be 'fox', but at some stage she says 'squirrel'. The Rainbow who is tapped on the head when the fox says squirrel, jumps up and chases the fox all the way around the circle. If the fox reaches the space left by the 'squirrel' without being caught, she sits down and the 'squirrel' becomes the next 'fox'. However, if the 'squirrel' catches the 'fox', the 'squirrel' sits down and the original 'fox' has another turn. This can be repeated as many times as you wish.
This is a game that I have previously played with Brownies. The Rainbows loved it and were upset when they didn't all get a chance to be 'covered up'. I have promised them that we will play it again soon.
All the Rainbows pretend to be hedgehogs and move about the room. When told, they curl up into a ball, tucking their heads in, and shut their eyes. When they have all done this one Rainbow is covered up with a thin blanket or duvet cover. All the Rainbows, except the covered one, wake up and try to guess who is under the cover. This is repeated again and again for as long as you wish.
I thought up this game when the theme of our meeting included Parrots.
Explain to the Rainbows that parrots often repeat themselves eg "Pretty Polly, pretty Polly". Tell them that you are a parrot and they can only do what you say when you say something twice. The game is played like 'Simon says'.
You play the game by giving the Rainbows commands eg "Stand up, sit down, stand on one leg" etc. If you say a command once, the Rainbows must not do it, however, if you repeat yourself ie "Scratch your head, scratch your head" then the Rainbows must follow the command. Our Rainbows found this great fun and didn't take long to ensure that they heard the repeated command before they followed it.
This game can be adapted to fit in with any meeting theme. In this case we used camels.
Divide girls into three or four teams and give each team a die. In the middle of the room, place the cut up pieces of a camel picture on the floor. You will need a picture for each team; I coloured my camels different colours so the teams were each collecting pieces of a different colour. They then take it in turns to throw the die and when a girl throws a two (I chose two to remind them that camels have two humps!) she runs to the centre of the room and picks up one piece. The teams make up their picture and, the first team to finish, get a round of applause from the others. I usually tell the other teams to collect their other pieces and complete their jigsaw, so that they can see their picture too.
Non-Elimination Musical Chairs (This is a game played by Pippins in New Zealand) This is a version of musical chairs where everyone stays in the game until the end. It requires one chair for every Rainbow. The Rainbows skip around the room until a whistle is blown and then everyone has to find a seat. The Rainbows then get up and while they are skipping a chair is removed. This time when the whistle is blown two Rainbows will have to share a chair. (We found this was quite a difficult for some of our Rainbows as they expected to be 'out'. To get round this we practiced a couple of times until all the Rainbows knew exactly what they were doing!) The game is kept going by removing one chair each round. As the number of chairs gets less and less the Rainbows have to sit on just a small part of the chair or sit on top of each other. By the end of the game all the rainbows will have to sit on just one chair! (Our Rainbows just about managed this before they ended up on on floor, giggling and laughing as they fell!)
The Pippin yell (Our Rainbows loved this and wanted to do it again and again) Divide the Unit into 3 groups. Give each group a different word: Asia, Prussia or Russia. On a signal, the groups should shout their word (Country) at the same time. Hopefully, after a few practices, the yell should sound like a giant sneeze.
The Suitcase packing Game (We made up this game when we had our 'Travel Meeting' as part of the Globetrotting section of the Millennium Challenge) The Rainbows are divided into two teams and each team is given an empty suitcase. Within their team the girls decide who can be 'runners' and who can be 'packers'. At the far end of the hall there are chairs laden with equal items of holiday clothes etc. for each team to pack. (Don't forget the cuddly toys!) At the start of the game a 'runner' from each team runs to the chair, picks up an item, runs back to her team and touches the next 'runner' who then sets off for her item. The first 'runner' then gives the item to one of the 'packers' who folds it neatly and puts it in the suitcase. The game continues with the 'runners' taking turns to collect the items and the 'packers' taking turns to put them in the suitcase. When a team has collected and packed all the items the 'packers' shut the case, and sit down on the floor. Once both teams have finished the slower team gives the faster team a clap. (We then asked the teams to open their cases so we could decide which team had done the neatest packing. Needless to say it was the slowest team, so they got a round of applause too!)
The Aeroplane Story (Jess wrote this story especially for our 'Travel' meeting after being given the idea by Jenny, Guider of 4th Prestwood Rainbows. It was written for up to twelve Rainbows, but, with a few additional characters or repetitive words it could be adapted for any size unit) The Rainbows sit in a circle and each one is given a different 'keyword' that is highlighted in red in the story below. (It is a good idea to check that everyone has remembered their word). The story is then read slowly and when a girl hears her word, she jumps up, spins round and sits down. When the word 'Aeroplane' is read all the Rainbows stand up, spin round and sit down. The 'keywords' are: bear, toffee, chocolate, icecube, holiday, New Zealand, airport, Bertie, Susie, pilot, Bamboo and Sally.
Here's the story....... Once upon a time there
was a little teddy bear called Toffee. She had two friends, Chocolate
the brown bear and Icecube
the Polar bear. They all decided that they would like to go on holiday
on an aeroplane to New
Zealand. When the day came to go on holiday
to New Zealand the three friends got up very early to catch the bus to the airport.
The bus they got on had a big sign at the front with ‘airport’ on it. When they were nearly at the airport
they saw an aeroplane taking
off. Then they saw another one and then yet another aeroplane.
Toffee, Chocolate and Icecube got very
excited. At the entrance to the airport
the bus came to a stop and the three bears got off. Bertie the baggage man
greeted them. “Is anyone here booked on the next aeroplane
going on holiday to New Zealand?”
he asked. “Yes please!” they all answered together. Bertie put their three suitcases on a trolley.
“Follow me,” said Bertie. The three bears
followed him through the airport
until they reached the check-in desk where Bertie introduced them to Susie
the ground hostess. Susie’s job was to check tickets and tell
passengers their seat numbers. Susie also had to make sure that each
suitcase went on the right aeroplane. Susie asked Toffee,
Chocolate
and Icecube
to put their suitcases on the scales so that she could weigh them. She wrapped a sticky label round each suitcase handle. The sticky
label was to show Bertie
and his baggage men friends that these suitcases needed to go on the aeroplane
that was going on holiday
to New
Zealand. The bears wondered if their friend Peter the pilot
would be the pilot on their aeroplane. Bertie
said “goodbye” to the bears
as they watched him take their suitcases across the airport
to load them onto the aeroplane
that was going on holiday to New
Zealand. Susie gave Chocolate
and Icecube
their seat numbers which were next to each other. She then turned to Toffee
and said, “I’m afraid that you can’t sit with your friends but your seat is right behind them”. Toffee looked very worried. “Don’t
worry little bear, you will be sitting next to a very nice panda called Bamboo”
Susie added. Susie wished them a very happy holiday
as the three friends left the check in desk and went to the sweet shop. Then Susie
went to the staff lounge which was a place where the airport
workers including the pilots went for their breaks. The
bears
spent ages choosing what they wanted. Finally Toffee
bought some chocolate, Icecube bought some Toffee
and Chocolate
bought some of those mints that look like icecubes. It was now time to go to the departure
lounge which is where you wait in the airport until you can get on to the aeroplane. On the way they heard somebody calling them. It was Susie
the ground hostess. “ Do you know that you three have given me an idea? Susie
asked. She went on “ I’ve decided to try to go on holiday
to New Zealand myself. I asked my boyfriend Bertie
as well and he said “Oh Susie,
of course I’d love to come” So here we are, I’m just going to see if I can get tickets to go on holiday
to New Zealand on an aeroplane next week. The bears wished Susie
good luck and went to the departure lounge. They could see their aeroplane
and got even more excited. Very soon Sally the air hostess came to tell them that they could get on the aeroplane. Sally
showed them to their seats. They sat down and made themselves comfortable. Toffee
was still a little bit worried about having to sit next to a stranger. Just then Sally came back followed by a very cuddly panda. Sally
said “bears
this is Bamboo,
and he’s rather upset about having to sit so far away from his family. Look after him, please” she said to Toffee.
The little teddy bear
stopped worrying immediately. He told Bamboo that he had been upset too. The two of them laughed together and Bamboo said that he felt much better. Then there was a message from the pilot
“hello every body, I’m Peter your pilot and your second pilot
is called Sam. We both hope you have a pleasant flight to New
Zealand. We can’t take off yet as our ground staff in the airport
have said there are a couple of passengers that aren’t here yet. In the meantime Sally
and the other air hostesses will look after you. Just then the four bears
saw Susie and Bertie walking towards them. Apparently Susie
couldn’t get tickets for next week but got two last minute tickets for this aeroplane as the passengers who should have been coming had the flu. Just then the pilot said they were ready to take off and asked Sally
and the other hostess to check everyone’s seatbelt. The aeroplane slowly moved out to the runway. Then all of a sudden the aeroplane’s
engines roared and the aeroplane raced down the runway and took off. Every body on the aeroplane cheered.
What's Missing (this is a game that can be adapted to many meeting themes and our Rainbows prefer to play it in pairs) The girls sit down in a circle and various items to do with the theme of the meeting are put on the floor in the middle of the circle. Two Rainbows go out of the room while another two pick up an object and go and hide behind an up-turned table. The first two Rainbows then come back into the room and try to work out what is missing. If they get it right, they get some applause, if not, prompt until they do get it right! The game continues with the 'hiders' leaving the room and two new Rainbows are chosen to take away an item and hide.
Make cards with pictures of 'Mummy' and 'baby' animals. I made 16 cards - 1 cat, 1 sheep, 1 duck, 1 hen, 3 kittens, 3 lambs, 3 ducklings and 3 chicks. Put out 4 chairs and put the cards, face down, in the centre of the room. Ask the Rainbows to stand around the edges of the room. On the word 'Go' they run forward, pick up a card and make the noise of that animal, calling the rest of their family. When they have found them all the 'Mummy' sits on a chair with a baby on her lap, with a baby on her lap etc. Repeat several times removing a 'Mummy' card each time if you wish to make it a elimination game. You're out if you haven't got a Mum!
The idea for this game came from the Rainbow Guide Diversity Pilot Project. First you need to make two sets of cards, one set of cards indicating disabilities - we used blindness, inability to use hands and inability to use feet. The other set needs to describe a task. You will need one of each card for everybody including the adults to have a go. You also need to collect together the various props the tasks will require, and a blindfold. Arrange the sets of cards ,face downwards on two different trays and the props on a table nearby. Everybody has a turn to take one of each card and then try to do the task as if she has that disability. The adults read the cards for the girls and prompts them as to whether or not they should ask a friend for help. The girls really enjoyed this and learnt a lot.
Choose a Rainbow to be Queenie. Queenie turns her back on the other Rainbows and throws a ball over her shoulder. The Rainbow nearest the ball picks it up and hides it behind her back. Then Queenie turns around and everyone sings: Queenie,
Queenie who's got the ball? Queenie runs around the Rainbows looking for the ball. But they spin around so that she can't see who's got it. Queenie then guesses who has the ball and that Rainbow has to show her hands. In our Unit, if Queenie guesses correctly we give her a clap. We change Queenie every time so that most of the girls can have a go.
This game could be adapted to the theme of any meeting by changing the names of the teams. Two teams are lined up one behind the other in the middle of the room facing the Guider. One team is named 'Cowboys', the other 'Indians'. The Guider then calls out 'Cowboys' or 'Indians'. If she calls 'Cowboys' the 'Cowboys' chase the 'Indians', and if she calls 'Indians' the 'Indians' chase the 'Cowboys'. When a Rainbow is caught she joins the team that caught her. The game continues until one team has got all the Rainbows, they are the winners. If your rainbows find it difficult to comprehend what they need to do it will help them if you call 'Cowboys chasing' or 'Indians chasing'!
This is a craft which we extended to play as game. The rainbows are divided into groups of four or five. Each group is given a beaker with a two pence piece inside, and each Rainbow is given a strip of corrugated card long enough to fit round her head. In the middle of the room is a tray with feathers on it. In their groups the Rainbows take it in turns to throw the coin. If the coin lands head side up, then the Rainbow that threw it can run to the middle of the room and pick up a feather, take it back to their group and puts it into a hole in her her strip of card. Once she has five feathers (or whatever number you agree on) she goes to a Guider who staples it together to fit round her head. She then sits down with her group to wait for the rest to finish. Click here for a photo of the finished headdress. |
