Play tip 1: The freeze rule
Games like tag are always great fun. But for children who cannot run well, they can be frustrating. In that case, introduce the freeze rule. When they hear the word ‘Freeze!’, all the children except the person who is ‘it’ must freeze. This allows every child to participate equally. Instead of freezing, you can also choose slow motion: when someone says ‘Slow’, everyone except the person who is ‘it’ must run in slow motion.
Play tip 2: Keep-up
How long can you keep the ball in the air? All the children sit on the ground (or sit in a wheelchair or stand with a rollator). The aim of the game is to keep the ball in the air together. Use your head, hands, feet, walking frame – anything goes, except standing up or catching the ball. Sliding across the ground or moving in a wheelchair/with a rollator is allowed. Is a ball too difficult for some children to catch or throw? Use a balloon instead. Is one of the players blind or visually impaired? Then use a ball with a bell inside and agree that the ball may roll.
Play tip 3: Musical chairs, but different
Do not use chairs, but newspapers, and place them in a circle. This way, children in wheelchairs can participate too. Start the music and have the players dance around the newspapers. Remove a few newspapers and stop the music; everyone sits down as quickly as possible. Several children may sit on one newspaper. Can you all manage to sit on as few newspapers as possible? Note: announce in good time which round will be the final one. This ensures that the group has a successful experience.
Play tip 4: Magic ball
Children sit or stand in a circle and pass a ‘magic ball’ to one another. Together, they decide what kind of ball it is. The children treat the ball as they have agreed. For example, the ball might be a large ice cube, made of glass, warm, fragrant, heavy, prickly, slippery, sticky, velvety soft, and so on. Tip: Are there children who are less able to throw or catch? Then use a balloon to throw to one another.
Play tip 5: In order of
Make one large circle or several small circles. In the circle, stand in order. For example, in order of how long it took you to get here (indicate where ‘very short’ and where ‘very long’ is in the circle). Or in order of your birthdays (indicate where January and where December are). With a small group: stand in alphabetical order by name. Help one another. Can you think of another ‘in order of’ idea?
Speeltuinbende has created a booklet of tips for playing together, containing 26 great tips for playing together. You can download the booklet here.