Linda, who is an internet marketer and graphic designer, explains: “Because King's Day was renamed ‘Home Day’ last year and we learned through the media that the King's Games had been forced to be cancelled entirely, we decided to provide all children staying at home with a fun day of sports and games after all. We therefore immediately adapted our King's Games Package to the new circumstances and made the package available to everyone.”
Normally, the King's Games consist of a communal breakfast followed by an active day full of sports, games and fun. Last year, the national organisation decided to cancel the event due to the coronavirus measures and the associated closure of schools. In the short term, they saw no other possibilities.
Educational adviser Geke adds: “Because the two of us work together, we are very flexible and agile, which meant that we could respond quickly. We took a close look at our King's Games Package, which had been designed for organising a sports and games day at school, and looked for possibilities for use at home. In practice, this meant adapting a number of games to the home situation, removing a number of team games and adding a number of new games. Materials such as the placemat and the little flags can of course be used perfectly well at home.”
Whether we will be able to celebrate the King's Games together at school or at a local club on 23 April is still uncertain. One thing has already been decided: the communal breakfast will not go ahead this year. The sports and games activities can take place. But what should we do if we are not allowed to meet up? With the King's Games Package, everyone is prepared for every situation. At home, you can start with a delicious breakfast served on the King's Games Package placemat. The sporting part follows afterwards. This year, no fewer than 20 games have been developed on convenient game cards, along with 12 games that can also be organised successfully at home and 8 sports activities.
New games and adapted materials
“The foundation of the King's Games Package is the same every year; we simply make sure that new games are included in the package each year and that the design of the materials is adapted. This year, we have already taken into account the uncertainty surrounding whether schools will be open and whether sports can be played together in groups. We have therefore developed 12 games that can be used both at school and at home. For some of the games, this meant adding an alternative assignment to the game card in case it is not possible to participate in the games as a team,” says Geke. “Basically, you do not need to purchase anything special to play the games. You do need, for example, a ball or cones, but instead of cones you can of course also simply put down a jumper as a marker. And if you want to play together with someone who is not physically in the same room, you can stay in contact online and, if you both set up the game in the same way, you can still play against and with each other.”
The number of requests clearly shows that the King's Games Package is a success. In the first year, a few hundred schools found the package. Following the launch of its own website in 2014 and last year's stay-at-home version, the number of users has risen to more than 17,000! “Absolutely an incredible number. And the requests come from all over the world. It is incredibly great to see that our initiative is so highly valued,” Linda says.
The free downloadable King's Games Package is available to all Dutch primary schools, both at home and abroad. But the King's Games Package is also ideal for (sports) clubs and families who want to organise a party at home. Every year, it is packed with fun games, handy scorecards, beautiful placemats and much more!
Both initiators explain how they work: “We fund our website and newsletters through sponsorship money. Every year, we are incredibly grateful to our sponsors. It is also possible to receive an upgrade to the King's Games Package for a small fee, and we launched ‘Friends of the King's Games Package’ so that anyone who enjoys using our package can become a kind of mini-sponsor and be treated as a VIP in return. You will then receive not only the free King's Games Package, but also 8 additional games, the Olympic Games package in the year the Games take place, and a nice discount in the webshop.”
The King's Games Package can be downloaded in March and April; requests can be submitted throughout the year.
You can request the King's Games Package here.