Transition Time – Active Style!

This is a guest post by Sandy Slade.

Camp time always includes transition time! This is the inevitable “down time” that can cause children to become restless and counselors dread! Instead of standing and waiting, let’s get kids moving!

Here are 5 activities GUARANTEED to be a ton of fun and make transition time fly by!

MOVING HANDKERCHIEF
Throw handkerchief in the air. The children have to jog in place as fast as they can and stop as soon as it hits the ground. Repeat.

MIRROR ME
Everyone line up and walk the perimeter of an area. The leader of the line adds a unique activity while everyone is walking (i.e. stop and do 10 jumping jacks, start to skip, jump to the sky, etc.), and everyone has to mirror that activity. After you’ve moved completely around the perimeter of the designated area, switch to another child to take the lead. If you don’t want to make the line too long, you can break it up into a number of smaller groups.

BALANCE CHALLENGE
Have a contest to see who can balance on one leg the longest. To make it more challenging – everyone has to bend their knee slightly. Try it on both right and left leg.

MOVING ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS
We are all familiar with Rock, Paper, Scissors using our hands. For something new and to get everyone moving, implement Moving rock, Paper, Scissors. Transition time is a great time to practice!

• Jump up and down three times, and on the third jump land with feet together. This is ROCK.
• Jump up and down three times, and on the third jump land with feet spread out. This is PAPER.
• Jump up and down three times, and on the third jump land with one foot in front of the other (left foot forward and right foot back with approximately 20” of space in between feet). This is SCISSORS
  • Rock smashes Scissors
  • Scissors cuts Paper
  • Paper covers Rock

Divide into partners and play. An add-on option is that the loser has to do 10 jumping jacks, yell out the camp mantra, or any other activity you choose. Then repeat.

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Basketball phenom, Sandy Spin Slade entertained thousands at NBA half-times and special events around the globe. She revolutionized the educational market by introducing Skillastics®, a series of games that develop children’s fitness & sport skills, and is enjoyed by over 10 million students in over 25,000 educational settings nationwide.