An active game that that encourages participants to exercise their hand-eye coordination as well as their active listening skills and quick reaction.
Materials
- No materials are needed for this activity.
Framing
In program, we spend a lot of time together, getting to know each other, and working together, but sometimes we just don’t agree and that can make things challenging. Let’s challenge the way we work together.
Instructions
- One player stands in the middle of the circle with a ball, deeming them the “instruction-giver”.
- The players on the outside of the circle stand with their hands behind their back.
- The player in the middle throws the ball back and forth to different players on the outside of the circle, either instructing them to “catch” or “don’t catch” the ball.
- The player in the middle is only allowed to give their instruction once the ball is in mid throw.
- If a player catches the ball on a “don’t catch,” they are out.
- If a player fails to catch the ball on a “catch,” they are out.
- Once a player is out, they must sit down in their spot and wait for the next round.
Modify
- For older players, or as the group gets better at following the instruction: speed up the throws, further delay the instruction from the player in the middle, or increase the distance between the middle and outside players.
Safety
- Encourage underhand throws only in order to manage the force of the throws, unless your group is older or is highly skilled in controlling overhand throws.
Wrap-up
After ending the activity, reconvene for a brief reflection by posing to them some questions like:
- Was it challenging to resist the urge to catch / not catch when you were(n’t) supposed to?
- What factors impacted your ability to follow the instructions?
Submitted by Somerset West community Health Centre.