GAMES
Benito Juarez Says
Circle Ten Council
How To Play: Before
playing explain to the children that Benito Juárez, a Zapotec Indian, was born
and raised in extreme poverty. With hard work, determination, and strong love
for his country, Juárez became the president of Mexico and defeated the
French, who had occupied the country for five years.
This game is played similar to
Simon Says.
The player
up is "Benito Juarez". Player will say "Benito Juarez says hop on one foot".
The children will hop on one foot. Player will say "Stop". The children are to
keep hopping on one foot until player says "Benito Juarez says stop". Repeat
for additional activities such as take one baby step forward, step backwards,
turn around, sit down. Sometimes Benito Juarez will say "Benito Juarez says"
and sometimes he won't.
Buenos Amigos (Good Friends)
Circle Ten Council
Supplies: Paper, Pen, Timer
How To Play: Set the
timer and have the boys write as many kind things as they can think of about
the Buena Amigo (Good Friend) on their right. The last boy writes about the
first boy. Suggest that they write kind things about how their amigo acts,
thinks, plays, works or looks. Give the paper to the amigo to take home.
Mexican Pets Noises
Great Salt Lake Council
Hide small
objects (cutouts, pieces of candy, etc.) around the room. Form 2 teams, the
dogs and the cats, with a leader in each one. At a signal all start hunting
for the items, but ONLY THE LEADER can go get it and pick it up. The
Dogs must bark to get the leader's attention and the Cats must meow. The team
with the most items wins.
Mexican Hat Dance
Circle Ten Council
Gather the boy and
sit in a circle. Explain that a Mexican hat dance is a traditional Mexican
dance done around a Mexican hat, which is called a sombrero. Place a sombrero
on the floor and play some Mexican music. As you call each boy's name, the boy
goes into the circle and dances as desired around the sombrero to the music.
Bean Drop
Great Salt Lake Council
Each player
is given 5 to 10 beans. The players will try to drop the beans one at a time
in a mouth of a canning jar by holding a bean up to his chin and letting go.
After each person has a turn, the beans in the jar are counted. The person
that gets the most beans in the jar wins.
Amigo Tag
Great Salt Lake Council
Each player
links arms at the elbows with another "Amigo" (friend), except for 2 players.
The amigos put their other arms on their hips so that each person has a
"handle" on his free side. The amigos can move about freely in the game area.
The other two players are El Perro (the dog) and El Zorro (the fox). El Perro
chases El Zorro. If he catches him, El Zorro becomes El Perro and does the
chasing and El Perro becomes El Zorro and must run away. But if El Zorro can
link arms with an amigo, he becomes an amigo and is safe. The amigo of the
player who El Zorro links arms with must let go and is then El Zorro. The
object is to become and remain an amigo. Playing some lively Latin American
music (available free at the library) adds to the fun. The game ends when the
music stops.
Endurance Hop
Santa Clara County Council
This is a relay race.
You’ll need 4 different objects for each team (such as a ball, a basket, a hat
and a beanbag).
Teams stand in adjacent rows
along the starting line. The 4 items are placed 3 feet apart in a straight
line in front of each team. Use tape to mark where each item belongs. At a
signal, the first player hops to the first item, picks it up, then (without
touching his other foot to the ground) proceeds to pick up the 2nd,
3rd and 4th items, then hops back to the starting line.
If an item is dropped, player must stop and pick it back up. 1st
player delivers all items to the 2nd player, who hops off the line
to return the items to their 4 spots, then hops back to the start and tags the
next player, who hops off to pick up the items.
Alternatively, players may leave
the each item in the next item’s spot, and drop off the 4th item in
the 1st item’s spot before returning to the line.
The first team to have all their
players finish wins.
Going to Mexico
Heart of America Council
Equipment:
Chairs & musical accompaniment
Arrange one less chair than there are
players, in a row, back to back, down the center of the room. Players march
around the chairs to musical accompaniment. The music stops suddenly and
everyone dashes for a chair. The one who doesn't get a seat drops out. One
chair is taken away. Then music and marching resume. As before, when the music
stops, everyone tries to get a chair. One player drops out and another chair
is removed. This continues until only two players and one chair remain. The
last person to get to Mexico wins.
Peteca
Heart of America Council
Equipment:
Use a Badminton shuttlecock or make your own with feathers, cork, old sock,
newspaper and string.
The shuttlecock or Peteca is tossed into
the air and kept there, each boy striking it upward with the palm of his hand.
The players take turns hitting the Peteca (One hit at a time), always upward.
Often they repeat the letters of the alphabet as they play, one letter for
each strike upward. If the Peteca falls to the ground, the game must begin
again.
Balloon Volley
Santa Clara County Council
You’ll need one inflated
balloon and one 4-5 ft stick, pole or broom for every 5 players.
Give each player a number from
1-5. Players 1 and 3 hold the stick at shoulder height. Player 4 holds the
balloon. Player 5 stands between Players 4 & 1. Players move in a
counterclockwise direction.
The game begins with Player 4
hitting the balloon over the stick to Player 2, and then moving to take Player
3’s position. Player 3 waits until Player 2 hits the balloon before advancing
to take his position. Player 2, after hitting the balloon back over the
stick, will take the place of Player 1, who then stands behind Player 5.
Players continue to rotate one position to the right each time the balloon
crosses over the stick. Players may hit the balloon as many times as needed
to get it over the stick. Players holding the stick may move sideways, but
may not catch the balloon or lower the stick to assist their teammates. Two
players must be holding the stick before the balloon is hit over it. If the
stick is dropped while the players are changing places and the balloon has
been hit, the stick has to be picked up quickly before the balloon passes over
it, or the team is charged with one point. The lowest point total at the end
of 5 minutes is the new total to beat.
Gato Enfermo (Sick Cat)
Santa Clara County Council
One boy is
the Gato Enfermo (Sick Cat). He chases the other players, and each one he
tags becomes another Sick Cat and must hold with his left hand the place on
his body where he was tagged. All Sick Cats continue to chase remaining
healthy ones. Last boy caught is the winner.
Artists
Longhorn Council
Players sit
round a table, each with paper and pencil. The right-hand Scout draws a
picture, in separate firm strokes, of an ordinary figure or head, putting in
his strokes in unusual sequence so that for a long time it is difficult to see
what he is drawing. Each player looks over to see what the man on his right is
drawing and copies it stroke by stroke. When the right-hand artist has
finished his picture, compare all the rest with it.
Packed My Suitcase
Longhorn Council
Memory game
where Cubs sit in a circle. The first Cub names an item that he packed in his
suitcase. Each Cub adds another item as they go around the circle. The Cubs
who remembers all of the previous items wins.
Paper Hoops
Longhorn Council
A pile of
newspapers for each team is placed at one end of the room with the teams lined
up at the other end. When the whistle blows they race up to the newspapers.
The object is to cut the newspaper sheet in the middle and then step through
the paper without ripping it right through to the edge. If that happens they
have to start again. When they have stepped through they race back so that
the next team member can go. The winners are those who are all sitting down
with their arms folded. Use newspapers that are not too big.
Patience Relay
Longhorn Council
Separate
the cards into a suit per team. Lay out the 10 number cards (including ace) in
any order face down at the end of the room. One at a time the boys run up and
turn over a card. If it is not the Ace then they turn it face down again and
run back to their team and the next player has a go. When the ace is turned up
they can lay it face up. The next card needed is the two and so on. Play
continues until one team has all its cards turned face up.
Wheel Rolling
Longhorn Council
See who can
roll a wheel the farthest across the parking lot.
