Tadpole Parade Games - www.willhale.com

Click here for a pdf file of detailed descriptions for games presented in Will Hale's "Fun new games you have never played" workshop at the MnAEYC/MnSACA Minnesota State Conference. Plus a bunch of bonus games and tips on how to get and keep kids attention.

The best ways to get and keep kids attention

Click here for a pdf file with an abundance of original kid tested methods developed by Will Hale in over twenty years of performing music for kids.

For an exclusive discount of $50 toward any Will Hale concert just mention the coupon code Game On

Enjoy the game videos below.

Please try out these new games and send me your feedback with ideas, suggestions or new variations.

Feel free to call or email me any time for any reason.

Thanks!

Will Hale

651-307-3849

will@willhale.com

Peace Pause - Developed by Will Hale  

Would you like to know a simple way to take kids from high active energy

                        to quiet attentive listeners in under 30 seconds?

I can teach it to kids once and a second practice is all it usually takes for them to have it. I call it a Peace Pause and you can easily learn how to teach it to kids without taking decades of trial and error to master it like I did.

This is very specifically the way I present it. There are reasons this works which you don’t need to fully understand for it to work beautifully. You can adapt it to fit your style and the energy of the moment once kids have a solid understanding of how it works.

To teach the “Peace Game” the first time I excitedly invite the kids with “Let’s play a really quick game that is super fun.” Part of speaking enthusiastically builds suspense to pay attention or you might miss something really fun. Taking a couple deep arm breaths before starting is helpful to regain focus even if the energy is a bit scattered. “First let’s loosen up, take a big breath, good – one more breath all together.”

“Here is how it works, I say the word Peace! and then you echo back the word Peace!” We practice it together, usually one or two practices is enough to get a loud clear response. I continue with the directions “Then we count down from 10 to 1, starting really loud on ten and getting softer until there is no sound at one.” It helps to say “no sound” to avoid resistance to the word quiet. Sometimes it also works to say “no one talks”

Everyone starts counting down from 10 to 1, start fairly loud on 10-9-8, I will usually say and make an action to go “Softer” at 7 or 6, continuing to fade slower and more quietly until silent at one.

This is action is critical, At “zero” I silently wave my hands in front of my heart and may extremely softly say “Peaceful” this action grabs their attention in the silence and I can add more directions. “and then we count to ten with no sound.” Holding up my hands, counting silently with my fingers, 1-5 on the right hand, continuing to hold up hands and count 6-10 with the left hand, speaking the numbers extremely softly or in silence. You can also suggest holding a “bubble” for ten if that is something you do.  Counting with my fingers captures attention with their eyes and focusing their minds by silently counting along. Counting slowly can help bring down the energy. Holding our breath together is actually more important that being quite. The breathing and quiet attention allows the kids to integrate their personal energy.

Immediately after silently counting up to 10, I do “silent yelling” by waving my hands up in the air and silently pretending to yell. Possibly saying a soft “Yay.” The kids are usually totally focused together at this point and just follow along without direction. After we finish I still add the direction “You pretend like you’re yelling but there is no sound.” Just because it’s fun and so we can practice and reinforce it again.

Making the first couple times a “practice” helps in case it doesn’t work perfectly the first time, but it usually does! If someone talks, restate the rules and try another practice. Treating it as a game like missing in jump rope helps reduce the perception of scolding and a little silent peer pressure can go a long way to reel in a few strays.

“That was excellent for a first practice!” is often my response if it was a bit wobbly and could use more practice, which we will do again later when I really need them to get quiet and refocused. If they did it perfectly it’s more common for me to say “Perfect!” It confirms how you “win the game” so they know how to get it exactly right. Then I review the rules for another practice. The second time I usually say “That was a pretty good practice, are you ready for a real one this time? “Ok, so from now on, anytime I say the word Peace! You STOP! Whatever you are doing and yell back Peace! and we all count down together, Ok?” “Are you ready, here we go.”    Peace! – and continue – at the end there will be a quite calm space to give the next directions.

It is highly recommended to practice the steps of this Peace Pause without the kids. One of the keys to success in using a Peace Pause is to make sure it is strongly anchored by practicing first when the kids are calm and it is “just for fun” so when you really need to regain control quickly you will have an immediate response. It’s common for kids to request it or ask to do it again right after I teach it the first time, so it is a perfect time to reinforce and anchor the game idea.

To keep your Peace Pauses effective, it will likely be necessary add variations to keep the game interesting. One way is to have a “silly test” where the kids “pretend” to be silly, noisy, talking to each other and not paying attention and then I say PEACE! and they followed right along with the echo.

It is important to call out Peace! randomly, not just when you want the kids to be quiet. Surprise them during all of your activities and it will keep the game unpredictable and fun.  So try it during quite times at play, low stress situations, during a story, during snacks or while running around on the playground. A Peace Pause is a great way to interrupt a pattern and practice refocusing attention super fast so it will work when you really want it to work.

In a few seconds a Peace Pause can grab attention and create a quiet receptive space to give direction. In building an atmosphere that can shift quickly between high activity and quiet we can harmonize the energetic spectrum of the day.

Instead of a time out let's have a peace in! Using quiet time as a game and reward instead of a punishment will bring much more balance into our daily experience.

Abundance Game - Original Game by Will Hale

THE ABUNDANCE GAME - www.willhale.com

Real abundance is fun not hard work. Try this game for a fun prosperity experience.

"When you share an idea, you can give it all away and still have all you had to begin with. True wealth is not measured by what you have, it is an expression of how generous you are with what you have. Music is a great idea but love is the best idea of all." Let's keep it in circulation!

Money is a manifested form of energy and it must flow in and out of a person's possession. Giving away wealth freely allows wealth to easily flow in to life as well.

HOW TO PLAY THE ABUNDANCE GAME

Almost any small item that can be easily passed can be used in this game. Coins work especially well because they are uniform in size and have a perceived value.

I prefer quarters or gold dollars. Other items could include, rocks, acorns, crystals, legos, marbles, super balls, a wrapped gumball or piece of candy, or you name it.

How to play - First make small circles with 3-5 people sitting preferably cross legged with knees touching but mainly as close together as possible. If making circles is confusing, stand up and hold hands in circles of 3-5 and then sit down. Making quick circles can be part of the game!

If you need to focus the group's attention to start you can have everyone hold their one quarter in their hand up over their head to signify they are ready.

Keep both hands OPEN to receive

Each person gets one quarter (or item) to start with.

You can put a quarter in any OPEN hand.

Once there is a quarter in your hand it is FULL and cannot receive anymore.

As a fun bonus say Thank You every time you receive one. It's surprising that even the older kids usually do this right away.

By continuing to give them away it creates another open hand to receive. The goal is to see how much you can have by how you keep it moving in circulation.

When you have two full hands and someone else has two open hands you can do a DOUBLE SLAM and give two quarters at once. Sometimes kids like to double slam the same person right back which is ok but it is usually more fun to keep it circulating.

Once it gets going and maybe starts to loose a little momentum you can "double time" and speed up faster.

There are a couple other rules to keep in mind but I would not mention them unless it becomes an issue.

Only passing - no throwing. Basically don't let go of the quarter until it is in the open hand.

You can't tell/demand or move coins for others.

If there are infractions or confusion simply restate the rules of open and full.

Like most games the number one rule is to HAVE FUN!

and the kids will learn what they learn without saying anything about it.

It helps to have a staff/adult in each circle to model courteous behavior. To make sure everyone gets to play, watch for bashful or younger kids that may require gentle instruction to get them going. The game can be fast paced so everyone needs to be sensitive to the individual style of all the players in the circle. Being fair, so everyone gets a chance is naturally built into the game. Surprisingly greed and selfishness seldom come into play. The game is really boring if you don't pass them. Giving away something you like or want can also have a strong lesson in trust and generosity.

I have never reached the threshold where kids want to stop playing the abundance game. Time has been the limiting factor not interest.

A variation could be to make it a mini scavenger hunt where each person brings some small object they like to the game. They can be awkward to pass but I highly recommend playing this game with $100 bills. Ok maybe you don't get to keep them but it is still an exciting experience!

There can be many teachable moments especially with the commemorative state quarters for reading, history and conversation on dates and birthdays. As an example, there was quite a bit of discussion about the harsh slogan kids found on the New Hampshire quarter "Live free or die!"

Around The World Round

ROUND THE WORLD ROUND

The lyrics for this fun version of the Row, Row, Row Your Boat melody was created with

Ms. Tessier's, 3rd grade class, Bellaire Elementary, White Bear Lake, MN

AROUND THE WORLD

Round, round, round the world

Where everybody lives

We all live in harmony

Especially the kids

Actions:

First line: Arms circle up and around three times

Second line: Fingertips on heart and open arms

Third line: Hands folded across chest

Fourth line: Arms go out and thumbs come in pointing at the heart

This can be sung by itself or as a round.

Bonus! 

Optical Illusion Template

Please try out these games and send me your feedback with ideas, suggestions or new variations.

Rock on!

Will Hale

Tadpole Parade

651-307-3849

www.willhale.com

Vi Ameamo!