GAMES &
WORKSHOPS FOR CHILDREN
Take the Jump is a movement of people taking joyous and empowering action to live a balanced life and protect nature through six shifts.
This can be accessible, fun and interesting to children and young people as much as ‘grown ups’. This note includes a number of exercises or games that can be played with children in particular to explore these shifts.
Doing so offers children a message that positive and clear things can be done to protect nature, and helps them have confidence as they grow older, and not develop those feelings of frustration and powerlessness that can be so paralysing to many.
There are a range of suggestions in this note, let us know if you come up with any more yourself :)
THIS GUIDE
Personal outcomes
Authors
This guide was developed by Take the Jump Ambassadors Diana Thornton and her daughter Libby
THIS GUIDE
Learning outcomes
Poison Ball – warm-up game 15 minutes play
Opening chat – 10 minutes
Splattergories – 5 minutes set up, 10 minutes play
Reflection – 5 minutes to re-gather then 5 minutes chat
Bucket game – 20 minutes
Chat – 10 minutes including gathering
Break – 15 minutes
Group discussion work – 5 minutes set up, 20 minutes exercise
Bomb and shield game – 5 minutes set up, 10 minutes play
Round-up – 10 minutes
[Adapted Port and Starboard if you have time at end]
OUTLINE OF FULL WORKSHOP
There are a range of games outlined in this guide. These can be played on their own, you can pick a few to combine, or try the full afternoon workshop approach. This page summarises how you could do so :)
The workshop uses a mixture of games and discussion to explore the theme. It is supposed to be fun and relaxed. The timings for games etc are generous to allow time for gathering the kids etc but you may rattle through some parts. Don’t worry if you get ahead. You can play Port and Starboard at the end to use up time or omit it if you don’t have time. It could take up to 15 minutes if you like
AFTERNOON WORKSHOP WITH FOUR GAMES AND DISCUSSION
GAME 1 - SPLATTERGORIES
Equipment: None
How to play: This is a version of the game ‘Splat!’ - 5 minutes set up, 10 minutes play
The children stand in a circle with the leader in the middle. The leader ‘shoots’ a child by pointing their fingers like a guand the people on either side of the child who han. The child ducks down s ducked down turn to shoot one another. Whoever is the slowest to ‘shoot’ is out and has to sit down in the circle.
This is basic Splat. Now to add in the categories. When the leader shoots a child they shout out a category. The two shooters either side of the child who has ducked down have to shout out something in that category as they ‘shoot’ one another. If they shout out the same thing they have to keep going until the first one comes up with something original. The loser sits down. As the game progresses you get gaps in the circle so it is difficult to remember that you are meant to be shooting because you are not directly next to the child who has ducked down.
Suggested categories for the leader to use for TTJ Splattergories: Vegetables; Fruits; Ways to Travel; Reusable Things; Types of clothing; Beans you can eat; Types of tree; Your favourite item of clothing; Types of bugs; The thing you’ve had for longest; Types of bird; Somewhere you can walk to; Things in a pond; Type of public transport; Things in a forest; Places to visit in the UK; Types of edible seeds or nuts; Ways to get to school; Things in a salad; Types of wildflowers; Things on a beach
Post game reflection: Can anybody remember any of the categories which I called out, or any of the answers? (Take the answers one by one and ask the child who has answered to find which TTJ shift they might relate to. The nature categories relate to all of the shifts because protecting the earth and living in harmony with nature will be the outcome of making all of the shifts).
GAME 2 - BUCKET GAME
Timing: 20 minutes
Equipment and layout: Sets of matching bean-bags with 6 of each colour beanbag (eg 6 red, 6 blue, 6 green, 6 orange etc). 6 buckets with TTJ shifts stuck on side and % marked clearly as follows: Eat Green 12% Dress Retro 6% Holiday Local 2% End Clutter 3% Travel Fresh 2% Change the System 2%. Prepared sheet to tot up the scores for each round. Row for each colour with a column for each round would make it easy to keep track.
How to play: The players at the front throw their 6 bean bags into the buckets trying to get the highest score possible. You get a bonus 5 points for getting one in each bucket. After each round the scores for each colour are quickly totted up and recorded and the beanbags are returned to the front for the next round. Continue like this until all of the children have had a turn at throwing the 6 beanbags for their colour. If you have an odd number of children, some kids can have 2 turns to make up a full round with every colour team represented. Total up the totals for each colour team and announce a winning team! Don’t announce the scores for each round in case somebody scores really badly!!
Post game discussion: Were you surprised which one makes the most difference? Which one did you think would make the most difference? These are averages so it might be that if somebody flies lots of times a year, then it would make a bigger difference for them to fly less than for them to do one of the other shifts. How much do all of the shifts add up to? 27% but if we did these changes quickly then it could be even more because it would encourage other people like businesses or the government to change things more quickly. But 27% of what? Well if individuals in rich countries made all of these changes then we could save up to 27% of the reduction in greenhouse gases which we need to make by 2030. Which is a lot! If you think of a pie, that is more than a quarter!
GROUP DISCUSSION
Timing: 5 minutes set up, 20 minutes exercise
Equipment: 3 large sheets of paper (and spare) plenty of marker pens or large felt-tips. Tables (or work on the floor). A visual of the TTJ shifts to go with each group.
How to do it: Set the children up in 3 groups each with a large piece of paper (eg flipchart paper) and marker pens. Each group looks at one scenario which are: 1) home; 2) school; 3) cubs or brownies. Each group writes down as many ideas as they can think of for ways to Take the Jump in these places. Allow 5 mins for this.
Then everybody gathers around each sheet in turn and that group explains their sheet with their ideas. Tell them that they have 2 minutes to explain their sheet (allow a total of 5 minutes per sheet.) Leader might read out things they can see on the sheet and do some linking together etc. At the end of each sheet being looked at/explained, vote for the most helpful idea to do next. Take a photo of each sheet.
Timing: 5 minutes set up, 10 minutes play
Equipment: None
How to play: The children find a space in the hall. Each child secretly chooses somebody to be their bomb and somebody to be their shield. When the leader shouts ‘go’ everybody starts to move around. The aim of the game is to have your shield in between you and your bomb when the leader shouts stop. Play several rounds.
To adapt this to Take the Jump, before each round the leader calls out what the bomb and shield is for that round before the children choose someone as their bomb and shield. Suggestions for bombs and shields:
GAME 3 - BOMB AND SHIELD GAME
GAME 4 - ADAPTED PORT AND STARBOARD
A spare game if needed at end
Explain that this is linked to holiday local. The four walls are 4 UK holiday destinations. Dorset, Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, Aberdeenshire. �Actions:
Watch how to play Port and Starboard if you don’t know how to play! It becomes fun either when you take them through actions very fast or if you give a false start like exaggerating the ‘AA’ sound but not settling on whether it’s Aberdeenshire or And the King’s coming
ROUND UP
Timing: 10 minutes
Questions to ask this kids
Which do you think is the most difficult thing to do and why?
Which do you think is the easiest thing to do and why?
This is a Jump for Joy. When we have less stuff we don’t have to spend so much time looking after all of our stuff and worrying about it so we have more time to do the things which we enjoy. What do you love doing? (Don’t take too long over this)
Let’s play one last game (omit this if you are short of time – Port and Starboard)
Give out a leaflet for each child and anything else you might want to give them like a certificate or a sticker as they go out.
Have fun music playing as they leave.
After the workshop send the photos of the ideas to the Brownie/Cub/Scout leader to be shared with parents and to be used for any future work.
EXTRA GAME IDEAS
IDEA 1 - IMAGINATION SPACESHIP
This is a game that allows children to explore the future they would like to see, what they expect from the world when they grow up. It can be a great way for children to
Kit
Instructions
Ask everyone to stand in a circle. Stand in the middle. Hold the box with the light in it. Open the box to reveal the light. Ask everyone to hum. Explain that this is the sound of the spaceship going forwards in time. Once it has arrived at a year of your choosing, ask everyone to stop. Ask them to shut their eyes and imagine what the world is like. What are people eating? How do they travel? What do their houses look like? Give everyone a minute or two to vision. Invite everyone to share their responses. Repeat for nearer or further years.
IDEA 2 - THE SIX SHIFTS
Split the group into groups of at least 5. Allocate each of them a shift and set them the task of coming up with a freezeframe to communicate it. Together, come up with a scene that you think will show everyone your shift. Take turns to see what each group has come up with - can you guess which shift they’re trying to show?
And for older children (10+) you could do this exercise for the foundations (No More Us and Them, Trying is Enough so Just Start, Jump for Joy)
IDEA 3 - FOUNDATIONS
Trying is Enough so just start!
When have you found something hard to do for the first time? Ask the room for ideas. A heavy item in the middle of the room. Ask for a volunteer to try and move it (by pushing it, not lifting it - we don’t want injuries!). They can’t do very much alone. Ask for more volunteers to help them. See how the object moves little by little? This is how everyone Taking the Jump will change things. No one person can achieve all of the change we need - but by everyone trying their best, together we can get there!
No More Us and Them
Split the group into two. Set them a task to do XXXX
Jump for Joy (good idea to do one of the exercises on consumerism first to avoid lots of answers around having more stuff). Ask the children what makes them happy, what puts a smile on their face?
IDEA 4 - OBSTACLE COURSE
Kit: small trampoline, long fabric (5+m) to be the river of consumerism, shopping bags/takeaway cartons/objects that represent consumerism, large circular disc (wooden ideal) with 27% painted on it, 3x beanbags/dried beans in a sock, posters of each of the 6 shifts arranged around the trampoline with space to jump in front of each one. Podium and/or red carpet, boombox to play music
�NB - we have all of this kit in Bristol if you’d like to borrow it :)
Instructions
IDEA 5 - TAKE THE JUMP BINGO
Tick of all six and you’ve kickstarted your climate journey in style.
Tell us how it went and get your family / friends / teachers / goldfish
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