Relaxation & Concentration

Don Bosco Medien Verlag, Rosemarie Portmann, Elisabeth Schneid

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781351704946
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Didattica
• Subtopic: Didattica generale

This set of four books offers a variety of games and activities that facilitate a positive and fun learning experience for people of all ages in their emotional and behavioural development. The games and activities are suitable both for individuals and groups, and take a positive and proactive approach to the areas of: self-esteem, aggression, relaxation and concentration, and social skills. This volume contains 130 games to promote relaxation and concentration: Includes games for reducing restlessness and agitation, calming and awareness, attention and thinking, and concentration for the whole body.

Concentration Games for the Whole Body

108 Blind Figure of Eight

All players are blindfolded. They hold each other by the hand, and the leader tells them what they have to do. For example, they have to create a star, a circle, an oval, a figure of eight, and so on. When all group members have the feeling that the figure is complete, they communicate with each other and open their eyes.

In larger groups, the game can also be played as a competition between sub-groups. The leader decides which group’s figure is closest to the one requested.

109 Busy Bees

Players form pairs and elect a queen. The queen gives different instructions. For example: ‘Shake hands’, ‘Link arms’, ‘Stand back to back’, ‘Look at each other’ and so on. However, if the queen calls out, ‘Busy bees!’, all bee pairs have to split up and ‘fly off’ to find a new partner. During this ‘bees flight’, the queen has to try to catch a single flying bee. If she succeeds, they create a new pair. The bee who has not found a new partner becomes the new queen.

110 Standing Dance

All players stand still around the room. The leader plays some strongly rhythmic music and ‘releases’, one at a time, individual body parts for movement: for example, first the forehead, then the eyes, the little finger of the left hand, the mouth, the thumb of the right hand, the left hip and so on.

All movements have to be continued, even when new ones are added.

After a while, movements can, on instruction from the leader, be ‘frozen’ again, one by one.

111 Fully Automatic Jointed Doll

Players are seated in a circle. One player begins by saying, ‘I have a fully automatic jointed doll that does this’. The player now demonstrates a body movement - for example, stamping on the floor with their left foot. All other players copy this movement. The left-hand neighbour of the first player continues: ‘I also have a fully automatic jointed doll that does this’. They demonstrate another movement, for example, opening and closing their mouth. Everybody else also has to copy this movement, but without stopping the first one. The more players that have had a turn, the more complicated it becomes to carry out all movements simultaneously. The game can be interrupted if a player says: ‘My fully automatic jointed doll is broken’. Then all players have to freeze in midmovement. Alternatively, you could agree to use those words to end the game, when no one is prepared to bring the fully automatic jointed doll back to life again.

112 Peas Roll

The group is seated in a circle. Initially, all players practise the text in a chorus: ‘Peas are rolling across the street, and then they get squashed. Oh, what a shame, what a crying, crying shame.’ At the second rehearsal, corresponding movements are practised. The leader demonstrates:

• At ‘Peas are rolling across the street, and then they get... everybody has to walk their index and middle fingers along their upper thighs to their knees;
• At ‘.. .squashed...’, they slap their knees with both hands;
• At ‘...Oh...’, they put their left hands flat over their mouths;
• At ‘.. .what a shame... ’, they touch the side of their heads with their right hands,
• At ‘...crying, crying...’, they tap their mouths twice with their left hands; and
• At ‘.. .shame’, they put their right hands to the side of their heads again.

During the course of the game, additional instructions can be given with regard to mime, volume and tempo. For example, the peas could roll across the street laughing, crying, happily, loudly, sadly, fast, slowly, and so on. The more the instructions that have to be followed, and the faster the game is played, the greater the attention that has to be paid.

113 Lion Hunt

All players are seated in a circle, with plenty of room to move. They mimic steps by stamping their feet and, at the same time, slap their hands on their upper thighs. During this movement, the leader begins to talk:

This speech and counter-speech is the chorus. It is repeated after every stop of the journey!

This time, the chorus is not repeated but the leader waves until it is really quiet. All of a sudden, the leader shouts: ‘Hang on, what is this? – Ah, a lion!’

Now, all stations are gone through again in reverse, with the leader going through the instructions as quickly as possible. In the end, the leader says, ‘There is a gate, we have to get through it.’ (The squeaking of the gate is imitated.) ‘The gate is closed.’ (Loud bang.) And now everybody shouts a relieved ‘Aah!’

114 Jungle Expedition

This game can be played in any room, as long as it is not too small. The leader slowly reads the following story, and players try to make movements corresponding to what is happening in the story. To make the image of a jungle expedition even more realistic, appropriate music can be played quietly in the background. The leader begins:

‘Imagine you are on an expedition into the jungle. You are in the deepest jungle ... Everything is overgrown ... You cannot make out a path ... Lianas hanging from the trees brush against your face ... It is dark and damp ... You really have to strain your eyes ... You are sweating ... With a lot of effort, you are clearing a way ... You are using a bush knife to cut a lane ... Suddenly, there is a big tree across your path ... You try to climb over it ... You slip ... You try again ... You try to swing across the tree on a liana ... On the other side of the tree trunk you land in a swamp ... You wade through the swamp ... The mosquitoes are really bothering you ... You try to fight them off... You have to protect your head from falling coconuts ... You are so sweaty ... You fan yourself with a big leaf ... A parrot gives you a fright ... You are rea...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• About the Authors
• Acknowledgements
• List of Games
• Introduction
• Games for Reducing Restlessness & Agitation
• Calming & Awareness Games
• Kim’s Games
• Attention & Thinking Games
• Concentration Games for the Whole Body