Easter games

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MUSICAL EASTER BUNNY HOP

You will need: pictures of a basket printed on A3 paper (enough for one per player); sticky tape; lively music and the means to play it

Before the session, tape the baskets to the floor, making sure they’re spaced out. This game is a bit like musical chairs, but instead of dancing, children have to bunny-hop around the room while the music is playing.

Once the music stops, the bunnies have to hop to the nearest printed basket image. After the first round, remove one basket from the floor. The next time the music stops, the child without a basket drops out. (Encourage them to carry on dancing, so they don’t get bored!) Keep going until you only have one bunny left.

EGGS-TRA TRAIL

You will need: straws (one per person); large tray of jelly beans; table; small plastic cups (one per team)

Place the tray of jelly beans on a table at one end of the room. Split the group into teams and line them up at the other end with a plastic cup in front of them. Give each player a straw.

On the word: “Go!” one player from each team runs to the tray with their straw and their team’s plastic cup. When they arrive, they should try to move a jelly bean from the tray into their cup just using the straw. Once they have managed that, they take the cup back to their team to pass to the next player. The winning team is the one with the most jelly beans in their cup at the end of the specified time limit.

RUNAWAY CHICKS

You will need: different coloured large hoops or coloured tape (such as elec­trical tape)

Choose three children (or more depend­ing how large your group is) to be a mother hen. Place a different coloured hoop on the floor (or tape out an area with coloured tape) for each mother hen. These are chicken coops. The rest of the children should pretend to be chicks running loose.

This game is a bit like tag. The aim is for the mother hens to gather as many chicks as possible into their holding areas by chasing and tagging them. Once tagged, the chicks stand in their mother hen’s chicken coop. The winner is the one who gathers most chicks into her coop.

BEST-DRESSED CHICK

You will need: bowls of feathers (one per team); chopsticks (one set for each player); PVA glue; simple line drawing of a chicken (one per team)

Split the children into teams and get them to stand at one end of the room. Each person should have a set of chop­sticks, and each team should have a bowl of feathers.

At the other end of the room, stick one chicken picture to the wall for each team. Place a small pot of PVA glue next to each picture.

The aim of the game is for the first player from each team to pick up a feather from their bowl using their chopsticks. They take this to the other end of the room, dip it in the glue and then stick it to the picture. They shouldn’t use their hands at any point, just the chopsticks! They then run back to their team and the next player takes a turn.

At the end of a set time limit, compare all the pictures of chickens, which are now decorated with feathers. The winners are the ones with the most stylishly dressed chicken!

WATER EGG RACE

You will need: large wooden or plastic spoons (one per team); bowls of water bombs (one per team with enough water bombs for each player); empty bowls

Split the children into teams and line them up at one end of the room with their bowl of water bombs and their wooden spoon. At the other end, place an empty bowl opposite each team.

The first person in each team puts a water bomb on their spoon and races to transport it to their empty bowl without dropping and bursting it. Once they have done so, they return to their team and the next person takes a turn. For older children, add some cones for them to manoeuvre around as they travel. The winner is the team with the most intact water bombs in their bowl.

SCRAMBLED EGGS

You will need: lively music and the means to play it

Start the game by playing some fun music (loud enough to be able to hear, but quiet enough for the leader to be able to shout instructions over). While the music is playing, the children should move about the room in various ways, as instructed by the leader:

Bunny hop: bunny hop around the room.

Chick flap: run around, flapping your arms like wings.

Busy bees: buzz around the room.

Spring lamb: skip like little lambs.

Scrambled eggs plus a number: the chil­dren should stop what they are doing and get into groups of that number. Those who don’t find themselves in a group are ‘out’.

Allow enough time for the children to hear and follow your instructions. The last person to fulfil the action drops out. Keep going until you have just three players left. These are the winners.

By the youth and children’s teams at Holy Trinity Brompton.