Occasion

Educational Activity

Description

This game is best played outside where children have room to run. However, it can also be played in a large, cleared room indoors.

Instructions

1. Choose a word related to the occasion – such as "birthday" – and separate the guests into teams.

2. Inflate the number of balloons that equals the number of letters in the word multiplied by the number of teams. (For example, if two teams are spelling "Billy", make sure there are two Bs, two Is, four Ls and two Ys, for a total of 10 balloons.)

3. Attach a long ribbon so that the balloons float above the children?s heads.

4. Secure a weight at the other end of the ribbon.

5. Use a marker to write one letter of the word on the top of each helium-filled balloon so the letters cannot be seen easily while they?re in the air.

6. Allow the marker to dry, scatter the balloons around an area of the yard and have the teams stand in separate lines.

7. Tell the teams what word they have to spell.

8. When someone yells "Go!" the first child from each team runs to find the first letter of the word. When s/he finds it, s/he runs the balloon back to the next child in line.

9. The next child then has to hold onto that balloon while finding the next letter.

Each child takes a turn until one team has all the letters.

Make sure each child will get a turn; if there are five letters in the word, each team should have five members. To increase the level of difficulty, you can also write letters that are not part of the word on the tops of extra balloons.