13 Days of Halloween 2018 - Day 5

Y'all, I'm going to be completely transparent for just a minute. Today is not only the 5th day of the 13 Days of Halloween, but it is the LAST DAY OF FALL BREAK. Now, I don't know about your Club sites, but around here, if school is out, the Club is in. For us that means that for the last three days we've had kids for at least 10 hours a day. Let me say that again TEN HOURS A DAY. Not only are we with these kids for a very long time, many of them are not regular Club kids. This means they don't really know the everyday rules and procedures of the Club. Fall Break is a bit of a dress rehearsal for the upcoming Winter Break and for new staff who have yet to endure experience a break, it can sometimes feel like a hazing. Now granted, our staff aren't working 10 hour days, but when you're neck deep in the trenches a 5-7 hour shift can easily feel like a 10 hour day. So, with all of that transparency (perhaps more than you asked for), I give you Day 5 of the 13 Days of Halloween: Back Pocket Ideas (or How to Make Breaks Not-Quite-As-Scary). For those of us who work with kids on a daily, these Back Pocket Ideas are like early Trick or Treating (although I try and make sure our staff have some candy hidden around the Club too).

Now I'm not sure what other organizations refer to these little golden nuggets as, but I learned the term over my years as a Girl Scout leader and trainer. Basically, Back Pocket Ideas are games, songs, activities, anything that keeps your group occupied for the extra five or ten minutes until the next activity starts. The premise is that you keep them tucked away in your Back Pocket until you need them and since they require no set up or materials, you can use them easy peasy anytime. So, since this is the final day of Fall Break, I can assure you our staff have been pulling out the Back Pocket ideas. Here are some of my favorite ideas that I've used over the years.

Who Has It? Who Doesn't?

Staff chooses an observable object such as hair ribbons, watch, white shirt, and says, "Ann has it, James doesn't." When someone thinks they know, they raise their hand and guess. Each youth may make only one guess per object until everyone has had a chance, or until a given time limit has passed. With younger children, the children who "have it" line up on one wall and the ones who don't "have it" line up on the other wall, so they can have visual clues to the criteria or concept.

Barnyard

Each child is given the name of an animal with three children having the same name. No one is allowed to tell another which animal he is. At the signal each child makes the noise of the animal that he has been given. The first group of three animals to find each other and sit down are the winners.

Machines

Groups of 6-10 must create a moving machine by miming it all together, (each person is a part of the machine). Others must try to guess what the machine is. No talking or noises are allowed.

Oh Deer!

A game where a herd of deer seeks food, water and shelter to survive. The group should be split into 2 even groups and they should be at either end of the playing space facing opposite directions. One group will be the environment and the other will be the deer. The environment and the deer will pick one of three signs; WATER (hand over mouth), FOOD (hands on stomach) or SHELTER (hands in a peak overhead). On the go signal from the leader, both groups will turn around and make their  symbol. The deer will run towards the environment that is the same as their sign. If they get an environment, both players become deer. If the deer cannot find the appropriate symbol, they will die and become part of the environment. Fluctuations in the deer population due to different causes can be shown in different rounds.

Okay, I'm going to be real with you all again... I know these aren't Halloween related. But, remember when I said it was the LAST DAY OF FALL BREAK. Yeah, I kinda need a break too. But, they really are great ideas and they are super helpful to have whenever you need them.

Do you have favorite Back Pocket Ideas that you pull out in your Clubs? Let me know!