Animal Tag

Tag is such a fun game to play! I have found a few twists that I absolutely love playing! I have played them with kids as young as 6 years old. The kids love the creativity these twists allow.

My Experiences

I have played this game of tag multiple times. I love seeing everyone participate and laughing together. The participants are always super creative with their animal choices and how they portray their animals.

If you use this game, please comment and share your experience or twists you added! I'd love to hear different ideas!

Animal Tag

Choose one player to be 'it'. On the starting signal, the tagger attempts to tag as many players as possible. If tagged a player must assume an animal position (you can also do sports or other categories). A tagged player is un-'frozen' when a player who isn't frozen guesses his/her animal. If the player guesses the wrong animal, he/she stays frozen until the animal is guessed correctly.

Recommendations

You can let the players use their hands to tag each other if they get along well. I have found that a soft ball works best so the participants do not get too physical if they do not get along well. 

Life Lessons

Point out the importance of good communication. My favorite time I played, one of the girls decided to be a guinea pig. No one could guess her animal. After the game, we talked about the importance of using words and actions that others will understand. Also, when his/her animal was not being guessed, the participants would switch to different positions for the same animal. Using this, we talked about the importance of rephrasing to help communication. 

Materials

• 1-2 soft balls

Other Variations of Tag
Freeze-Tag Toss 
Triangle Tag
Spot Tag
Coping Skills Freeze Tag

Please comment below on how you would use this activity with your population, thoughts on how it has worked for you, advice for others on how to implement it, what you would process and so on! We'd love to hear about it! 
 
Here are a few links to ideas on how to lead activities better:

• Why Leadership and Activities are Important 

• Correctly Using Leadership

• Leading the Activity (Problem Solving, Group Control, etc.)

• Handling Different Age Groups

• Managing Large Groups and Choosing Teams (relays, team spirit, including everyone, etc.)

Credit:

Picture 1: http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=9732960
Picture 2: http://cdn.sheknows.com/articles/2011/04/kids-playing-hens-chicks.jpg