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If you're looking for an activity to use in your school, these are some tried-and-true ideas that have worked for us.
If you've got an activity that is popular in your school, please send an explanation along to us! We'll post it here for everyone to use.
Cake Auction - Students showcase their baking skills and raise money at the same time. Students are invited to bake and decorate cakes, which will be auctioned off at a school assembly. Classes raise money, and during the auction they bid for the cakes they want. Prizes are also awarded for best cakes (The Cake Bosses), most money raised (given first 'dibs' on the cakes), etc. Submitted by St. Paul's Intermediate in Gander. This year's auction raised over $1800 for Janeway Day, and students brought in 81 cakes!
Crush on You - This is a good Valentine's Day activity. Students can 'purchase' a can of Crush, which will be delivered to the person of their choice on Valentine's Day. The different colors of Crush can have different meanings, like friendship, romance, or whatever you'd like. The purchaser can also attached a note (on heart shaped paper). From Exploits Valley High School, Grand Falls-Windsor.
Halloween Havoc/Christmas Chaos/February Fiesta/March Madness - These activity assemblies can be used for any occasion. Choose a series of short games (a list of ideas can be found below, and more can be found on NBC's "A Minute to Win It" site). The assembly can be organized in two different ways. One option is to have 6 teams of 4-5 students sign up in advance, and only those teams will compete. The rest of the school will watch and cheer for the players. Another option is to pass around a sign up sheet in advance, and anyone who wants to play can sign up. During the assembly, draw names. Each game will have different players, which means more students will be involved. This works well for house leagues or grade vs. grade competitions. With either set up, the games are kept relatively secret, but it's good to tell students that they may get messy or have to eat something. A score keeper will be necessary, as well as a host who can explain the games. To make sure everybody sees what's happening, we use the school's video camera to project everything on a large screen next to the stage. That way, even students in the back can see the small details of the challenges.
Honey if you love me: In this game, one player from each team is challenged by a series of people. Each person will ask each player the following question: "Honey, if you love me, will you please give me a smile?" The person makes direct eye contact with the player, and the player can't look away. The person can also use props or funny voices. Their goal is to make the player laugh. The player's goal is to respond without laughing, saying "Honey, I do love you, but I just can't smile." They have to keep a straight face while being asked the question and giving their answer. The player who makes it through the most challenges wins.
Bobbing for body parts: great for Halloween! Just like bobbing for apples, but each student gets their own basin. One player per team bobs for all the parts of a dismantled doll (dollar store barbies are best!). For an added challenge, have the students try to put the dolls back together.
La Bumba: The whole team participates in this relay. Half of the team sits behind the start line. The others are behind the finish, with their backs to their team. On the whistle, the first player must raise both maracas over their head and scoot on their bum to the finish. No hands allowed! They must stay overhead. Once the player passes the line completely, they must hand off the maracas to the next player, who scoots backwards to make the next hand off. If you try to hand off too early, the lines judges will stop you and make you complete your part. The first team to have all players complete the relay wins.
Cotton ball relay: This messy relay is a riot! All players participate in this relay. At the back of the gym, each person puts Vaseline on their face. One at a time, you run to the front, dip your face (no hands!) in your team’s bowl of cotton balls, and then run back to your team. You can’t use your hands, so if cotton balls fall off while you’re running, then you have to leave them behind. Once you tag in, the next player does the same thing. Players back at the base will pick off and count the cotton balls that have come back. The most cotton balls wins!
Marshmallow pudding drop: Two players compete for each team. One lies on the floor below the stage, with their head close to the stage. Their partner will stand on the stage, dip a large marshmallow in pudding, and drop it from shoulder height into their partner’s mouth. Everyone will drop the marshmallows together – the announcer will tell players to take your aim, then drop on her signal. This gets messy; putting garbage bags on the floor beneath players' heads helps. Each player should also be given safety glasses, a shower cap, and a garbage bag to cover up with. The team that catches the most marshmallows wins.
Feed the baby: This game uses two players from each team. One sits on a chair, blindfolded, with their hands in their pockets or behind their back. The other player stands behind them, also blindfolded, holding a jar of baby food and a spoon (pudding is another alternative - messy is good!). The standing player has to feed their partner from behind, using only the hand that holds the spoon. The team that makes the least mess wins.
Limbo: Just like you remember it! Players from each team compete to see who's the best. How low can you go?
Marshmallow toss: Two players from each team compete. They face each other and stand 2-3 meters apart. Each team has a set amount of mini-marshmallows. One player throws them, and the other catches them in their mouth. Neither player is allowed to move their feet! For an extra challenge, the catcher can kneel down and put on a blindfold, so the thrower does all the work. The team that catches the most marshmallows wins.
Don’t forget the lyrics: One player per team competes. They sing along with a popular song, and then the music stops. Once it does, they must continue singing the next line. The cheering of the crowd scores this game, based on who they think does the best job.
iPod contest: Popular/common songs are loaded onto an iPod. One player for each team competes. They draw the name of a song from a hat. They get to listen to it on the iPod's earphones, and they get a lyric sheet. Their goal is to do the best singing job they can. The crowd's applause is used to determine the winner.
Sticky Faces: For this one, students work in pairs. One partner spreads peanut butter (the school-safe kind, of course, made from soya - no peanuts!) on their face, and their partner stands about 2 meters away with a plate of popped popcorn. They throw pieces of popcorn at their partner's sticky face, trying to stick on as many pieces as possible.
Lifesaver Pass: This is another old standby. Teams (6-10 students) line up in straight lines. Each player gets a toothpick. Their goal is to pass the lifesaver along the line, from start to finish, without dropping it. If it's dropped, the team starts again. At our Christmas Chaos assembly this year, we used wrapped candy canes (instead of toothpicks) and Oreo Wreath Cookies.
Romeo & Juliet - This is another Valentine's Day activity. It's two days (the 13th and 14th of February, or two closest days) where there's a simple competition for the whole school. On the first day, the boys get blue paper hearts to wear on a string around their neck (that's the biggest piece of work for that activitiy - cutting out and stringing all the hearts). On that day, they are not supposed to talk to the girls at all. If they do, then the girl who got them to talk gets their heart. At the end of the day, the girl with the most hearts in the school is named Juliet. The next day, the girls get pink hearts and the process reverses. The only rules, really, are that you can't hide your heart and if you're doing group work in classes, then the game stops for the duration of the group work. From Exploits Valley High School, Grand Falls-Windsor.
Spirit Days/Theme Days - just some fun ideas for theme days that can be used as part of a spirit week or on their own. An idea to boost participation is to offer prizes based on participation. Just record the names of students who participate on each theme day, and do random prize draws for small prizes at the end of the day. If you're doing a full week of activities, a larger prize can be given out at the end of the week. Those who participate more will have more entries.
School colors
60s/70s/80s
Black and white
Pyjamas
Bad hair
Hat
Seasonal colors
Hawaiian
Wild wild west
Bring the library to life (characters from books)
Stereotypes (goth, nerd, jock, etc.)
Opposites
Twins
Students Styling Staff Day - We had the kids buy tickets for 50 cents, and they could buy as many as they wanted. We had 8 staff members participate, so we drew the names of the winning students, and had them pick a staff member to style. The next morning, we set up in the gym with any and all styling products (buckles, bows, sprays, gel, etc) and had the kids get us all ready for our days. A super fun activity. From St. Lewis Academy.
