Animal Chain Game

Hello friends,

Today at Sr. OSC we played an awesome game outside, that I haven't played in years. It was such a great time that I thought I'd share our experience with you. We called the game "Animal Chain Game" or "Predator vs. Prey" and it goes like this:

Participants were placed into 1 of 4 different animal groups including:

Predator

Carnivore

Omnivore

Herbivore

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Each group had a different role to play. Whether it was finding food sources, finding water sources, tagging/eating other players or a combination of all the tasks.





The food/water sources were made of tin cans, string & coloured markers. Some were more challenging to find then others.


Once the children found a food or water source, they would use the markers to keep track of the items they've found.

It was a complex game, but it was really great to see our whole program participate in an activity they didn't know anything about and have it turn out so well!

That's all for now folks,

Matt

Hunger Games: A new game to keep cool!

Hey OSC Families!

As you know, the staff recently came back from a training weekend at Loon Lake. In between workshops, we tried out a new active game called "The Hunger Games". It was so successful that we brought the game back here to OSC to play with the kids!

Basically, we started the game in the middle of the field and filled up dozens of water balloons. We placed these water balloons in a "cornucopia" (which pays homage to The Hunger Games movie, if you've seen it) in the field. Each participant draws a name of another player at random.  The name that they draw is their target that they will try to hit with a water balloon. Once a player hits their target, they take that person's paper and that name will become their new target. This keeps going until there are only a few people left.  After that we play our 'showdown' round and crown a winner.

Once the game begins, each player runs to try and grab a water balloon, but they can only have one in their hand at a time. Some people were able to grab a water balloon and run away quickly to safety, while others were hit with water balloons as they were reaching for a water balloon. It made for a lot of excitement as every game was different! After the first game ended, we altered the game a little bit in terms of where the starting point was. Instead of being on the outside and running towards the middle for a water balloon, we started all in one big group in the middle, and ran to different water balloon stashes that were placed around the field. This changed the dynamic of the game and kept the kids on their toes!

This game was a great success and the kids had a great time. However, even if it is raining outside the game can be altered to be played indoors. Instead of water balloons, dodgeballs can be used.

Let us know if you have any great ideas for games that we can play at OSC. We're always looking for new ideas!

Until next time,

Ryan M

Dino Egg Soap!

Having trouble getting your kids to use soap while washing their hands? We've got a solution for you! These dinosaur egg soaps will not only wow your kids, but hopefully encourage them into adopting a good habit. The soap is relatively easy to make and a super fun craft! You simply need to melt some glycerin soap and pour it into a plastic egg container, place the dinosaur into the vessel and....voila! A dinosaur egg that doubles as soap!

Ingredients needed:

• glycerin soap
• a pyrex measuring cup
• tape
• plastic easter egg vessels
• mini dinosaur figurines 
• essential oil (we used coconut)
• coloured soap dye

1. Place desired amount of glycerin soap into the pyrex measuring cup and microwave until the glycerin soap is melted (approximately 40 seconds). Once the soap is melted, add 2-3 drops of coloured soap dye.
2. Meanwhile, tape the holes of the easter egg containers. Then, prepare easter egg vessels by splitting them in half and putting the bottom portion in a cup. Place plastic dinosaur in the centre of the egg and suspend it in the centre with a strip of tape. Pour the melted soap into the bottom vessel and let it sit for an hour.
3. After the hour is up, pour melted soap into the top portion of the plastic egg. While the soap is still liquid, snap the hardened bottom side onto the top. Let it harden for 2 hours or overnight.
   
   
   
4. To remove the plastic egg, gently push on all sides of the egg and pull it off. 

Here is also a handy step by step tutorial!

Cheers,
Monica