SNAIL
You start with a large circle and everyone holding hands, facing into the circle with a leader and two people to make the bridge. Just like the name implies you walk around making smaller and smaller circles until you are in the centre of the room. The two girls then form an arch or bridge and the leader turns facing out of the circle and everyone follows around until you are all facing out from the circle in a big circle again. The you repeat the process so that you are again all facing in. Everyone seems to like this game. There is a song which goes along with it and you just keep repeating the song: "Snail, snail come out and be fed. First you feelers then your head. The your Momma and your Poppa will feed you fried muttons. (or muffins)."
Wendy Baker
MY BONNIE
We have done a song with parents and girls that is quite fun. We sing, My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean. Every time we sing a word that starts with a B we either sit down, if we are standing, or stand up if we are sitting. We use chairs so as to avoid crippling the leaders, but if you are all really fit you can sit on the floor. It is a lot of breathless fun!
Jane Maddin
EDELWEISS
The song is Edelweiss from the Sound of Music. The actions are usually messed up the first time doing this song as it takes some coordination but it is entertaining and the guides are quite impressed when they can do it with switching all the time.
Sitting cross-legged in a circle, each person places their left hand face up between their left knee and their neighbour's right knee about a foot off the ground. Everyone places their right hands, palm down, on their right neighbour's upturned left hand. To the music (so these actions fit half of one line of the song)---- with your right hand, first you hit your neighbour's left hand, then your right knee, your left knee, the bottom of your left hand and then the top of your left hand twice.
ie. for the line: Edelweiss, edelweiss (you'd go through the actions twice) (I think its a clap per quarter note or eighth note - I'd have to check but its very even).
The really hard part is switching directions. Usually initially the switching starts at the word blossoms (from Blossoms of snow.....) - so your left hand is now doing the hitting and the right hand remains stationary. Once they and you feel comfortable with that you can switch every time (therefore you'd switch twice a line).
Its not as difficult as it sounds, honest :)
Kristen Byrnes
THIS WAY VALERIE
(Tune: Shortenin' Bread)
This game works best with a fairly large group. You will need to have the girls get a buddy and then form 2 lines of girls...the buddies facing each other. As soon as you have them in 2 straight lines they can start singing the song:
This way Valerie, That way Valerie,
This way Valerie all the way home.
(girls join hands with their buddy and sing this part while moving arms in a sawing motion - back and forth)
Strut Miss Lucy, strut Miss Lucy,
Strut Miss Lucy all the way home.
(head girl in one line passes between the 2 lines making up any movement she wishes and falls in at the foot of the opposite line)
Here comes another one just like the other one.
Here comes another one all the way home.
(buddy of the previous girl copies the movements just done by her buddy as she passes between the 2 lines and then joins the foot of the opposite line)
Both lines move up a wee bit and repeat the song over and over and over again until everyone has had a turn. The girls will eventually start getting quite creative in their actions if you play this many times.
Gail Branum
OLD KENTUCKY FAIR
(Tune: Brownie Smile Song)
Girls form a circle, holding hands. One person is in the center. The outside circle moves clockwise to start with and switches direction at the *. The inside circle (to start, it is just 1 person) moves the opposite direction from the outside.
I went to the old Kentucky,
The old Kentucky Fair* (whoo!)
I saw a senorita
With flowers in her hair. (whoo!)
Everyone drops hands at this point and stays in one spot while they "twist" and sing the next verse.
Shake 'em, shake 'em, shake 'em.
Shake 'em all you can.
Shake'em, shake 'em, shake 'em.
Shake 'em once again.
Outside circle then claps and stomps one foot while singing the next verse. The inside person closes her eyes and spins and points while the verse is being sung. If there is more than one person on the inside, only the last person on the inside spins. All others duck down to avoid getting hit by the person spinning and pointing.
Oh, Round and around and around she goes.
Where she stops nobody knows.
Point to the east, point to the west,
Point to the one that you like best.
Whomever the girl is pointing to at that point joins the inner circle and will be the next person to spin and point. The whole song starts over again.
This game can go on and on, just as long as the outside circle can stretch around the inner circle. When you simply cannot stretch any longer, then you can either quit the game or re-start with only the last person chosen in the center.
All ages of girls love this game, and the nice part about it is that everyone gets to play it at all times.
Gail Branum
ZAP
Played after dark (usually without any flashlights) with boundaries!
(I actually didn't play this one...but I understand it's like Hide and Seek.) Two girls have flashlights (off) -they are "it". Other girls hide while "its" count to 50. "Its" then walk around in the dark to find girls. If they find someone they ZAP them (by flicking on their flashlight). Once ZAPPED the girl then takes the flashlight (now off) and she becomes "it" and continues to look for other girls. Meanwhile the girl that had been "it" has a chance to hide.
Margaret A. B. Jones
