runarcn.no

This page contains descriptions of games for work I will have at some primary schools here in Brazil. I've tried to keep it out of my RSS-feed but it might just pop up there anyways as hiding from RSS isn't that well documented for bearblog.

Elle melle

"Elle melle" is a nursery rhyme to select someone or something, similar to the English "eeny meeny miney moe". It goes:

Elle melle deg fortelle
Skipet går ut i år
Rygg i rand, to i spann
Snipp, snapp, snute
Du er ute!

Recording: elle-melle.wav

While this is not a game in itself, it can be useful for choosing people fairly for the two following ones.

Ta den ring og la den vandre

"Ta den ring og la den vandre" (take the ring and let it wander) is a song with accompanying game. It requires only a room and a ring or other small object, and can be done by all ages. It is most suitable for pre-teens as teens might consider it somewhat unserious. It works as follows:

  1. Have the kids form a circle facing inwards with their hands open on their backs
  2. One person gets chosen as the ring bearer, ie. through "elle melle"
  3. The ring bearer goes outside of the circle with the ring, and everyone in the circle starts singing with their eyes closed. While singing the ring bearer walks around the circle, touching the hands behind the children back, and chooses one person to give the ring before the song reaches the bridge.
  4. When the song reaches the bridge, the ring bearer enters the circle. At the same time the kids closes their hands, moves them to the front of their body, and starts shaking them - preferably to the beat of the song.
  5. As the song ends, the ring bearer gets to choose a person who has to guess who it is that has the ring. If they guess the correct person, than they become the next ring bearer. If they guess wrongly, the guessed person becomes the next guesser.
  6. Alternatively, on the correct guess the kids can have a duel to choose who it is that gets to be the ring bearer, ie. by seeing who can run a full circle around and then into the other persons spot - works better for kids that are slightly older and can also help make the game interesting for teenagers.

Song: ta-den-ring.wav
Lyrics:

Ta den ring og la den vandre,
fra den ene til den andre
Ringen er skjult, den synes ei
Nettopp nå, var ringen hos meg
(bridge)
Ser du jeg har fått den,
Ser du jeg har fått den,
Tra-la-la-la-la-la-lalalalalei!

Translation:

Take the ring and let it wander,
from one person to another
The ring is hidden, it can't be seen
Just now the ring was with me
Do you see, I've got it
Do you see, I've got it
Tra-la-la-la-la-la-lalalalalei! (vocalising, no meaning)

Bro bro brille

Originally based on a Danish nursery rhyme, "Bro bro brille" is a Scandinavian singing-game very common in Norwegian childhood. It's suitable for all ages though more popular among primary school children, and requires only a spacious room with an optional rope.

  1. Select two kids at random, ie. through "elle melle"
  2. Have the chosen kids choose for themselves, quietly, one item each of a category of their choice, ie. fruits. I will be using banana and mango as examples here.
  3. The chosen kids stand facing eachother, forming a portal / bridge with their hands for the rest of kids to walk through / underneath.
  4. While singing the rest of the kids walk through the portal while forming a circle, taking each their turn to walk through it to the music.
  5. When the song reaches it's end at "gryte", the two chosen kids take their arms down, closing the portal and trapping one of the children. One of the chosen kids then whisper to the trapped child "Which do you prefer? Mango or banana?". Depending on the answer the kid then goes behind the one they chose, joining either "team mango" or "team banana". The game continues like this until there are no kids left.
  6. When all the kids have been trapped and gotten to chose their team, a tug of war will commence. This can be done either with a rope or by having all the kids hold around the bodies of the one in front of them. Out of the winning team there will be chosen two new children to form the portal before the game starts over again. This can be done either through a trivial competition (ie. rock paper scissor) or through another round of "elle melle".

Song: bro-bro-brille.wav
Lyrics:

Bro bro brille
klokka ringer elleve,
Keiseren står på sitt høyeste slott
Ser ut over land
Ser ut over strand.
Fare, fare, krigsmann
Døden skal du lide,
Den som kommer aller sist skal i den sorte gryyyte!

Translation:

Bro bro brille
The clock hits eleven
The count stands on his highest castle
Looking out over land
Looking out over sand (beach, but sand rhymes)
Danger, danger, soldier
Death you shall suffer
He who arrives as the last shall go into the black cauldron