In the Pond, On the Bank

Type: Thinking/Active

Group size: Any

Equipment: Masking tape to create a line on the floor long enough for the whole group to line up on.

Instructions:

  1. Have all members of the group line up on one side of the line.
  2. Instruct them that they are standing “on the bank” and that the other side of the line is “in the pond”.
  3. They are to listen to your commands.
  4. The only commands that they are to react to are “on the bank” or “in the pond”.
  5. They must jump quickly to which ever side you called or be called out.
  6. The object is to be the last one standing.
  7. As the facilitator you then start yelling commands, trying to trick the people jumping by sometimes yelling ‘in the bank” or “on the pond”, or by repeating the same command twice in a row and getting them to jump.

Hints:

  • The faster the facilitator calls the commands the easier it is to get people off guard because they get into a rhythm.
  • Older kids could have an additional line to jump over (3 lines) In the pond, On the bank, On the deck. This will cause them to think a bit more.
  • Older kids could have more space between lines forcing them to exert more energy in a shorter amount of time.

Critique:

  • Commands were sometimes hard to hear, need to address loudly.
  • Also, the lines could have been farther apart so that getting from one side to the other required a more aggressive movement.