Home Page \(\blacktriangleright\) Children and Youth Unit \(\blacktriangleright\) Games for Flexible Minds \(\blacktriangleright\) Reverse Thinking
Games for Flexible Minds: Reverse Thinking
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Activity Flow
A movement and listening game where the rules change during the game.
How to play?
Step 1: Learn the rules (the first rule):
The children stand up. Present a command and a fixed movement:
When we say “Sun” – the children jump up.
When we say “Rain” – the children bend down.
Practice these rules a few times until everyone catches on and reacts automatically.
Step 2: Changing the rules (flexibility):
Announce to the children: “From now on, we are playing ‘Inside Out’!
When I say ‘Sun,’ don’t jump, but bend down!
And when I say ‘Rain,’ don’t bend down, but jump up!”
Step 3: Opposite game:
Start leading the children with a combination of the original and new commands.
To challenge cognitive flexibility, make sure to say the command opposite to what happened previously (for example, “Sun,” and after two seconds, “Rain”).
Extension (repeated change):
After a few successful rounds, you can change the rule again (“Back to the original rule!”) or introduce a new command with its own rule, and then change the rules again.
Note:
Instead of the child reacting to the facilitator’s (the adult’s) instructions, you can take turns: sometimes the child is the “trickster” (giving the command) and the adult is the “responder,” and sometimes the other way around.
Required materials
No materials needed.
