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YLT-Cooperative Musical Chairs

What does it mean to cooperate? Work together to play this game of musical chairs – as chairs get removed, you’ll have to find creative ways to make sure everyone can still get a seat!

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Plan

  • What will you need for this game?  
  • Who will play the music? What songs will you play?  
  • How will everybody have a seat when there are not enough mats? 

Do

  • Place floor mats or sheets of newspaper in a circle—but make sure that you are one short!  
  • If somebody can’t run around to take part in this game, that’s okay. That person can play music while everyone else walks around the mats, just like musical chairs.  
  • When the music stops, everyone playing must race to claim a mat. 
  • The person without a mat is out, and a mat is taken away for the next round.  
  • After a few rounds, the people who were out can join in again—only now nobody will be out when the music stops! Everyone still needs to find a seat on the mats, though! How will you do this? And what will you do when more mats are taken away, round after round? Be creative! 

Review

  • What do you know now that you did not know before?  
  • What did you like best about this game?  
  • How did you help others to have a seat? How did it make you feel? 
  • How did everybody stay safe playing this game?  
  • For those who were out early in the game, how did that feel? How did it feel to be back in the game after being out?  
  • How can you include everyone in other things you do? 

Keep it Simple

Before people re-join the game, agree on how you will include them and make sure that everyone has a mat. 

Take it Further

Try to get down to one mat! Can you get everyone on to a single mat?