Chicken and Noodle Games: 141 Fun Activities With Innovative Equipment will help you
- offer a variety of games that will keep everyone participating,
- provide inclusive and nontraditional games in which no player starts with an advantage,
- adapt games to various settings and occasions, and
- increase players' physical activity.
Take this book, add rubber chickens, pool noodles, tennis balls, sponges, and bolts, sprinkle in kids, and what do you get? A recipe for pure, unadulterated—and wacky—fun!
Written by game masters John Byl, Herwig Baldauf, Pat Doyle, and Andy Raithby; Chicken and Noodle Games: 141 Fun Activities With Innovative Equipment is your ticket to promoting fun and active participation for all involved. The games use easy-to-find equipment in nontraditional ways—which means no player will start with an advantage. In addition, the equipment is inexpensive and allows you to provide a diverse selection of innovative games for very little money. The unusual equipment will capture participants' interests, and the fun games in this book will keep them coming back for more. And some games call for no equipment at all.
The games require little organization and provide great opportunities to include children of all ages and abilities. The activities present fun motivators for increasing physical activity, and they help release tension and excessive energy, assist with personal self-control, and encourage social growth. They also
- enhance perceptual motor development;
- assist with focus, attention span, concentration, and perseverance;
- develop the thinking process; and
- enhance physical fitness and physical abilities.
The games are divided into seven categories: games using rubber chickens, foam pool noodles, and tennis balls; games of tag and rock, paper, scissors; games with equipment bought at dollar stores; and games with equipment bought at hardware stores. Games are laid out for you to quickly grasp the game play and facilitate the game with a minimum of preparation time. Each game includes an objective, the number of players and type of equipment needed, setup, and rules. Many games come with variations to make them more suitable for your group—and the authors encourage adults and children to come up with their own variations as well.
Chicken and Noodle Games will satisfy your appetite for new, different, and definitely fun games using ordinary and unusual equipment in extraordinary ways. In doing so, it offers oodles of choices for kids of all abilities to have fun while increasing their physical activity. When they take part in these games, kids are actively engaged and developing both physically and mentally. But if you ask them about it, they'll just say they're having fun.
John Byl, PhD, is a professor of physical education at Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada, where he teaches courses in elementary health and physical education. He has directed high school and college intramurals for more than 30 years and has coached a variety of sports at the community, high school, and college levels. He also has served as an advisor on league and tournament formats for amateur and professional leagues.
Byl has authored and coauthored several books, including 101 Fun Warm-Up and Cool-Down Games, Intramural Recreation: Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Effective Program, Co-Ed Recreational Games, and Organizing Successful Tournaments. He serves as the president of CIRA (Canadian Intramural Recreation Association) Ontario and vice president of Sport Hamilton. Byl earned his PhD in organization, administration and policy from State University of New York at Buffalo, a master's degree in human kinetics from the University of Windsor, and a bachelor's degree in physical education from the University of British Columbia.
Herwig Baldauf recently retired as the head of physical and health education at Niagara District Secondary School, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, where he taught for 28 years. In that time Baldauf served on the executive boards of CIRA Ontario, CAHPERD, and Ophea (Ontario Physical and Health Education Association). He has published several resources for CIRA Ontario and Ophea and is coeditor of CAHPERD's The Clipboard series. Baldauf is a regular workshop presenter and has done numerous presentations at a variety of provincial and national conferences and has taught at the University of Toronto and Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.
Baldauf has been described as a visionary with progressive and innovative ideas and has been recognized with awards from his peers in the teaching profession, including the Ontario Secondary School Teacher's Federation Excellence in Education Award.
Pat Doyle is a retired elementary school physical education teacher who now operates Creative Playgrounds, a business that designs playgrounds and games. Since 2002 he has given more than 200 Active Playground workshops across Canada to promote physical activity for children on playgrounds.
Doyle was president of the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association of Ontario for six years and has authored or coauthored nine games resources and the Human Kinetics–produced Game On! He received a BA from the University of Windsor and a BA in education from the University of Western Ontario. He resides in Kitchener, Ontario.
Andy Raithby has taught in elementary schools of Ontario for more than 20 years, the last 11 as the head of physical education and health at Lisgar Middle School in Mississauga. His school has been the recipient of six Outstanding Intramural Achievement Awards. He has been an executive member of CIRA Ontario since 1996. Andy has coauthored several books with other CIRA members and is the sole author of The World's Greatest Dodgeball Games, Great Games by Great Kids, and the upcoming Basketball 101. He has presented across the country as an executive member of CIRA Ontario. His workshops have been described as motivating, inspiring, and, best of all, a lot of fun.
Andy is currently a course manager at the Ontario Educational Leadership Centre in Orillia, Ontario. He lives in Burlington, Ontario, with his wife and two great kids. When he's not doing CIRA "stuff" he's on his mountain bike, regularly cycling over 3,000 kilometers a year.
About CIRA Ontario
CIRA Ontario's mission is to encourage, promote, and develop active living, healthy lifestyles, and personal growth through intramural and recreational programs. CIRA Ontario believes that everyone should have the opportunity to participate in athletic and recreational activities, regardless of skill or fitness level, and that a well-constructed intramural and recreation program will provide a wide range of activities that promote fun, fitness, and cooperative participation in either a noncompetitive or friendly competitive atmosphere. For more information on CIRA Ontario, please visit www.ciraontario.com.
