Game On!

Game On! spells F-U-N for kids! If you're looking for traditional and innovative games for children in grades K through 8, then Game On! is the ideal book for you. Coauthored by the president and past president of the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association (CIRA) of Ontario, Game On! makes it easy for you to improve everything from spirit days to intramural programs to traditional playground games.

This hands-on, user-friendly resource brings together 77 games in one package, offering you a variety of healthy options to achieve specific goals for the children you work with. It's full of innovative ways to unite groups, develop children's skills, and promote active FUN—a concept too often forgotten in game planning.

The book covers three different types of games:

- Group games (activities for one class or the entire student body)
- Ball games
- Playground games

Part I presents group games that involve the entire school body, from student to custodian, to raise school spirit and bring together staff, students, and administration. The intramural ball games in Part II have an active social component and—when done effectively—are lots of fun. The playground games in Part III include schlockey (a game that coauthor Pat Doyle first introduced in 1990 and that is now played in schoolyards across Canada) as well as basketball, tetherball, four square, hopscotch, skipping, and various wall games that will make your schoolyard a smorgasbord of activities and a fun place to be.

An Activity Finder at the front of the book makes it easy to pick games your group will enjoy. You can see at a glance the skills that each game teaches and the recommended grade level for each game. The book gives detailed instructions for playing each game, including variations and safety considerations to consider. The games can be played inside or outside, in small or large spaces, and you can easily adapt them to accommodate different size groups, ages, and aptitude levels.

With a variety of games that ensures kids will be having fun every session, Game On! gives you everything you need to build your own physical education programs, intramural programs, spirit days, and special events. Take your whole student body or just a small group of children. Mix in some school spirit and innovative games. Sprinkle it all with enthusiasm, motivation, and FUN. It adds up to a recipe for success in any environment, whether in the gym or on the playground.

Pat Doyle is the president of the Canadian Intramural Recreation Association (CIRA) of Ontario, an organization that encourages, promotes, and develops active living, healthy lifestyles, and personal growth through intramural and recreation programs within the educational community. He has written seven resources for CIRA-Ontario, including Great Gator Games, Mass Appeal, and Awesome Asphalt Activities. He has also conducted workshops across Canada.

Doyle has more than 26 years of experience as a physical education teacher at the kindergarten through sixth grade levels. He lives in Kitchener, Ontario, with his wife Francine and their children. In his spare time he enjoys cooking, reading, and jogging; he has completed 11 marathons.

The past president of CIRA-Ontario, Michelle Harkness currently serves as the executive assistant for CIRA-Ontario and as manager of student life and reservations at Mohawk College. She is a recreation and leisure studies graduate with 25 years of experience in recreation programming.

Harkness and her husband Glenn live in Hamilton, Ontario. In her free time she enjoys traveling, participating in the school council, and doing volunteer work.