Magical Telescopes

One fun activity I've done with younger elementary school age kids is I had them make "magical telescopes" to be able to see magical things. You can't see magical stuff without one, of course.

We used paper towel rolls and decorated them all up with construction paper, stickers, markers, etc. Then we went on a hunt with our telescopes to see what we could see :) I started it going and then the kids starting really getting into it and had a blast. We went all over the room looking through our telescopes. Someone would shout out what they saw, "Look, a monkey, up in a tree!" Then I'd ask what is magical about the monkey. I'd get replies like, "He can talk." or "He's purple with pink stripes!". We found all sorts of things, butterflies, lions, talking trees, you name it :) It was a great activity to get their imaginations going. Of course they got to take their telescopes home with them so they could search for magical things there too.

Family Portraits

This is a game that we when we're working with character but it also involves movement, gestures and facial expression.

Choose a group of four-five students.

Choose a student to be the photographer.

The group will pose as if they are having a family portrait made and photographer will take a photo. We use our digital camera, but you could have your student mime use of a camera as well.

After the first "family portrait" is taken, I tell the students that they will have three seconds to move about as a different type of family. On three they freeze in whatever movement they happen to being doing for their characters and we snap a second photo. Sometimes I suggest the new type of family, sometimes the rest of the class offers suggestions.

Some of our favorites are:
Superhero Family
Rock Star Family
Librarian Family
Professional Wrestling Family
Ballerina Family
Firefighter Family
Cheerleader Family

A couple of examples...


And as a family of cheerleaders.And as a superhero family...