by Rebecca Florido

Created on: November 08, 2009

Learning to play Simon Says is a great and awesome way for children to learn listening skills and follow directions. The object of the game is for one person other than Simon to be the last person standing that followed everything that Simon told him/her to do. At the end of the game you will know who your best listener is.

You can have everyone agree on one person to be Simon however it may be easier to pick a name out of a hat or have everyone guess a number so that way no feels inadequate due to favorites.

Simon is the one that calls out the instructions. Such as "Simon says touch your nose" or "Simon says hop on one foot". If the person giving the instruction does not say Simon says at the begin of the direction then any person that performed the action is considered out. The last person standing will be named the grand winner.

Simon can not give out rules that need to be obeyed that are impossible to complete or are mean. No should have to pull a piece of their hair out or pee in their pants nor can someone hold their breath for 30 mins.

This game is also a great way to teach a child strategy skills. When they start attempting to trick the other children so that they make mistakes you know that they are getting a hang of the game and they start using strategy tactics. When someone starts to give out orders quickly it will give players less time to think and will cost them their time in the game. Changing between saying Simon says and not saying Simon says quickly can confuse players and get them out sooner.

This fun outdoor or indoor kids activity is best played with four or more childern, as the saying goes "the more the merrier" right? I hope that you have fun in your adventures with Simon Says and enjoy the time spent teaching the children about skills they never knew they were learning and if you get the itch to want to play there is an online version of this game with colors just type in "online simon says" into google and watch the sites add up. The online verison is more of a memory game and much easier for older childern than small kids due to younger kids having a small attention span. It's a game of challenge for your memory skills.

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