Octopus – Quickly find 7 partners (8 kids total), gather in a circle and have each person stick a leg outĬaptain’s Coming – Stand at attention, salutingĪt Ease – Relax (this is only said when players are at attention because “Captain’s Coming” has been said) Lifeboat – Quickly find 5 partners (6 kids total) and sit in a circle on the ground Jellyfish – Get down on the ground, on our back and shake your arms and legs in the air Seasick – Head to the side of the “ship” and do your duty overboard Rowboat – Quickly find a partner (2 kids total), sit on the ground one behond the other, and “row” Starboard – Go to the right side of the “ship” If The Caller Says – Then Each Shipmate Does: Just like in the game “Simon Says” where the caller can try to trick players by giving commands without saying “Simon says”, the caller in this game can yell “Captain’s Coming!”, then try to give another command before saying “at ease” in an attempt to fool the players. This is where careful attention to what the caller is saying is really important. If the caller gives an instruction while the group is at attention, and the caller has not said “at ease” yet, then anyone who moves is out of the game for that round. When everyone is standing at attention, no one is allowed to move until the caller says “at ease”. When the caller yells out “Captain’s Coming!”, it means that the captain is on the ship, and the group needs to stand at attention, saluting her/him.

Next, give your students the other instructions which they’ll need to follow (see list below), and end by explaining the most important rule-what to do when the captain is coming.Everyone must do whatever the caller says. For this first round, you will stand at the front of the group and you will be the “caller”.

Send them all to the stern (the back of the “ship”-you should be standing at the bow, which is the front), then have them come back to the bow.

Begin by pointing out the 4 sides of the ship they’ll need to be familiar with (bow, stern, port and starboard-see below for more).All of your students need to fit on this “ship” and have some room to run around. Show your students the area that makes up the ship – this can be a clearly marked space (you can make the shape of a ship with tape on the ground) or just a general area, but make sure that it is at least 15 yards long and 10 yards wide.Before the game begins, explain to the group that you are all on a ship and that there are certain instructions which everyone will need to learn before you can head out to sea. This game is played with the entire group of children together.

Simon says rules