IT!

Materials: One small object, like a coin or a rock, and a small area to play.

Instructions
Stand in a small, shoulder-to-shoulder circle facing in. Choose a player to be in the center. Have the circled players bend their elbows, extending their forearms into the circle with their hands palm down, in a fist. The center player covers their eyes while the leader gives the small object to one of the circles players. When the object is within the circle, the center player can uncover their eyes. The objective of the circled players is to pass the object (IT) around the circle, each person touching IT, until IT is back the IT’s original starting place, without the center player finding IT. Passes happen when a player with the object taps the top of another player’s hand. This player turns up their open hand; the passer drops IT into the open hand. The receiver closes and turns their hand back down. Fake passes can happen to throw the center player off the track. Noises are also permitted to distract the guesser. Center player has 3 guesses. Circle players have 1 minute to get IT around. GO!

Processing
• Did you feel uncomfortable in the center?
• What do you think made in uncomfortable?
• What other situations made it uncomfortable?
• How did it feel to find the object?
• How did it feel to not find the object? What made it hard to find?
• Are you easily distracted? What do you do when you get distracted?

Variations
Play with a small ball that has a bell.
I usually use a long length of rope and attach a nut or washer, and have the player grasp the rope with both hands and pass IT along by sliding IT along the rope.

Chris Cavert: Affordable Portables