Carpet Square Challenge

This is an oldy but a goody from the Family Home Evening Manual, page 311.  Your whole family will be laughing and sweating by the end of this game.

The materials you need are:

A carpet square, place mat, hand towel, or something similar for each family member.

You should do this in a room with lots of space, or in your back yard.  This is an active game.

Prepare in advance a long list of commands to shout out at the participants.  Start with simple commands and then increase the difficulty as you go along.  Remember to play to the strengths of your youngest family member, we don't want anyone getting frustrated and stomping off. 

Have each family member find their own spot.  Place the square in front of each member of the family.  Start calling out body parts to place on the carpet square.  Calling out opposites makes it more fun and challenging, i.e., Back, bottom, stomach, right hip, left hip, etcetera.  The faster you call out the body parts, the more active the game gets.  You can also mix it up by calling out two body parts at a time, i.e., right ear, left knee.  Give each family member a chance to call out the body parts as well.  Keep it simple for the little guys, especially if they're just learning the difference between left and right.  Be creative, there are lots of variations to this game.  For example, you can call out two body parts, but specify that one has to be on the floor and the other on the square.  You get the picture.  Here's a sample list of body parts:

feet
hands
knees
bottom
stomach
back
chest
shoulders
elbows
ankles
wrists
forehead
toes
fingers
left ear
right knee
right ear
left knee
right shoulder
left ankle
left shoulder
right ankle
right hand
left elbow
left hand
right elbow

This game can also be adapted to Simon Says. 

Have fun, this is a keeper!