GENERAL ACTIVITIES SIMON SAYS
SIMON SAYS
Have children mount the climbing wall, one per panel. The rules of the game are the same as
the traditional game; participants are simply challenged to remain on the climbing wall during the
game.
Sample Commands:
• Climb and touch a green/yellow/red hold.
• Step down from the wall. (Then step back on the wall.)
• Put your right/left hand/foot on a green/yellow/red hold.
• Make one move to your right/left.
• Make one move up/down.
• Touch your head with one hand.
• Climb so that one hand and one foot are on the same color hold and then stop.
• Tell the person to your right/left, “Good job climbing!”
Variation:
• A
dd magnets or symbols/letters/words and create commands around those. For example,
touch the letter A.
INCLUSIVE VARIATIONS:
Cognitive
• S
tring together several objects to incorporate memory and recall skills into play. For instance,
“Simon says climb to red, then blue, then green.” Or, “Simon says find the dog, the pig and
the monkey.”
Communicative
• S
implify the commands to use very few words, such as “Simon says blue” instead of “Simon
says climb to the blue hand hold.” This enables children to auditorily process the command
and respond without having too many words to process.
Physical
• H
ave the child who has a physical disability be Simon. This is a very empowering position
because the other children must respond to his/her commands. It allows children who
have physical limitations to become an active part of the play. If Simon is non-verbal,
communication devices and switches can be preprogrammed and used to call out the
commands.
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GENERAL ACTIVITIES SIMON SAYS
Sensory
• P
lace sensory items on the hand holds and use commands such as, “Simon says, find a fuzzy
object,” or “Simon says, find a red object.” For children who may be tactilely defensive, they
can climb to and point at the object without touching it to their skin.
Skills/Benefits for Children with Special Needs
• Playing Simon Says is an exercise in receptive language, auditory processing and attention.
• T
his is a game that several children can play simultaneously enabling children to play in close
proximity of others doing a unified activity even if they are not interacting on a social level yet.
• S
ocial interaction can be incorporated into play with such commands as, “Say hello to the
person on your right/left,” or “Tell the person on your right what your name is.”
• T
his activity can help children learn and understand directionality commands: right, left, up,
down by physically moving in the direction that is stated.
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