Musical Chairs

Game Requirements

These steps of the game develop attention, perception, and coordination of gross motor skills. Indeed, in order to perform adequately, a subject must be able to comprehend and organize incoming visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic data and to form judgements with regard to them. Further, an individual must be able to respond quickly to the requirements of the context, exploring the space and moving his or her body with appropriate and accurate gestures and movements. In addition, a person must be able to recall the movements he or she used in the past in order to accomplish the next successful performance. In fact, when complex activities such as walking, marching, or dancing are performed, a subject must properly engage his or her muscles and muscle groups in the right sequence. Moreover, when a fast movement is required, the individual must also quickly choose the most effective trajectory. Not all children can perform [Page 411]these tasks easily and instinctively: approximately 15 percent of students attending primary school experience motor difficulties. For these children, training will be required, and performing games like musical chairs can improve their gross motor skills.

Alternate Versions

In another version of this game, which is played in the swimming pool, floating balloons are attached to the side of the pool by short strings. Participants hold hands and move in a circle while the music plays. When the music stops each player must grab a balloon. The player who has no balloon, or whose balloon bursts, is eliminated. In this version, gross and fine motor skills are required and enhanced. In fact, the players increase their gross motor skills by performing wider movements of arms, legs, feet, or the entire body, and fine motor skills when carrying out smaller muscle movements, which occur in the hands and fingers. In practice, in hand-eye coordination the eyes direct attention and the hands and fingers execute given tasks. Examples of this kind of actions can be grasping others' hands and getting hold of inflated balloons.

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