The leader selects a shark from the group. Everyone else must then line up at the other end of an allocated area. The shark decides who to call forward. For example, it could be ‘anyone wearing red’ or ‘anyone wearing a hat’. Those chosen run to the opposite end of the allocated space, past the shark who will try to catch them. If the shark catches them, they then become seaweed. As seaweed the children cannot move their feet but they can reach out with their arms and attempt to try to catch others in the group. The game continues in the same way with anyone the shark or seaweed catches becoming seaweed. The last person in becomes the shark in the next game.
A variation of this game is that all fish are called out, the sharks simply skip the ‘anyone with’ statement.
- Large playing area – clear lines on opposite sides
- A couple of people are the Sharks – they stand in the middle, everyone else is a Fish – they stand on one side of the playing area
- The Sharks shout ‘Fishy, fishy, fishy, come swim in my sea!’ and the Fish reply ‘Sharky, sharky, sharky, you can’t catch me!’
- The Fish then have to run to the other side without getting caught by a shark
- If a Fish gets caught, it then becomes a shark and this continues until all the Fish have been caught
Minimum Group Size: 8
Equipment Requirements: None