It’s always quite interesting to see how excited students get about game time. Some even catch up with me at the entrance of the Mandela Building, asking questions and trying to sneak a peek into what’s planned—some even offering to help organise it.

Students have now become used to modifying the learning space, which has been great to witness. Rearranging tables and stacking chairs to clear up room for embodied learning activities has become smoother and more intuitive—something important for them to grasp: that space is malleable, and it can be shaped to support our needs.

I shared the objective of the activity with them:

• Brainstorm ideas for the next project
• Work as a team
• Build confidence speaking aloud in front of others
• Connect with peers
• Explore how space can support learning
• Engage in fun, embodied activities

We arranged the seats into a circle. Half of the students sat while the others stood behind them as partners. The seated students had one goal: work as a team and keep the ballon in the air. Their partners, standing behind them, had to shout a word every time their seated teammate kicked the balloon. The twist? The words should be related to the theme we announce at each round. If a word wasn’t relevant, or if no word followed a kick, both the kicker and the “screamer” were out.

We started with a simple theme- “College”- to help everyone get the hang of the rules. Once they were comfortable, I let the students choose the themes. Unsurprisingly, they started with easier ones like “Animals” or “Continents.” But soon, we moved toward more relevant themes connected to their current project on furniture design.

That’s when the hesitation began. Words came slower, sometimes interrupted. I introduced a short vocabulary-building discussion between partners before each round. Themes like “Furniture Materials” and “Sustainability” posed more of a challenge, especially since quick thinking was essential. Sometimes one partner kicked multiple times in succession, which added pressure. To manage this, I had the students switch roles to give the word-sayers a break.

It was a fun game. We had some hilarious moments – like when the balloon bumped into my face, or when a student’s leg was raised up high in front of another student’s face, or when two students jumped simultaneously to kick the balloon. We also had moments where students said completely off-theme words—like shouting “door” during a “Furniture” round, or “shit” in a moment of complete surprise. Needless to say, those pairs were promptly out.

These funny slips eased the tension and brought a sense of fun into the room.

Ultimately, we got the students to move, engage, communicate, think, stay active, and have fun – a smooth and playful embodied introduction to the new project.

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