Sponge Relay

Sponge Relay
Looking for a way to cool off on a hot day? Here’s a fun game to play! Make some trivia question cards, grab a sponge, a bucket of water, two containers, and a few kids and you can have yourselves a sponge race. Two teams will compete against each other, testing their knowledge as they try to fill up a bucket of water by squeezing a sponge.

What You Need:
Index cards
Pencil or pen
2 sponges
2 buckets of water
2 medium size plastic containers (called knowledge containers for the purpose of the game)
4 or more players
Sponge station monitor (teachers, parents and older kids make the best monitors)
What You Do:
Take the index cards and write age appropriate trivia questions on them. Simple math equations, geography questions, even questions about grammar and science can be included. Each question card should have a question on one side and a number on the other. Don’t repeat any of the assigned numbers.

For each question card, you’ll need to create a corresponding answer card numbered to match the question card.

Fill two buckets with water and drop a sponge into each.

Set up the empty plastic containers, called “knowledge containers,” one next to each bucket.

The bucket and knowledge containers will be supervised by a monitor. The monitor will give each player permission to squeeze the sponge to fill up the knowledge container.

Divide players into two teams.

Place the question quiz cards in a pile in between, and about 5 feet in front of the sponge stations.

Set up the answer quiz cards beyond the sponge station and have the answer facing down. Also, make sure all the numbers are visible.

Have the two teams line up about 20 feet away from the question cards.

Explain to the players that when it’s their turn, they should run to the stack of question cards and draw one.

After a player has drawn a card, he should continue on to the sponge station and tell the monitor the number on his card as well as his answer to the question.

The monitor should pick up the corresponding answer card and check to see if the answer is right.

If the player gets the answer right, he should submerge and squeeze the sponge so it can soak up water. Then, he should hold the liquid-heavy sponge over the knowledge container and squeeze to fill it with knowledge.

The player should then put the sponge back in the bucket and run back to tag the next player.

If the player doesn’t get it right, the monitor should give him one more opportunity to answer correctly.

If the second answer he gives is wrong, he should return to tag the next player.

The first team to fill up the knowledge container wins!

This is a great end-of-the-year activity as it’ll test the knowledge that your students have accumulated during the school year.

Tip: If you’re playing with a diverse group, you might want to have different question piles of varying levels of difficulty.