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Coordination games for the brain synapses

Brain Synapses Game collection

The examples presented here are not new. Many of the games are (old) and well known. However, the chances are that they are not understood in the context of skill and coordination regarding our brain synapses. Surprisingly even old games like “Boss-Vice” “Pudding-Sausage” or “I pack in my suitcase" belong to this kind of games, where the brain is challenged. Even games such as tongue twisters are challenging and require concentration and pronunciation.

"Larboard or Starboard", "Aunt Kathy", "Ball-in-the-circle confusion game", “Thigh and Hand Concentration” are just a few more examples from the collection at Circle-Chair-Games which can be mentioned here.

Lifekinetik trains body control.
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The witticism with those games is the combination of movements, which, by themselves are very easy. However, in combination, they represent a challenge because the combination is unusual and the brain is challenged to match those movements with each other. That’s where the term "Lifekinetik®" was formulated a few years ago.

Background information:

A healthy person consists of a healthy mind and a healthy body. Unfortunately, it is not so easy to bring both ends together. Either we go to the gym and train our bodies, or we make an effort to keep our mind fit. - E.g. with Sudoku and other classic Puzzle exercises. Wouldn’t it be nice to link those two together?

That’s precisely what happens when applying "Lifekinetik®". But what exactly is "Lifekinetik®."

This is a selection of different exercises, which might strike some people as strange at the beginning. The aim of these activities is to connect the synapses in the human brain with each other so that both sides of the brain are activated which will improve various skills. For example, they are concentration, motor coordination, body control, visual perception, increased creativity, responsiveness and ability to learn in general.

You can see how diverse "Lifekinetik®" really is. The different exercises are suitable both for students who wish to improve their performance in various subjects, as well as for athletes, students, stressed professionals and the elderly. A few minutes of exercise a day are sufficient to achieve excellent results. The effectiveness of "Lifekinetik®" is now widely scientifically confirmed. Here you can find more information as well as links and two book introductions.

Coordination

Making calls while ordering coffee at the same time

With one hand you hold a fictitious phone receiver to your ear. With the other hand try to order coffee using two fingers.

Lifekinetik trains concentration and coordination.
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The youth worker calls out numbers. With every even number, you hold the phone in your right hand and order with the left. Whenever an odd number comes up, you do it the other way around.

Instead of numbers colours can be called. Hold a coloured cloth either in your right and alternatively right hand and repeat the above process.

Greeting of the Vulcaneers

Most likely you still remember the greeting of the “Vulcaneers” of Spock from the popular TV show Star Trek. Your fingers form a V between the middle and ring finger. Alternate the sides.

Rocking

Participants stand in a straight line. Now try to rock your upper body fore- and backwards, left and right.

The youth worker now gives instructions how the participants have to rock. Incorporate even and odd numbers, colours, a combination of colours or number-colour combinations. Everything is possible and also do not forget to increase the difficulty. For example, through all even numbers you rock forward right, at odd numbers you rock backwards.

Throwing a ball into the air and catching it again.

Hold a tennis ball in each hand. Both balls are thrown up into the air simultaneously and are also caught again. This is quite easy. Now you step it up. Again, the balls are thrown into the air simultaneously but are caught with crossed over hands. Yet, that’s not all. Most people have a preference on how they cross their arms. Either left over right or respectively the other way around. The challenge now is to consciously change this preference.

Bouncing and catching

The objective is to bounce one ball with one hand while at the same time throwing a second ball up into the air and catching it again. This task is by no means simple. Still, you can make it a little bit more complicated when the youth worker implements colours and numbers. – Colour and number, each refers to one side of the body. Then change.

X-times bouncing

For example, if the colour green shows, the ball is bounced 2x right and 1x left, if the colour red shows, you do it the other way around. When blue bounce 3x left and 2x right, by yellow reverse.

Bouncing under your leg

Bounce the ball under your left (green)/right (red) leg. If the colour blue comes up, you make a full body rotation and continue bouncing the ball under your legs.

Kicking and catching

Two kids stand opposite each other. With one foot kick the ball on the other side while at the same time throw a ball. The other kid has to stop one ball and catch the other.

Kicking and showing acceptance

Two kids stand opposite each other. One kid kicks the footy on the other side with the left/right foot. The other child needs to lift up his right/left hand while stopping the ball with the right/left foot. Again implement colours and numbers to indicate which foot/hand is played.

An eight and a circle

The objective is, drawing a laying eight in the air with your right hand while drawing a circle with your left foot. Each movement by itself is quite easy. Together they are a challenging task. It will be hard, at first, to get it all right.

Reaction

Clapping - Tapping - Flicking

Everyone stands up. The youth worker shows the various moves. With both hands clap your thighs, clap your hands, cross your hands over and tap on your shoulder, then flick your fingers. Depending on the colour, numbers, or characteristics (country in Europe, Asia, Africa, South / North America), etc. one of these movements must be performed. Example: at red clapping hands, at green flicking fingers, etc.

Rubber twist jumping rope

Most likely everyone is familiar with rope jumping and know how to do it as well. Now, depending on numbers/colours or objects different challenges are implemented. Skipping forward/backwards, sideways, with a rotation, etc.

Jumping on squares

Again, this is actually a very old kindergarten or schoolyard game. Using some chalk draw different fields on the floor/asphalt. Depending on the announcement (colour, numbers, etc.), jump on two legs, on one leg, with/without rotation, left, right, in the fields A, B, C, D, and so on. Variations: on field A field always jump on one leg, on field B on two legs, on field D in combination with field C, in field E never jump backwards. Again, it is up to the youth worker to implement as much as possible variations and also alter the level of difficulty.

Hopping

All participants are sitting in a circle. Depending on the colour, number or characteristics once all boys, then all girls get up. Alternatively, all those born in the first 6 months or the last 6 months of the year. Example: the youth worker calls out "April hop". Now everyone born in the first half of the year gets up. Alternatively, by the colour green all girls get up; “yellow hop”, all boys get up. It gets slightly heavier if you omit the word hop because then nobody is to hop.

Looking

The dominant eye

Both hands are held up to a "peephole". Then look through with both eyes and look at a target. Once close your left, once your right eye. Your dominant eye is the one which keeps the entire target in sight while the other eye is closed. The idea would be to train your less dominant eye with appropriate exercises.

Reading a mixed up text

Prepare a sentence with about 10 words, then cut it up and mix up the individual words. The objective is to put the original sentence back together as soon as possible. It is interesting to see how our brain tries to bring known letters and words together to build a sentence.

(Sometimes it is not as easy as it first appears.)

(Just keep trying)

(The combination of different tasks affect our brain synapses.)

Counting dots

On a piece of paper draw a maze with 200 – 300 dots. Given 90 – 120 seconds, who can first tell how many dots there are. Since all dots just look the same, you really have to concentrate hard. This task gets harder the further away you stand from the paper or poster.

Lifekinetik trains concentration, memory, perception and visual perception alike.
Count the bullets. You have time of 2 Minutes.
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Balance

Stand on one leg

How long can you stand on one leg with your eyes closed

Juggle

Who can juggle balls on a slack-line or narrow board, or alternatively, throw them up into the air and catch them again?

Thinking & Calculating

This is a calculation for smart people and yet, 80% of all fast thinker miscalculate it. Everyone gets a piece of paper and pen. The challenge is, to solve the task as quickly as possible, write it down and then don’t change it anymore. Who can do it the fastest?

A bottle of water costs 1.10 euros. The content costs 1 euro more than the bottle. How much water?

(Solution: water 1.05 euros, the bottle 0.05 euro)

More Information about Lifekinetik®: Lifekinetik® - interesting for the students, sports and youth work