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Pencil Games

Pencil Games - For this well-known game, you replace the spoon
and the burning tea light with a pencil.
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A set of pencils can be easily obtained; they are inexpensive and do not take up much storage room in your toy box. For some games, you will need pencils which are flat on one side, for others you might need pencils with an eraser on top. A packet of 20 pencils will do. Nearly every pencil game can be carried out in the group room or on the table. Those are quiet games and depend on skills and a steady hand. Those games can be skills games where 2 – 3 kids compete against each other, or you can play them as relay games.

What will be trained with those games? Mainly this will be fine motor skills as well as collaboration and teamwork.

Materials:

40-50 pencils (more is better),
2-3 pencil sharpener,
2-3 bottles,
String
Adhesives
Rubber bands
2-3 plates,
2-3 cups water,
Paper or writing pad

To fill one hour of group work you do not need more than 10 different pencil games:

Pencil Games: The objective of this game is to stack as many as
possible pencils on top of a bottleneck.
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Stacked

The objective of this game is to stack as many as possible pencils on top of a bottleneck. When it comes to rating the game, you can do that in two ways. A) you count all the pencils on the bottle neck or B) you count the layers of pencils on top of the pencil neck. Another alternative would be, how many pencils can the candidate stack on top of the bottle neck and stays there for at least 30 seconds. In this case, the fastest player wins the game.
Balancing

When balancing pencils, the objective is for the candidate to balance a pencil on his little finger. The countdown is on as soon as the pencil is on the finger. As soon as it falls, the time stops as well. As an alternative you could try, holding one pencil and putting another one on it and balancing this pencil as long as possible.
Passing on

Each group member receives two pencils; one for each hand. The first player holds his pencils out, while the team leader puts a third pencil diagonally on top it. The objective now is, to transport the pencil for at least 5 meters and pass it on to the next kid, without dropping the pencil. As soon as the pencil is passed on the same procedure starts all over again until all kids in a team had a go. Which team completes this task first?
Nose pin

This is another relay race. This time the pencil is jammed between the nose and upper lip. The pencil has to be passed on to the next person without using the hands at all. The pencil has to be passed on from upper lip/nose to upper lip/nose.
Pencil Jumping

For this game, you will need pencils with an eraser on top. The objective is to throw the pencil in a marked area in a way so that the pencil bounces back and into a bowl.
Somersault

A pencil is placed on the table edge so that half of it sticks out over the edge. The objective is to nudge the pencil with one finger so that it does a somersault back, landing it in a bowl.
Sharpening to the very end

Each player receives an equally long pencil and a sharpener. On command, each candidate starts to sharpen his pencil until there is nothing left to sharpen anymore. As an alternative, you could give the kids 120 seconds and then measure the pencils. The one who “sharpened away” the most millimetres wins the game.
Pencil in bottle

For this well-known game, you replace the spoon and the burning tea light with a pencil. Secure a long enough string to the pencil, using an adhesive tape. On the other end, the string will be attached to the waistband, using a safety pin. The pencil should reach roughly to the knees of the candidate. On command, they have to try to get the pencil into one on the floor standing bottle.

Pencil arrow

The objective of this game is to use a pencil like an arrow and shoot down a balloon with the help of a rubber band. Each candidate has 5 attempts. Thereby, the rubber band has to be held in a way, so that the front half of the pencil rests on the rubber band. The rear part of the pencil rests on the heel of your hand. If needed, you can carve a little groove in the pencil, so it does not slip off the rubber band as quickly.
Rubber catapult

Take a rubber band and stretch it from thumb to thumb. Next, an assistance puts a pencil between the bands and turns it until there is high tension. Now, when you let go, the pencil should rotate and then catapult away. Unfortunately, not always into the desired direction.
Columns Artwork

On command, the candidates have to put 20 pencils vertically on a plate.
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On command, the candidates have to put 20 pencils vertically on a plate. Who manages that the fastest and whose pencils do not fall over?
Pagoda Tower

Each candidate receives 40 pencils. The task is to build a tower with 20 floors and put a filled cup of water on the final layer. Which players succeed the fastest without the tower to fall over
Line Drawing

With just one finger, a pencil is pushed vertically over a piece of paper. Next, the candidate tries to move the pencil in a way so that it creates a long as possible line on the paper. It is important that the pencil is pressed down with only one finger. It never has to be moved with two fingers.
Pencil & Writing Pad Games

There are still various pencil & writing pad games like "Battleship" or painting of "Head - Neck - Waist - Lower Body - Legs" (each by folding the paper and passing on to the next player). However, those games are not listed here.
Pencil Aiming

The candidate stands on a chair and tries to let a pencil drop into a bottle which is placed on the floor. Each has 10 attempts. How many of them are actually going into the bottle? For younger children, you can use a glass with a 10 – 15cm diameter. That will make it much easier.