KIDS, KIDS – EVERYWHERE!
A Few Friendly Tips on Crowd Control

Word has gotten out. There is free food at your site and the kids seem to be multiplying exponentially. You increase the food orders. You organize awesome activities. You might even have recruited some volunteers to help out. Now if only you could get all the kids to quiet down so you can explain what’s going on.

Favorite tricks
Here are a few favorite tricks to calm a crowd of kids:

“Hands up. Mouth closed. Show me that you’re listening.”
This works well with large groups of all ages. It helps to repeat “Hands up. Mouth closed. Show me that you’re listening” as you raise your own hand until the kids all follow suit and quiet down.

One Mic
This works well in circles. You can even use an object as the mic. Whoever is holding the mic is the only person who should be speaking. One mic = one person talking.
 
“1, 2, 3 Eyes on me… 1, 2 Eyes on you”
This is based on a simple call and response idea. When you say, “1, 2, 3, eyes on me,” the kids should respond “1, 2 eyes on you.” Repeat as needed until you have their attention.

Clapping Patterns
Clap once. See if anyone claps. Clap twice. Clap patterns. Kids catch on slowly sometimes, but once you are doing the more intricate clapping patterns most everyone is with you.

Counting
It might sound ridiculous, but just counting out loud usually quiets a rowdy crowd. It also helps as a marker for the kids. If it took them ten seconds to get quiet the first time and four seconds the next time… etc. It gives them something tangible to improve on.

Helpful Hint: If you are playing games for prizes, give the children tickets or tokens of some kind that they can redeem at the end of the day/event for their prizes. This will help subside some of the frenzy that goes along with kids