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Description

A simple, active version of Battleships for Squirrels using a 4x4 grid. Each team secretly places items on a printed grid, then recreates their grid on a large chalk grid on the ground. The other team calls out grid references to try to find the hidden items. The defending team checks their printed sheet to see whether each guess is a hit or a miss.

The theme is an island rescue mission rather than a battle. Children are searching for islands, treasure, and sea animals.

Resources

Printed 4x4 grid sheets, one per team
Pencils or crayons
Chalk
Outdoor space or a hard floor where a chalk grid can be drawn
Small objects, beanbags, cones, picture cards, or laminated symbols to represent hidden items
Optional: printed symbols for:
Islands
Turtles
Dolphins
Treasure
Supply boats

Instructions

Draw a large 4x4 grid on the ground using chalk.

Label the columns:

A, B, C, D

Label the rows:

1, 2, 3, 4

Each team also gets a printed 4x4 grid with the same labels.

Suggested hidden items per team:

2 islands
1 sea animal
1 treasure chest
1 supply boat

This gives five hidden items in total, which is enough for the game to work but not too many for younger children.

Instructions
Split the Squirrels into small teams.
Give each team a printed 4x4 grid sheet.
Explain that each team is going to hide some rescue items on their own map. They should choose squares on their printed grid and draw or mark where their items are hidden.
One team becomes the defending team first. They use their printed grid to place their items onto the large chalk grid on the ground.

The other team is the searching team. They take turns calling out one square, for example:

“B2”
“C4”
“A1”

The defending team checks their printed sheet to see whether the guessed square matches one of their hidden items.

If the square is empty, the defending team says:

“Splash!”

If the square has an item, the defending team says what was found, for example:

“You found an island!”
“You rescued a turtle!”
“You found the treasure!”

The searching team can mark hits and misses on their own sheet if you want them to keep track.
Keep playing until all the hidden items are found, or until each child has had a turn.
Swap roles so the other team gets to defend their own map.
Leader introduction

“Today we are going on an island rescue mission. Somewhere in the sea there are hidden islands, animals, treasure, and supplies. Your team has a secret map. The other team will call out map squares to try to find what you have hidden. You need to listen carefully, check your map, and work together.”

Make it easier

For younger Squirrels, do not worry too much about strategy. Help them read the grid references by saying:

“First find the letter, then find the number.”

You can also let them point to the square before saying the grid reference out loud.

Make it more active

Instead of only drawing on paper, let the defending team physically place objects or picture cards into the chalk squares on the ground. The searching team stands back and calls out guesses.

For extra fun, when there is a hit, the child who guessed correctly can run to the square and collect the item.

Tags

• coordinates
• Listening
• maps
• Problem solving
• squirrels
• teamwork

Badge Links

• All Together - Games