Two Columbia Goddard schools were part of the first Guinness World Record attempt last month for the number of people simultaneously playing Simon Says in different locations.
Two Columbia Goddard schools were part of the first Guinness World Record attempt last month for the number of people simultaneously playing Simon Says in different locations.
"The Goddard School believes in the power of play for learning, as well as the importance of providing a healthy, active lifestyle for all children," said Nicole Schwartz, Goddard School Administrative Director at the Columbia 100 Parkway location. "This game allowed us to share that message to local families and bring awareness to the strength of a curriculum based on the power of play and the importance of healthy learning."
Schwartz was in charge of leading the calls by being Simon. And it took more concentration than she imagined as she followed rules of Guinness.
"I (couldn't) repeat the same sequence of calls more than once within any period of two minutes; however, individual calls (could) be repeated immediately, but only once," she said.
Additionally, pauses between calls could not be more than five seconds and she must include one call without "Simon Says" every 30 seconds. "I had to pay just as much attention as the children did," Schwartz said.
Schwartz said 75 students, parents and teachers participated in the event on Sept. 23. The game, which lasted 12 minutes, 30 seconds, had been scheduled originally as an outdoor exercise in the school's playground area, but rain forced the proceedings indoors to the lobby.
"We (were) hoping to teach them about being part of a huge team and something bigger than themselves," Schwartz said. "It's something they'll always remember, and it's a huge example of our philosophy."
She said that during the week leading up to the record-setting attempt, children and families were engaged in fitness, nutrition and playful learning activities. Classes practiced playing the game so that they could last the required 10 minutes.
The school recruited two witnesses to certify the event. In order to break the record, the 370 Goddard schools nationwide needed 12,215 participants playing the game at the same time.
Students at the Quarterstaff Road location also participated in the event.