MESSY BEDROOM: The Crazy Fun PE Game that Sneaks in Teamwork, Communication and Cooperation!

Looking for a crazy fun elementary PE game that gets kids moving, laughing, communicating, and working together? In this episode of CRAZY FUN PE with Mrs. T., I’m sharing one of my favorite Back-to-School and September PE games—MESSY BEDROOM!

This exciting partner teamwork game is packed with cooperation, communication, problem-solving, movement, and tons of FUN, making it the perfect addition to your K–5 physical education lesson plans.

Get ready to turn your gym into one giant MESSY BEDROOM and discover why this is one PE game your students will be begging to play again!

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Welcome to Crazy Fun PE with Mrs. T, the podcast that's on a

mission to make school fun again.

Every Monday morning, I'll wake you up with unique PE games, creative

teaching ideas, and simple management tips that get kids moving, laughing,

and having a total blast, sometimes with a squeaky rubber chicken or two.

I'm your host, Mrs. T. Now let's get moving.

Hey there, PE friends.

Welcome back to Crazy Fun PE with Mrs. T, the podcast where we talk about

ridiculously fun PE games, simple teaching ideas, gym management tricks,

and all the little things that we can do to make physical education the class

our kids absolutely love coming to.

I'm Mrs. T, or Jen, and today I have one question for you.

How messy is your bedroom?

Because today we are turning the entire gym into one giant

ridiculously messy bedroom.

And the best part, your students are going to have so much fun trying to make their

way through it that they probably won't even- realize they're practicing some of

the most important skills that we work on during those first few weeks of school:

teamwork, cooperation, communication, strategy, and partner skills.

And that is exactly why Messy Bedroom is one of my absolute favorite

PE games to play during September and the back to school season.

It fits perfectly with my September PE plan.

So grab your coffee, buckle up for your drive to school, and let

me tell you all about one of the craziest bedrooms you will ever see.

Ready, set, let's make school fun again.

So what exactly is Messy Bedroom?

Okay, picture this.

You walk into your gym, and scattered all over the floor are pool noodles,

beanbags, cones, jump ropes, and all kinds of random safe PE equipment.

It looks like somebody took your equipment room, flipped it upside down, shook

it a few times and said, "Perfect."

Welcome to Messy Bedroom.

And, uh, actually that happened the last time I played this game,

my principal actually walked into the gym with a new family.

She was doing a, a tour with them, and we were in the middle of Messy

Bedroom, uh, which was hilarious because it really is a giant mess.

But I quickly walked over and let her know and the new family know what we

were doing, and they thought it was the coolest thing, probably because they could

see how much fun the kids were having.

Anyways, Messy Bedroom is a partner or small group challenge game that I

created as a fun twist on that whole the floor is lava type of concept.

Except instead of trying not to touch the floor, students are trying

to make their way through a giant messy bedroom without stepping on

all the stuff scattered everywhere.

Oh, and one of them is blindfolded.

Yep.

Now we have ourselves a PE game, and here's where the magic happens.

The blindfolded student obviously can't see where they're going, so

their partner or teammates have to safely guide them through the

messy bedroom using communication Take two little steps forward.

Stop!

There's a hula hoop in front of you.

Step to your left.

No, your other left.

Suddenly, we're not just playing a silly game anymore.

Students have to listen, they have to communicate very clearly, they have

to trust one another, they have to cooperate, and they have to figure

out how to solve a problem together.

That's exactly what I want my kids practicing in September.

Here's why I love this game for back to school.

Because during September, I'm really trying to establish what it means

to be part of our PE community.

Yes, we are learning gym rules and routines, we're working on personal

space, pathways, locomotor skills, and body control, but we're also learning

how do we work with another person?

How do we communicate?

How do we listen?

How do we solve a problem when something isn't working?

How do we encourage somebody instead of getting frustrated with them?

Those are huge skills, and Messy Bedroom gives kids a

reason to practice all of them.

I also love that this game works across such a wide age range.

I've played it with kindergarten students, and I've played it

all the way up to eighth grade.

And guess what?

They both love it, love it, love it.

And after you play it once with them, be prepared, because they will beg you

to play it over and over again all year long Of course, I'm going to adjust

my expectations and the difficulty depending on the grade level, but

the basic challenge works beautifully across elementary and middle school PE.

Okay, let's talk about setting up your messy bedroom.

The setup is really easy, actually.

First, divide your students into partners or groups of three if

you have a really big class.

Personally, I prefer partners because it really increases the amount of

participation and communication each student gets, and I really like to

focus heavily on partner activities in September and October before moving

to group activities when possible.

Then give each team some equipment that they can use to make the messy bedroom.

I give each team, I'm, I make each team in charge of something.

So, um, think hula hoops, uh, beanbags, Speed Stacks jumbo cups are

perfect, pool noodles, cones, whatever safe equipment you have available.

Oh, and medium-sized exercise mats really work perfect.

They are safe, and they take up a decent amount of space too.

I actually get mine, um, from Five Below.

I get the foam ones.

Um, those are like the big exercise squares.

I recommend grabbing a few of those because I use them not just for this

game, but for a bunch of other PE games throughout the school year.

One important thing here, though, I absolutely do not use balls.

We don't need somebody stepping on a ball when they're blindfolded

and turning messy bedroom into messy trip to the emergency room.

So not a good thing.

Um, let's keep it fun, but let's also keep it safe.

I usually use the large rectangle, uh, made by my, my volleyball court

lines as the actual bedroom, so the perimeter of the gym pretty much.

And here's another part of this game that the kids love.

They get to be the ones to make the mess.

I let them scatter all that equipment throughout our bedroom area inside the

boundary or the volleyball court lines.

Um, and honestly, how often do teachers say to kids, "Hey, please make the

biggest mess you can possibly make"?

They are thrilled.

Um, at the opposite end of the gym, I put a bucket filled with plastic

gold coins, another cheap but super fun non-traditional pE equipment item

that I use all the time for fun games.

Each team also gets a different colored cup or a bucket, um, that

they take back to the starting area, and now we're ready to play.

Well, almost.

Each team also gets one blindfold too.

Okay, let's dive into how to play.

When the game begins, one partner puts on the blindfold.

I like using inexpensive sleep masks because they're easy to put on and

take off, and you can find some really funny, and really silly animal face

ones on Amazon Now, the partner who can see has a very important job.

They need to safely guide their blindfolded partner all the

way through the messy bedroom.

The entire team or partner group travels together, and the goal is to make it

through without stepping on any of the objects scattered around the floor.

I give my students two misses per trip.

If they accidentally step on one item, okay, keep going.

Second item, be careful.

But if they step on a third item, anyone in the partner group, if

anyone steps on a third object, back to the beginning they go.

When the team successfully makes it all the way through the bedroom

and across the bedroom to the other side, they earn one gold coin.

They grab their coin, remove the blindfold, very important, and then

they travel back around the outside edge of the gym or the bedroom,

not back through the bedroom.

Um, this is another way to keep the game safe and so that

kids don't run into each other.

Then they put their, their coin into their team's, uh, colored cup

or bucket, switch who's wearing the blindfold quickly, and then go again.

So now we have nonstop movement, partner communication, strategy, excitement,

teamwork, and a little friendly competition all happening at once.

But here is where the real learning happens.

This next part is probably my favorite part of the entire lesson.

I don't just start the game and let kids play for 20 minutes.

Instead, I like to play for about two or three minutes, then stop, and everybody

comes back together with their partner, and I ask them, "How did that round go?

What worked?

What didn't work?

Uh, were your directions specific enough?

Were you actually listening to your partner?

Were you yelling directions so quickly that your partner couldn't understand you?

Were both people trying to be the boss?" And then I give them

about a minute to come up with a strategy for the next round.

Maybe they decide to use shorter directions.

Maybe they agree on certain words.

Um, maybe they realize they need to slow down.

Maybe they decide one person needs to talk while the other person listens.

Then we play again, and this is when I usually start seeing some really

cool changes, because now they're not just running through an activity.

They're thinking about how to become a better teammate, um, and how to

work together better as a team.

That little strategy break turns this crazy, silly game

into a really meaningful, cooperative learning experience.

Messy bedroom also gives you such an easy opportunity to talk about what

good communication actually sounds like.

Imagine I'm blindfolded.

Which direction would help me more?

Um, "Go over there," or, "Take three small steps forward.

Stop.

Now take one step to your right." Big difference.

So our students don't automatically know how to communicate

effectively with a partner.

That's something that we really can teach them.

You can even challenge your older students to see how precise

they can make their directions.

Can you guide your partner through the bedroom using calm, clear directions?

Can you communicate without touching your partner?

Can you get through using fewer directions?

Can you create a plan before you start moving?

Now we're adding problem-solving and strategy right along with teamwork.

And yes, we are still doing PE.

One thing I really love about cooperative games is that we can

teach these important social skills without sacrificing movement.

Kids are still moving through space.

They're practicing body control.

They're navigating pathways.

They're using spatial awareness.

They're starting, stopping, changing directions, and moving

carefully around obstacles.

So while teamwork and communication might be the stars of this particular

lesson, we're still sneaking in all kinds of physical education skills,

specifically the ones that we really focus on during the month of September

So here are a few bonus messy bedroom teaching tips for you, just a few things

that have worked really well for me.

First, model the communication before you play.

I might put on the blindfold myself and let a student try to guide me.

Hey, guess which student I'm gonna ask to help me?

Yep, you guessed it, my fitness star.

And of course, I may make this slightly more dramatic than necessary and just

have fun with it, because why wouldn't I?

But it does give the whole class a chance to hear what

helpful directions sound like.

Second, emphasize that this is a team challenge.

It's not just a race.

Yes, collecting those gold coins adds excitement, but the bigger goal is

figuring out how to work together.

Third, switch the blindfold after every trip.

Make sure you really emphasize this with your students.

I want everybody experiencing both roles, being the person who has to trust

and listen, and also being the person responsible for communicating clearly.

And finally, use those little strategy breaks.

Don't skip them.

Two minutes of play, quick partner discussion, set personal team

improvement goals for the next round.

How many gold coins are we going to get this time?

How many did we get last time?

Let's set a goal.

Let's up that, gold coin count by three or four.

Um, then play again.

So those conversations are where some of your best learning is going to

happen One of the biggest reasons why Messy Bedroom has become one of my

favorite PE games to play is because I think sometimes when we hear words

like teamwork, standard, cooperation, communication, social-emotional

learning, we immediately think we need some big, complicated lesson.

We don't.

Sometimes we just need to create a situation where kids

need each other to succeed.

That's what Messy Bedroom does.

One student can't see the path, the other student can.

One needs to communicate, the other needs to listen, and neither one

is going to get that gold coin unless they figure it out together.

That's teamwork, and when they're laughing and moving, strategizing, cheering each

other on, and begging, "Can we play one more round, Mrs. T?" That's when

I know I've hit that sweet spot, and that is what Crazy Fun PE is all about.

So, if you're looking for a fun September or back-to-school PE game that works on

teamwork, cooperation, communication, strategy, and partner skills,

definitely give Messy Bedroom a try.

And if you'd like the complete game directions and lesson plan,

you've got a few different options.

First, if you have my 59 Crazy Fun Elementary PE Games That Rock book,

it is game number 35 in there.

You can also head over to my website, lovetoteachandlearn.com,

and search Messy Bedroom.

I've got everything there to help you bring this crazy

little game into your own gym.

I'll also leave the direct link to that blog post in the show notes for you,

so you don't have to go hunting for it.

While you're there, be sure to check out all of my other PE games too,

because I have a free how-to-play blog post for all of my Crazy Fun PE games.

I also sell the individual complete printable lesson plans

for all of my games inside my TPT store, Love to Teach and Learn.

And I also throw all of those games, lesson plans, and so much

more inside my always growing Elementary PE Mega Bundle too.

So hey, PE friend.

Thank you so, so much for hanging out with me today.

Oops, I almost forgot.

It's corny sports joke time.

Why don't fish like to play basketball?

Because they're afraid of the net.

All right, PE friends, that's it for me.

I'll be back next Monday morning with another episode of Crazy Fun

PE with Mrs. T., where we'll tackle another week of teaching PE together.

Until next time, keep moving, keep laughing, keep making those

kids smile, and remember, if you had fun, you totally won.

Now let's get out there and make school fun again together.