Elementary Activities: Squeak, Piggy, Squeak

By Deborah Pace Rowley

One of our favorite games to play around the holidays is "Squeak, Piggy, Squeak. This was another fun game that I discovered in Family Fun magazine. We like to play this game after a family dinner when we have lots of victims and all the adults are in the mood to relax on the couch but the kids still need to be entertained. Once again, games like this are great teaching tools. This game particularly can help shy children become more comfortable in awkward social settings. Then of course, there is the lesson on how to disguise your voice. That skill that will be valuable for......prank calling? Oh, never mind!

All you need is a blindfold and a couch cushion. Blindfold one person. Once It is blindfolded, have family members switch seats and move around on the couch or on chairs that have been set in a circle. Give It a pillow and gently lead him or her over to the edge of the couch. He or she must move down the couch and use the pillow to sit on someone's lap. (The pillow is in place so that you can't tell who you are sitting on based on the size or shape of the lap.) Once It has sat down, he says, "Squeak, Piggy, Squeak!" The person he is sitting on then must make a pig noise that is designed to be as deceptive as possible and disguise his or her voice. It then tries to guess who the pig is. If It guesses correctly, then the person he guessed becomes it. If It guesses incorrectly, he must move on to another lap and try again.

The funniest thing about this game is how hard it is to keep from laughing while you try to squeak. Invariably we give ourselves away by the giggle and the oink! Try it this Thanksgiving with your family and see.