Simon says, ‘Set a record!’

By Emile Hallez
Staff Writer
Hopping up and down, touching toes and quacking like a duck aren’t unusual pastimes for very young children — but it is a rare sight to see 64 students engaging in the activities in unison.

Matthew Jonas

Third-grader Chloe Scott, center, listens to the instructions from Goddard School director Jolie Uhrick.

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At 11 a.m. Sept. 23, students at the South Jeffco Goddard School were doing just that.
Jolie Uhrick, school director, stood before the mass of bouncy youngsters, circling two long bands of rainbow streamers in her hands as an extra-large game of Simon Says was to commence. At 349 other Goddard School locations across the country, directors were simultaneously giving similar instructions, all part of an attempt to break the record for the largest game of Simon Says documented in the Guinness World Records.
“Whenever I say, ‘Simon says,’ you do what I say,” Uhrick said. “Simon says, ‘Touch your head.’ ”
The first command threw no one for a loop. And after Simon said to touch hips, shoulders and toes, all 54 kids remained standing.
“Take your hands off your toes,” Uhrick said, tripping up nearly half the students and sending them out of the game.
After five minutes, only two children remained: 7-year-old Chloe Scott and 8-year-old Garrison Nash. Somewhat anti-climactically, they both continued to stand at the game’s conclusion 10 minutes later.
But for Chloe, the simple instructional game was clearly the highlight of her day.
“I got to do a lot of my favorite things — hop up and down and twirl!” said the first-grader, whom the school declared the official winner. Garrison, a third-grade “alumnus,” was invited back to the Goddard School along with a few others to participate.
The school, at 8010 Shaffer Parkway, serves infants through pre-kindergarten kids, from 6 weeks to 6 years old.
The current record of 12,215 Simon Says participants was set in June 2007 at the Utah Summer Olympics’ opening ceremony. To best the existing record-holder, the Goddard Schools chain would have had to document an average of 35 students participating at each school. Guinness World Records will make an official decision in several months, the school said.
While the event was light-hearted in nature, the school nonetheless had to abide by somewhat stringent rules — no advanced preparation and no coaching of the children.
“We had rules and regulations. We couldn’t really prepare,” Uhrick said. “I think they played a little bit in class, just to learn the rules.”
But aside from attempting to acquire a novelty record, the event was equally geared toward encouraging physical activity, Uhrick said.
“They wanted a healthy, fun, playful event,” she said. “We’ve done full school-wide games (before), but nothing like this.”

Contact Emile Hallez at emile@evergreenco.com or 303-933-2233, ext. 22. For updates, check www.ColumbineCourier.com.