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If-Then Simon Says

Play Simon Says with a coding twist! Learn IF-THEN rules: 'IF Simon says touch your nose, THEN touch your nose. IF Simon doesn't say it, THEN stand still!'

MovementAbout 15 minutesScreen-freeParent help expected

Materials and setup

How this changes by age

Pre-K (ages 3–4)

Play Simon Says with a coding twist! Learn IF-THEN rules: 'IF Simon says touch your nose, THEN touch your nose. IF Simon doesn't say it, THEN stand still!'

Difficulty 1 of 3

Steps

  1. Play regular Simon Says first to warm up.
  2. Introduce the IF-THEN language: 'IF I say Simon says, THEN you do it. IF I don't say Simon says, THEN freeze!'
  3. Play 5-6 rounds using IF-THEN language each time.
  4. Add a new rule: 'IF you're wearing blue, THEN jump. IF you're not wearing blue, THEN spin.'
  5. Let the child be Simon and give IF-THEN commands.
  6. Tell a grown-up one thing that surprised you.
  7. Draw the robot and its path on one page; color the start green and the end red.

Learning objectives

  • Understand the concept of conditional statements (IF-THEN)
  • Practice following rules with conditions attached
  • Connect physical movement to logical thinking

Kindergarten (ages 5–6)

Advanced IF-THEN-ELSE Simon Says! Add multiple conditions and ELSE rules. Create a human program that responds to different inputs.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Review IF-THEN, then introduce ELSE: 'IF Simon says jump, THEN jump. ELSE (otherwise) clap.'
  2. Play several rounds with IF-THEN-ELSE rules.
  3. Add compound conditions: 'IF Simon says AND you're a girl, THEN spin. ELSE stomp.'
  4. Create a sequence: 'IF I hold up 1 finger, jump. IF 2 fingers, spin. IF 3 fingers, sit down. ELSE wave.'
  5. Child creates their own set of IF-THEN-ELSE rules for the family to follow.
  6. Tell a grown-up one thing that surprised you.

Learning objectives

  • Apply IF-THEN-ELSE conditional logic to movement games
  • Respond correctly to compound conditional statements
  • Design original conditional rules for others to execute

Early elementary (ages 6–8)

Build a human state machine: create a game where players have different 'states' (happy, sad, excited, sleepy) and IF-THEN rules change their state. Add nested conditions, AND/OR logic, and write the full rule set on paper.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Explain states: 'You start in the NEUTRAL state. Different commands will change your state, and your state affects what you do.'
  2. Write 4 states on cards: HAPPY (dance), SAD (walk slowly), EXCITED (jump), SLEEPY (yawn and stretch). Everyone starts at NEUTRAL (stand still).
  3. Create IF-THEN rules that change states: 'IF Simon says SUNSHINE, THEN change to HAPPY state. IF Simon says RAIN, THEN change to SAD state.'
  4. Add AND/OR logic: 'IF you are in HAPPY state AND Simon says DANCE, THEN do a silly dance. IF you are in SAD state OR SLEEPY state, THEN sit down.'
  5. Add nested conditions: 'IF Simon says NUMBER, THEN IF the number is even, jump that many times. ELSE spin that many times.'
  6. Write all the rules on a poster. Play 10 rounds and see who can track their state correctly without mistakes.
  7. In one sentence, tell a parent or sibling what surprised you today.

Learning objectives

  • Understand the concept of program state and how conditions change state
  • Apply compound logic operators (AND, OR) in conditional statements
  • Track changing variables (states) through a sequence of conditional operations

Upper elementary (ages 8–10)

Design a complete rule-based game system using Boolean logic, nested conditionals, variables, and functions. Write the game rules as pseudocode, playtest it, and debug logic errors by tracing through edge cases.

Difficulty 3 of 3

Steps

  1. Design a movement game with at least 3 variables that players track: a score (number), a state (from a list of 4), and a power-up (boolean: true/false).
  2. Write the game rules as pseudocode using proper programming structure: IF/ELSE IF/ELSE chains, AND/OR operators, and nested conditions.
  3. Include at least one 'function' — a named set of moves that gets called by name. Example: FUNCTION victory_dance() = spin + jump + dab.
  4. Create 5 edge case scenarios on paper: unusual combinations of variable values. Trace through your rules to predict what should happen. Does the logic handle every case?
  5. Playtest the game with family. Act as the game engine: read the pseudocode and enforce the rules exactly as written.
  6. When bugs appear (rules that contradict or states that have no valid action), pause the game, identify the logic error, and fix the pseudocode. Keep a bug log listing each issue and its fix.
  7. In one sentence, tell a parent or sibling what surprised you today.

Learning objectives

  • Design a complex rule system using variables, Boolean logic, and nested conditionals
  • Write structured pseudocode with functions, conditional chains, and proper logic operators
  • Debug logical errors through systematic edge case analysis and execution tracing

Safety and evidence note

Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.

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