Kids love to play games.
Games and activities are a way to gain the kids' interest and to keep them engaged. If you choose the appropriate game or activity for the right age group, you can help to develop skills such as teamwork, following directions, taking turns, counting and developing gross motor skills. These games can be tailored to be more age- or developmentally appropriate if needed.
Simon Says
Simon Says is a popular game that has been around for a long time. This incorporates listen skills and following directions. One child is chosen to give the commands. If the child says "Simon says..." before the command, the children are to follow the command. If a command is giving without saying "Simon says" before it, the children should remain still. If a child does the command when "Simon says" is not given first, that child is the next one to give the commands.
Red Light, Green Light
This game incorporates following directions, taking visual cues and physical activity. Cut out red, yellow and green circles with a 6-to 12-inch diameter. Tape each circle to a craft stick. Hold the three circles by the sticks, either pointing down or behind your back. Have the children line up outside or on a line in the gym. Hold one of the colors up and state the color loud enough for the children to hear. "Green light" indicates that the children should run towards you. "Yellow light" means that the children should walk slowly towards you. "Red Light" means stop moving and to stand very still. If the children move when it is red or follow the wrong direction, they have to go back to the starting line and start again. The first person to reach you or touch another designated place wins.
What Time is it Mr. Wolf?
This is a fun gym or outdoor game that incorporates counting and physical activity. One person is chosen to be Mr. Wolf and is positioned on the opposite end of a play field or gym. The rest of the children are lined up on the other side. The line of children yell out "What time is it Mr. Wolf?" The wolf then yells out a time, such as 5 o'clock. The line of children then step forward five paces, counting out loud and stop after the five paces. They repeat the line "What time is it Mr. Wolf?" Different times are yelled out and the line of children gets closer to the wolf. At any chosen time, the wolf can respond "Dinnertime" to the question. If this is the response, the children should turn around and run towards the line they started at. If the wolf touches them, they become part of the wolf pack and help him to catch "dinner." The last remaining child gets to be the wolf on the next round. A variation of this is that the first person tagged by the wolf is the new wolf, instead of the last remaining person becoming the wolf.
Parachute
You can use a parachute with children of various ages. Obtain a large round parachute with handles on the outer perimeter. Have each child hold one or two of the handles, depending on the size of the parachute and the number of children. There are several games to play with this and you can make ones up as you go. You can simply say "Go" and the kids can shake the handle(s) up and down to make ripples in the parachute. Tell them to stop and go whenever you want. This helps with following directions. You can also place a beach ball in the center of the parachute and they can bounce the ball around on top of the parachute. You can also get more advanced by first making small ripples and call out two children's names that are on opposite sides of the parachute. They wave to each other so the children know where they are going. Tell all the children to lift the parachute so their arms are above their heads, still holding on to their handle and the parachute goes in the air. The children that you indicated earlier then let go of their handles and run under the parachute to the place where the other child was standing. Rotate through all of the children. Kids love this one.
Tags: children should, following directions, line children, Simon says, directions taking, first person