'It's rainy out there. Let's play games, kids'
'It's rainy out there. Let's play games, kids'
JAKARTA (JP): Playgroups are a wonderful way for children to
have early social interaction with a familiar set of friends
before they reach school age.
Looking for some activities to keep those little ones
occupied?
Whether you run a day-care center or have the neighborhood
kids over for the afternoon, here are some activities aimed at
entertaining them, and you, which do not require much preparation
or an endless supply of materials.
Note: Children should be at least four years old to play these
games and all children require constant adult supervision.
Hidden treasure
Two or three children leave the room for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, the child or group in the room hides an object, which
can be a ball, wrapped present, etc..
When the children return, they can help them locate the ball
by saying, "You're getting warmer", when they draw near to the
hiding place.
If they move away from the hidden object, they can call
"you're getting colder".
Mirror, mirror
Children stand in a circle, and one child is chosen to stand
in the middle. The others in the circle observe and imitate what
he or she does. More than likely they will all end up jumping.
Beanbag tag
This tag game can be played in groups as small as four
children.
There is no talking, running or screaming involved -- only
walking.
Two children are the "walkers" and two are the "taggers".
Players walk around the room with a bean bag on their head.
(Instead of a beanbag, you can use a small pillow, eraser or soft
-cover book).
The walkers are not allowed to touch the beanbag. If it falls
down, they have to completely stop and put it back on their head
before they can start walking again.
Meanwhile, the taggers are also walking around, trying to tag
the walkers. The taggers cannot work together to catch the
walkers.
The zoo walk
Children form a line, circle or walk freely around the room
imitating an animal.
The adult present can say, for example: "act like an
elephant", and the children will mimic an elephant while they
walk.
Children can take turns calling out animal names for the
others to act out, or a tape of animal sounds could be played
while they are doing this activity.
A variation to this game is that a child can pick one favorite
animal and act like it, while others guess what animal they are
imitating.
Mystery friend
One child talks about another child in the room, without
looking at him or her.
They can give clues on what they are wearing or describe their
features or actions.
The rest of the children guess as to who they are talking
about.
The child who guesses correctly is the next one to choose
someone to talk about.
Music freeze
Kids dance to music. When the music stops, the children must
freeze in their place.
One child can be appointed to walk around, watching that the
players are indeed frozen.
If a person moves before the music resumes, they are "out",
and must sit down in their spot, watching the activity continue.
The human knot
This game can be for children of any age and still get a lot
of laughs.
Everyone stands in a circle and each child joins hands with a
different person, but without taking their hand off the person
next to them.
The trick is to undo the knot without letting any hands go.
Caterpillar
Children lay on the floor side by side, and then the child on
the end rolls on top of the other children to the other end.
Doggy bone
All children sit in a circle, while one child is picked to
leave, or hide their eyes from seeing.
The other children then pass the "bone" (it can be a pencil
case, shoe, ball or eraser) around to one person, who hides it.
Nobody says anything when the child returns.
The children chant: "Doggy, doggy where's your bone? Somebody
took it from your home. Guess who, it might be you!"
The returning child has three guesses as to who has the bone.
The next one to go out of the room is the child who had the bone.
Tic-tac-toe
You need at least six players for this human tic-tac-toe game.
Divide children into two teams, with one as the "X" team, and the
other the "O" team.
This can be played standing up or laying down. Masking tape
can be put on the ground for the layout, and the children can
stand on a particular square during the game.
Alternatively, you can put nine mats on the floor, in the form
of a grid, for children to lay down on.
For the symbols, you can draw three Xs and three Os on a large
piece of paper and then attach a string to hang around the necks
of the players.
One team goes first, with a player from that team placing
himself or herself on a square. A player from the other team goes
next, with each team taking turns.
If there is no tic-tac-toe when all six players are in the
squares, each team can move a player until one team outmaneuvers
the other. -- Maria Kegel