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Posts Tagged ‘pretend play’

May
8

Duck, Duck, Animal! Fun Theater Games for Young Kids

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Things to do

Kids are natural actors. After years of teaching theater games to kids ages 5-12, I’ve yet to encounter a child who doesn’t want to play.  Some kids are better actors than others, but they all have the natural want-to.  Very few have inhibitions. If I tell my group to pick a farm animal to become, I’m immediately surrounded by mooing, baaaaa-ing and oinking throng.  I have yet to hear, “Do I HAVE to?”  That part is wonderful.

While I’m no expert at theater, and though my 1/2 hour teaching slot at our drama class is anything but fancy or refined, kids love it. Theater games and improve exercises are very free form.  Implication:  You can do it too. But be prepared to embrace some chaos.  Kids who are alive with imaginative fun are not sitting around quietly!

Here are a few of my class’ favorite games. Next time you have a group of bored kids around, try a couple of these and see how quickly time passes and how much fun you all have. But leave your perfectionism behind.

Duck Duck Animal—A twist on the familiar game Duck, Duck, Goose. Instead of saying, “Goose,” the child says the name of another animal and that child must become that animal as he/she races around the circle and tries to tag “it” before he/she reaches their spot in the circle.  Smart kids quickly say slow animals such as “snail” or “turtle.”

Statue Maker—A classic game. One child is the statue shop owner.  Another is the shopper. All other kids are statues. As the game begins all statues dance and wiggle until the statue maker says, “freeze.”  The shopper, who has been outside the room, reenters and is shown the statues one by one. The shop owner turns on each statue and it performs its function and is then turned off. After each statue has performed, the shopper picks his/her favorite. The chosen statue becomes the next shopper and a new shop owner is chosen. This is my group’s favorite game. It is raucous and fun.  (Young children will usually imitate each other and often end up chasing the shopper until turned off. It can help to suggest a theme for the statues, such as animals or sports.  It is also helpful to remind children they are not to touch any other children.)

New York, New York—(Also called Lemonade) Divide your kids into two groups of at least 3 each.  Each team goes to opposite sides of the room or designated outdoor area and decides on a vocation or activity, for example skiing or gardening.  Both teams come up to the middle line. Team A says: “New York, New York,” Team B replies: “What’s your trade?” Team A: “Lemonade!” Team B: “Show us some if you’re not afraid.” At this point Team A begins to act out their agreed upon vocation and the other team tries to guess what they are doing. Once a correct guess is shouted out, Team A tries to run back to their base before being tagged out by members of Team B who are chasing them. Teams then switch roles.

Tangled Knot–(at least 10 kids) All children stand in a small circle. Next, they reach across the circle with closed eyes and find two hands to hold.  Then the game begins.  The children must untangle the giant knot created without letting go of anyone’s hands.  Going slow is the key!

Detective–All children stand in a circle.  One child is chosen as the detective and leaves the room. Another child is chosen to be the leader. He/she will lead the group in motions, similar to Simon Says—clapping, hopping, patting head, and turning around—when the detective returns. The detective is invited back into the room and stands in the center of the circle. He/she must guess who the leader is. The group must try and keep that knowledge from the detective by not making eye contact with the leader, and the leader must be careful to change up the motion only when the detective’s back is turned.  Subtlety is the key.  Once the detective correctly guesses the leader, a new detective and leader is chosen.

Mirror–Children pair up, and face one another.  They take turns being the leader and the mirror.  The leader moves his/her body very slowly and the mirror must “mirror” the actions. The game is to mirror so well that an observer can’t tell who the leader is and who the mirror is.  Then kids switch roles.

For more ideas, check out: On Stage: Theater Games & Activities for Kids by Lisa Bany-Winters.

-posted by Donna Detweiler, who volunteers to do theater games with kids because of how she LOVED playing these games as a child. She wants to pass it on!

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Aug
20

Inspiring Natural Curiosity in Children

Posted in Child Development, Things to do

“Children who are allowed to explore freely in a safe environment become eager learners. As we encourage natural curiosity, we validate their innate need to know. So let them loose in the Tupperware drawer! Cover the deck with flour and give them a bucket of water. I’m always amazed at what they come up with!” – Carolyn Hornell (one of my favorite people and a Kindermusik Educator and owner of Notable Kids in Vancouver, BC.)

Here are some other ideas to encourage creativity:

  • Make a big plastic container of jello. Add some extra packets of plain gelatin to the mix so it is firmer. As it is solidifying, add some plastic animals, small colored rocks, and other objects like corks, bottle caps, marbles, etc.  In the backyard (or the empty bathtub), provide your child with plastic utensils (yes, even a plastic knife!) and let them go for it.
  • Collect starch-based packing peanuts and give your child a boxful along with a little cup of water. Show your child how to dip the end in a little water and stick it to another packing peanut. Be sure to take pictures of their creations!
  • Pack a box with totally random craft items you might have around the house (just a few of each) – feathers, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, glitter or glitter glue, dried pasta, buttons, cut up straws, fishy crackers, empty toilet paper rolls, etc. Hand your child a couple pieces of construction (or plain) paper and a glue stick or glue bottle – AND NO DIRECTIONS. This is about the process, not the end result!
  •  Find some unusual building blocks – a whole box of plastic or paper cups, stacks of paperback books, plastic bowls and plates. Provide a few matchbox-type cars or a small ball and watch what happens.
  •  Hand your child a spray bottle filled with plain water and some sidewalk chalk. Send your child outside. Alternately, put fill two spray bottles with two different colors of water (or even the 3 primary colors – red, blue, yellow), and put an old (or cheap) white sheet down on the ground outside. Made those starch packing peanut creations recently? Have your child spray them with water to make a little magic.

Here are the rules:
No hovering
No directing
No explaining what to do (unless your child has never used a glue stick or squirt bottle before.)

This is all about fostering natural curiosity. Yes, there are certainly times when we should be right there guiding and teaching our children. But not all the time. You are your child’s best teacher, but our children don’t always require our presence in order to learn. And sometimes, when left to their own devices (with some objects to work with) they discover things about the world they might not have learned otherwise.

-posted by Miss Analiisa, who warns you that the combination of child, markers, scissors and dog will end up being a learning experience for you, not for said child.

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Jun
15

Interpersonal and Intrapersonal. One little letter makes a big difference.

Posted in Child Development, parenting, Things to do

Today’s blog on getting practical with the multiple intelligences theory is all about Interpersonal Intelligence and Intrapersonal Intelligence. Now those are terms we don’t use very often, so here’s an easy way to tell them apart:

The one with the E: Interpersonal – think “internet”, which is a readily accessible, vast network.   And “personal”, so it has to do with people.

The one with the A: Intrapersonal – think “intranet”, which is a smaller, restricted access network.  And “personal”, so it has to do with people, too.

So let’s get right to your interpersonal and intrapersonal children.

Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart)

Even at a young age, these children have the ability to understand and interact well with others. They are the social butterflies of the world, and enjoy meeting new people, often having a large circle of “close” friends. They are highly empathetic, and seem to intuitively know what people are feeling. They love to be part of a group.  They are good at conflict resolution.

These children are excellent communicators, both verbally and non-verbally. They love to play games, and are naturally drawn to helping and teaching others. They learn best by working in groups, and can be either leaders or followers. People-smart children grow up to be teachers, social workers, actors, politicians, and psychologists.

How to Encourage Your People Smart Child:

  • play dates
  • board games
  • community service (helping others)
  • work on projects (cards, cookies, etc.) to give away
  • parties and celebrations – let them help with the planning!
  • playing school
  • dress up box
  • lots of puppets, dolls, or stuffed animals for pretend play
  • act out stories together (emphasis on the together part)

Interpersonal Intelligence (Self Smart)

These children are independent, self-directed, and self-motivated. They have a good understanding of who they are, what they are feeling, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. They learn from their own mistakes and successes. They have high self-esteem, and do not tend to seek the approval of their peers. They tend to have a smaller circle of friends. Self-smart children are often described as “marching to the beat of their own drum.”

Not surprisingly, they can be shy and introverted, and like to work and play on their own. They might also have a hobby that they don’t talk a lot about. Self smart children are often the ones who know what they want to be when they grow up, and they frequently become scientists, therapists, writers, lawyers, philosophers or spiritual leaders.

How to Encourage Your Self Smart Child:

  • time alone (they really enjoy alone time)
  • a cozy place to read, write or think
  • self-paced projects
  • free time and space to choose what they would like to do
  • learning how to set and reach goals (Love with a capital L!)
  • “how to” books – like Klutz books
  • a journal or diary to write in
  • books on subjects or people that interest them for “research”
  • toys and computer games that allow independent play

We’re halfway through. Are you starting to recognize yourself, your children or your spouse? Remember, you can have more than one intelligence. You’ll probably see yourself in a couple of them.

-posted by Self Smart Miss Analiisa, who laughed with her People Smart husband Karl tonight when recalling that these particular intelligences were the reason for most of their conflicts when they were first married.

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Apr
6

Getting Dirty in the Garden, Together

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Family, Things to do, Things We Love

Finally, spring is here!  The weather is warming, the sun is shining, and flowers and trees are blooming. April is national gardening month, and now is the perfect opportunity to get outside with your children and get your hands dirty.  Gardening with your children, even at the most basic level, has many varied and wide-ranging benefits.  Besides being a great opportunity to take in fresh air and get a little exercise, gardening creates teachable gardening moments that can last all the way through summer and into fall.

To begin with, a gardening project from the smallest pot on your back porch to a full-fledged vegetable garden requires planning.  Being able to plan a project, implement it, and see it through to the finish will bring great satisfaction and increased self-esteem as you and your child work together as a team.

Meresa in her garden at age 4, with her cat Max.

Gardening together can be such a positive bonding experience. Some of my earliest happy childhood memories are with my mother in our family’s vegetable garden planting green beans.  We would set up the bean poles and string twine between them for the vines to grow up; then my Mom would show me how to poke a hole in the dirt with my finger, place one bean in, and cover it over again–a great exercise of fine motor skills!

Did I mention that as a child I absolutes loved green beans?  I devoured them every time my Mom made them.  When I was four, my Mom took me to a u-pick field, gave me my own bucket and went a little further down the row and left me to merrily pick.  When she returned about 15 minutes later, she was shocked to realize I had picked enough to fill the entire 5 gallon bucket.  (Did I mention I loved green beans?) I figured, the more I picked the more I got to eat.

This brings me to my next point.  Children who grow or pick their own food are more likely to eat fresh fruit and vegetables and make healthier eating choices. Now, I can’t guarantee your children will love vegetables as much as I did (and still do), but I bet if your child has the satisfaction of being involved in the process of growing and harvesting what they eat, they will be much more likely to at least try it.  And, who knows?  Maybe you will turn out to have a ravenous green bean, broccoli, or tomato eater.  We can all hope.

Furthermore, planting and tending a garden provides real-life examples of life processes and opportunities for an increased understanding of ecology, interconnections in nature, and responsible care of the environment.  An easy and inexpensive small project you can do indoors any time of year is to make a terrarium. There is a fantastic guide on how to make one from a soda bottle at www.nationalgardenmonth.org.

Another great resource for gardening with children is the Parents’ Primer at www.kidsgardening.org.  It will help you learn all you need to know to get started gardening with your children.

-posted by Miss Meresa, who encourages you to let the horticultural adventure begin!  And wishes you the best of luck as you start planning, planting, and growing together.

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Jan
20

Less TV? What’s a Parent to Do?

Posted in Bits and Pieces, Family, parenting, Things to do

If you were one of the people to take to heart my blog on watching less TV, I’m following up that post with one chock-full of specific ideas that can help fill the vacuum left by turning off the tube.  I discovered a couple of prolific authors that write about activities to do with kids.  Steve and Ruth Bennett have written six books to help parents keep their kids experiencing simple fun under all kinds of circumstances: outdoors, in a waiting room, while traveling, and the one I picked up:  365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child. I bet being their kid is lots of fun.

I chose to share with you a few of their cool ideas for children of a variety of ages:

Adopt A Tree—This takes making tree rubbings to a new level.  The Bennetts suggest you encourage your children to adopt a tree in your neighborhood or a familiar park in order to make a “personal connection” between your child and the environment in which he or she lives. Treekeepers, says Bennett, must get to know their tree by “doing bark rubbings in the winter, press leaves in the fall, look for flowers and fruit in the spring and do leaf rubbings in the summer.”  Kids can bring along a drink of water for “their tree” and a tape measure to note its growth.  Older kids could keep a book to record characteristics, changes, bark patterns and so on.  Taking pictures of the child by the tree provides a fun record of growth—of tree and child.

Food Face—For kids who love scissors and bright colored magazines, this game is a winner.  Find magazines that have lots of pictures of food—like Family Circle or Woman’s Day, or Sunday paper ads– and find pictures of food that could be used for a face—like a banana mouth, or cookie eyes.  Cut out a bunch! Trace the bottom of a pot on paper for the face and paste away. The Bennetts note that another version of this game can be “Car Face” or “Machine Face.”  If the kids are too young to cut, you can clip for them before the game begins.  Make sure to have fresh glue sticks on hand.

Animal Footprints—I’m still smiling when I think of the fun kids might have strapping foreign feet to their own and traipsing through the snow making funny footprints.  I know finding snow may be an issue, but when the fluffy stuff falls, you’ll have a good idea ready.  Have kids draw large funny footprints on heavy cardboard.  (Save a box or get one at the grocery store.)  Then tape them to the kid’s feet using duct tape and let them make tracks in the snow. A fun version has one child making tracks and the other tracking the crazy animal to its “den.”  Make sure the feet aren’t so big that the kids can’t walk easily or safely with their “feet” taped on.

Post Office—This one is mostly a reminder about how fun it is to play with mail.  The Bennetts cleverly suggest that an open-backed chair makes a great post office window.  And we all remember any box can be converted to a mail box by cutting a flap or a slit.  For lots of fun provide: a kitchen or bathroom scale, rubber stamps and non-toxic ink, stickers and/or squares of paper and double-sided tape, and lots of junk mail.  For older kids, the Bennetts suggest that you use a world map and have them decide postage based on distance.  Kids usually recognize these sneaky attempts to make their fun educational, but you may get away with it for a while.

Homemade Dashboards—I saw a plastic version of this, but how much more fun to make one.  Take a cardboard box, at least 18 inches wide, and attach to it a Chinet paper plate with a paper fastener (brad) for the steering wheel.  Attach yogurt container lids the same way and mark the “dials” with a permanent marker for a speedometer and gas gauge.  Bottle lids make great buttons to push and a paper towel tube can be a gear shifter.  Cut a hole in the box for the ignition.  This homemade toy can occupy backseat drivers or be fun off-road.

Here’s the info you need to read the other 360 ideas the Bennetts suggest for TV-free living:  365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child by Steve & Ruth Bennett. Their other books include:

Waiting Games:  202 Instant Activities for Turning Time to Spare into Time to Share

Table Talk!  365 Ways to Reclaim the Family Dinner Hour

Cabin Fever: 202 Activities for Turning Your Child’s Rainy Days, Snow Days, and Sick Days into Great Days

Kitchen Time: 202 Activities for Entertaining Your Child While You Cook

By Land, by Air, by Sea; The Ultimate Family Travel Activity Book

Kick the TV Habit: A Simple Program for Changing Your Family’s Television Viewing and (more)

-posted by Donna Detweiler, who liked the Bennett’s description of living in a home-based activity laboratory.

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