There’s no doubt that it can be challenging for instructors to keep a classroom of young children focused and engaged! Group games are a great way to accomplish the task. This let’s kids burn off some extra energy while stimulating their social and intellectual development in a setting that’s fun and exciting.
Read on to discover four great games you can implement throughout your career as an early childcare assistant.
1. Graduates of Early Childcare Assistant College Can Use “Simon Says” to Teach Kids to Follow Directions
“Simon Says” is a great game to play in a classroom full of young children. This game is not only fun, but it also teaches children how to pay attention and follow specific directions–improving their capacity to focus and listen. “Simon Says” is played by choosing a leader, who gives a command to children beginning with the words “Simon Says.” However, if a command is given without saying “Simon Says” first, this means that the children should ignore this command. A simple method for getting an energetic group of children to focus and listen, this game is perfect for those with an early childcare assistant diploma to incorporate within their classroom curriculum.
2. “Red Light, Green Light” is a Great Game for Developing Executive Function
Executive function refers to the mental skills and cognitive processes that help us to regulate our emotions and impulses, as well as plan and achieve our goals. While children tend to make decisions more impulsively and react more quickly, “Red Light, Green Light” is a great game to help children build executive function in a way that they’ll enjoy. Based on commands involving “Red Light” (stop) and “Green Light” (go), children walk or run from one end of a space to another–while listening closely to directions and controlling their impulses through play.
3. “Four Corners” Helps Kids to Focus While Having Fun
“Four Corners” is a great classroom game for teaching children how to focus–with a bit of suspense that provides some excitement. One child stands in the center of the room with their eyes closed and counts to ten. While counting, the rest of the class will silently move to one of the room’s four corners–which can be labelled with a number. After counting down, the child in the centre of the room will keep their eyes closed. They will then try to guess which corner of the room has the most students in it based on the sounds they heard while counting.
“Four Corners” is perfect for graduates of early childcare assistant college to use in honing their classroom’s ability to focus and listen closely. Children will hold back their laughter while trying to stay silent–adding to the fun of the activity.
4. “Freeze Dance” Is the Perfect Way to Let Kids Release Their Energy
As any early childcare assistant probably knows, it sometimes feels impossible to convince a classroom of kids to quiet down or pay attention. “Freeze Dance” is the perfect game for allowing kids to let off some steam while developing their self-regulation skills. Play some music for the class to dance to, and when the music pauses, instruct the children to “freeze” in the position they’re in. Experiment with different styles of music and rhythms, encouraging kids to explore a variety of movements. Not only is this game easy to play, but it’s plenty of fun for the whole class too!
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