GAME ON!
It’s almost
October lst and that means there will be lots of new activities up on my
website. One thing I wanted to
focus on was how to use traditional children’s games to reinforce skills. Here’s a snippet of what you’ll find
this month at drjean.org.
MUSICAL CHAIRS
Do you remember
the old game where you placed chairs in a circle and walked around until the
music stopped? If you didn’t find
a chair you were OUT! This is a
similar game that can reinforce letters, words, colors, math facts. etc. Write
letters, words, math facts, etc. on paper plates. Scatter them on the floor. Play some catchy music for the children to dance to. When the music stops each child
finds a paper plate and picks it up.
The teacher randomly points to various children to identify the
information on their plates.
*If the child is
unsure about what is on their plate invite them to “ask the audience.”
HEADS UP - SEVEN UP
Seven children
come to the front of the room and are given a flash card with a word or whatever
on it. The rest of the class
places their heads down. The seven
tiptoe around and place a flash card by a friend before returning to the front
of the room. The seven join in and
say, “Heads up! Seven up!” Children who received a flash card
stand up and read their word. They
then guess who gave them the card and switch places.
RED ROVER, RED ROVER
Divide the class
into two teams and have them stand on opposite sides of the room facing each
other. Give each player a flash
card to hold in front of them. The
teacher goes to one team and asks, “Who do you want to call over?” The children select someone from the
opposite side and say, “Red rover, red rover, send word right
over.” The child holding that word
walks, hops, tiptoes or jumps to the opposite side. The game continues as sides take turns calling words over.
HOPSCOTCH
Draw a hopscotch
frame on a paved surface.
Write letters, words, numerals, or anything you want to reinforce in the
sections. Children take turns
hopping as they identify the information in the squares.
Hint! You can make an indoor hopscotch on a
shower curtain liner. Use an
erasable marker so you can change the information in the squares throughout the
school year.
CATCH AND TELL
You will need a
bean bag or small sponge ball to play this game. The teacher says a letter and then tosses the ball to a
child. That child must name
something that begins with that sound before tossing the ball back to the teacher.
*This game can be
adapted for rhyming words, colors, math, social studies, and other skills.
TIC TAC TOE
Divide the class
into two teams. One team is “X”
and one team is “O.” One child at
a time from each team comes forward.
The teacher asks players to answer a question, identify a word,
etc. If the player gets the
correct answer they get to make an “X” or an “O” on the board for their
team.