What is a fun and educational childrens activity?
I could really use some help here.
I need to think of a 50 minute fun and educational program for children that focuses on one of these values: individuality, curiosity, having fun, love, teamwork, acceptance, good manners.
If anyone can think of a fun and detailed children s activity I would appreciate it.
this is for young underprivileged kids, ranging from first grade to fifth grade.
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Board games like Trivial Pursuit, and Scrabble can be fun.
Have a old fashioned “games party”, each person bring a game that doesn’t use electricity or batteries, and see what happens.
Children can work in pairs, against another pair, with winners having most points as a “team effort”.
Chess and Checkers are old favorites too.
Problem with many of the Electronic TV games is that there often is NO human interaction, you play against a computer. That’s no fun, lol.
And, what adults present should strive for is teaching how to be a good loser, as well as a winner. Winners should be encouraged to shake hands with the loser.
Some youth sports teams also encourage sportsmanship too.
- for good manners & etiquette :
you can present scenarios & elicit different responses or reactions from the group. they may range from being brash, sassy, rude, ….to polite, hesitant, …..
then ask the kids which response they liked best & why [focus on how they Felt]. encourage or veer them towards the well-mannered responses giving the relevance.
you can also do this in the form of role-playing or using puppets. or use TV programs & cartoon or comic characters that they watch, to compare, discuss & bring out the point.
- curiosity :
just ask each of them to come up with a “WHY…” question & then all of you can together try to solve/answer each. you’ll be amazed at how many posers they come up with. if there are a few that can’t be answered, check out encyclopedia or internet or public library [whatever is possible] to seek the answers together.
this will not only encourage their curiosity, but also teach them how to find the answers.
- individuality & teamwork :
you can first introduce the concept with diff activities.
eg. show them an assortment of beads - ask them about it. they will give you various answers.
take a string & string the beads & then tie a knot. now ask them about it - the answer will be a necklace/chain…
this will demonstrate how “many” became “one” when they were put together as a “team” on the string.
you can so this with many other stuff too.
OR use the Panchatantra fable to good effect : bring a bundle of wooden skewer sticks. they can be easily broken individually. then tie some into a bundle - this cannot be broken in half by one person. it shows strength in unity.
then move a step further - ask 2 or 3 kids to try to break it in half - they will succeed through co-ordinated teamwork.
- having fun :
*give each kid or group some alphabet letters & numbers & mathematical symbols [depending on their grade]. also give them colors, paper, scissors, etc. They can use the letters, etc. to sketch figures of animals, etc. [ eg. 7 can represent an elephant's ears, or inverted, it becomes a human nose] , make landscapes, …..
*compose rhymes & songs using the letters, etc.
*ask them to write the multiplication tables - you can build amazing pyramids from them — there are patterns to the answers. check out some books or websites to give them fun insights into playing with numbers.
through any of the above activities you can teach them about all the values you’ve mentioned. you may focus on one particular value but make references & comparisons to the others too. make it as humorous & light as possible.
hope i helped inspire some more ideas
all the very best & have fun :-))
There’s a great book called Tribes that is full of activities like you might need. Another is called Spirit Games. I included a link to the Amazon websites. I’ve used both these books.