Learning must be fun, learning must be literally engaging! And what better than games to make it memorable? There are so many games we can do we our children, the best ones are the ones we don’t schedule, the ones that we invent with our children, the ones that are very intimate because they have a special bond. Games can be played to break a session of flashcards or teaching new language or after a craft where children have been sitting for a while and in this case can be literally whatever, from a stretching exercise (TPR) to any Simon says.
But Games can also become alive and essential educational part of our class, if we relate it to the theme we’re dealing with. Say that the theme of day 5 of our Xmas Camp was The Grinch, and we decided to play the classic Pin the tail, but this time, related to the Grinch, it has become Pin the heart on the Grinch.
In this way, we give children a context to play in, where they can continue using the key language that we’ve been inputting them for the whole day. Children will find the perfect environment to use the second language, and more than everything else, will have a reason to use it (Have fun wih his/her friends! – what a reason!)
Below you find our selection of games, the ones that we tried out with our children and worked successfully.
Do you and your children have some favourite games you would like to share with us? Send pictures and instructions of your fav games to email@example.com and then we are going to publish them here!
- Roll the Dice: Dress Santa
- Food Memory
- Sandbox | Body parts
- Washing machine | Role-play
- Flags game (nationalities)
- Rhyming pictures game (from My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes)
- I spy with my little eye…