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Need ideas for "small games"


SebastianCat
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I will be teaching a unit for a small group of Kindergarten & 1st grade girls.  They've been doing more academic and art-type classes all year up to this point, so I'd like to keep it simple and fun.    I've decided to do a unit on "small games."   It will be for 6 weeks, for about 1.5 hours each time.   Budget is limited, so while I *can* buy some things, I'd like to mix in several inexpensive or no-cost games as well.

 

I'm brainstorming ideas - can you help me add to this list?   So far I've got:

 

marbles

jacks

tops

cat's cradle (& other string games)

hopscotch (not exactly "small" but I thought this would be a good filler activity when the girls have been sitting a while)

pick-up sticks

rock-paper-scissors

tic tac toe

tiddlywinks

dominoes

Jacob's ladder

charades

London bridge

 

What would you add?    Thanks!

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Bingo - it never ceases to amaze me how much kids like Bingo. There are free printables here in a variety of topics so you could match the game to whatever it is you're studying.

 

Home-made Head-Bandz. You write out cards with an object/person/etc. and the person puts it on their head so they can't see it. Then the person asks the others yes/no questions about the object until he/she can guess what it is. It's actually a good logic exercise.

 

Bean bag tosses are fun.

 

If you have a Five Below near you, they have a very good games department and everything is under $5. I know they usually have mancala, which is fun but two-player so not sure if it works for your class.

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You can make your own memory cards with different types of games on them.  

 

It may sound crazy, but Left Center Right has been a hit with Indy since he was about 4 or 5, plus it helped him work on knowing his left and right.  It's inexpensive and loads of fun.  It's small enough that sometimes I toss it in my purse if we're going on vacation, and need something to do in the airport or hotel (in the evenings).  Depending on how many girls there are, you may need to use something else for the chips.  This game can go on for a while, so be warned.  Even if a girl runs out of chips, she can still get chips if someone on her left and right rolls a R or L and have to give her a chip.  No one is ever out.  It ends when only one person has chips left.  LOVE IT!

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You could also email parents with a list of games you would like and see if any of them could bring one to use for a week. During the last lesson of my phonics class, I play scrabble and for my larger classes, I just asked parents and had them bring in extra so I wouldn't have to buy more. Bring a back up game in case they forget.

 

I also play word root bingo, that went over well, especially if you play with edible markers like skittles.

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Sounds like a fun idea.  Perhaps brainstorming six categories, one per week,  would help you decide on games...or perhaps five categories with the fifth week being a favorite from the each of the other categories.

 

I'm thinking things like:  great grandparent games (old games), no-equipment games, card games, easy to carry games, pencil and paper games.

 

When I lead games with groups I like to take normal games and make them bigger.  I got this idea from Survivor because a lot of their games are normal games just made bigger and styled to fit the theme.  So for example, for the classic memory game of turning over images to match I would print the images large and spread the images out on the floor.  Note:  if you do this sometimes the image can show through normal paper and even cardstock.  I print the image and place it inside a plastic page protector with a blank piece of cardstock so that nothing shows through the back.

 

 

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