Valentines Day Games for Preschoolers

jeudi 29 août 2013

If You Are Planning a Valentine's Day Party for Children, Games Are Essential. Here Are Some Games Appropriate for the Preschool Crowd.

Preschool-Age Children Love to Fish. You Can Create a Fishing Game with Small Toy Fishing Poles and Hearts (As Fish). Use an Empty Plastic Tub As Your "Lake" And Put Into It Red Hearts Cut Out of Construction Paper or Cardstock. Each Heart Is Good for a Prize. One Might Be Good for a Hershey's Kiss, Or Other Small Candy, Another Might Be for a Small Plastic Heart. Put Magnets On the Cardstock Hearts and a Magnet On the Fishing Pole. Then the Kids Can "Fish" For Hearts and Win a Prize at the Same Time. Each Child Should Only Be Allowed to "Catch" One Fish Each.

Preschoolers Love Balloons and You Can Create a Heart Target for Them to Aim Their Balloons At. Create a Target Out of Cardboard or Heavy Cardstock and Put It On the Floor Somewhere. You Might Want to Have Several Targets On the Floor. Give the Kids Balloons That Have Been Blown Up but Aren't Tied Shut. Let Them Let Go of the Balloons in the Direction of the Target and See Where Their Balloon Lands. Be Forewarned: Kids Will Want to Play This Over and Over Again. So Either Have Plenty of Balloons Ready to Go (Perhaps Held Closed with a Clothespin) Or Have Plenty of Adults Around Who Want to Blow Up Balloon After Balloon. You Can Also Play a Similar Game by Putting a Heart Target Into a Box or Laundry Basket and Having the Children Try to Hit the Target with an Inflated Balloon. Be Sure to Provide Prizes for Everyone!

Preschool Age Children Love a Good Game of "Duck Duck Goose" Or "Simon Says". For Valentine's Day, You Can Put a Twist On These Classic Games. Have the Kids Play a Game of "Cupid, Cupid, Love" Instead of "Duck, Duck, Goose" Or Have Them Play "Cupid Says" Instead of "Simon Says". Be Sure to Add a Smooch at the End of Each Order in "Cupid Says" Or Have the Kids Incorporate Valentine's Day Activities, Like "Cupid Says, Give Your Neighbor a Hug".

This Is a Game Young Children Love. Have Them "Throw Smiles" At Each Other. Sit Them in a Circle and Show Them How the Game Will Work. Only One Person in the Group Will Smile First. He or She Will Smile Wildly and Widely for the Whole Group. The Rest of the Group Will Not Smile, Not Even a Little Tiny Smirk. Once the Smiling Person Is Done, They Will Literally "Wipe" The Smile Off Their Face and Pass It to the Next Person in the Group, Who Will Repeat the Wide Smile and Hope Nobody Laughs. The Kids That Laugh or Smile Are Out of the Game (Those Who Should Be Stone-Faced Anyway). The Game Can Continue Until Only One Stone-Faced Person Is Left. Be Sure to Provide Every Child with a Fun Prize Just for Trying.

Preschool Teachers Might Want to Encourage Creative Thinking with a Little Game of "Valentine's 20 Questions". The Teacher Can Have a Visual in Mind, Which Might Be a Heart, Or Cupid, Or a Card or Something Relative to the Holiday. The Teacher Says "I'm Thinking...:" And the Children Must Ask Questions About What the Teacher Is Thinking. The Teacher Can Give Tiny Clues Along the Way Especially If He or She Is Losing the Interest of the Younger Children in the Group. Whoever Figures Out What the Teacher Is Thinking Can Be the Next One to Begin the Next Round of 20 Questions. Be Sure to Ask the Child What They Are Thinking Before the Next Round Begins or It Could Go On Longer Than It Needs To!

Children Love "Pin the Tale On the Donkey" So Why Not "Pin the Heart On Cupid"? In This Game, Simply Provide Each Child with a Big Red Heart with His or Her Name On It. Have a Big Cutout of Cupid On a Wall and Blindfold Each Child, Spin Him or Her Around and Have Them Stick Their Heart On Cupid (There Should Be Adhesive of Some Sort On the Back of the Heart). Once Everyone has Stuck Their Hearts, Let Them Look at Where They Ended Up.

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Classroom Thanksgiving Games

mercredi 28 août 2013

If You're Planning a Thanksgiving Party in the Classroom, There Are a Myriad of Games You Can Have the Children Play That Will Be Fun but Also Educational and Useful in Teaching the Concept of Being Thankful.

Be Careful Not to Overdo the Turkey Aspect of Thanksgiving. Some Children Forget That It's About More Than the Turkey. Playing Some Fun Games Can Help Them Remember the Purpose of Thanksgiving.

Try a Gratitude Bag. Fill the Bag with Several Cards, Each with Something On It. Some Will Say "Thanksgiving" While Others Will Have a Word or Picture of Other Things. Some of Those Other Things Might Be Cars, Food, Clothes, Etc. Have the Children Sit in a Circle and Draw a Card Out of the Bag. If They Get a Card That has a Picture or Word On It Other Than "Thanksgiving" They Should Talk About Why They Are Thankful for That Item and Why Others Should Be As Well.

For Example, If the Child Choose "Shoes", They Might Express How Thankful They Are That They Have Shoes so Their Feet Stay Clean and They Don't Get Cold in the Winter and They Stay Unharmed When They Are Walking. Depending On the Ages of the Children, This Might Be a Simple Response or Something a Little More Involved Once They Understand the Concept Better. If They Draw the "Car" Card, They Might Comment On How Nice It Is to Have a Car and Not Have to Take the Bus, Or How Nice It Is That Their Mom Can Pick Them Up From School so They Don't Have to Walk Home Everyday. With Help From the Teacher or a Parent, They Might Even Note That in Many Parts of the World, People Don't Have Cars (Or Shoes) And That They Are Lucky to Have All These Things.

If the Child Chooses a Card That Says "Thanksgiving" They Should Come Up with an Original Idea About Something They Are Thankful For. Try to Steer Them Away From Things Like "Playstation" But Instead Steer Them Toward Things Like "My Parents" And "My House and My Room".

For Some Thinking Fun, Have Kids Do a Word Find with Thanksgiving Words. Provide Them with a List of Words Related to Thanksgiving. They Might Be "Thanksgiving", "Cornucopia", "Mayflower", "Turkey", Etc. Then They Must Find Words Contained in Those Words. So, If the Word Is "Mayflower", They Might Find Words Like "Lay", "Flower", "Flow" And the Like. "Thanksgiving" Might Turn Into "Thank", "Sing", And "An".See Which Child Can Find the Most Words in the List of Words You Provide Them. Try to Challenge the Kids to Find Words Within the Words That Relate Back to Thanksgiving.

The Old Memory Game Is Always Fun and Can Be Used for Thanksgiving Too. Have the Children Sit in a Circle and Have Someone Start the Game by Saying, "At Thanksgiving, I Like to Eat" And Then Finish It with One Food Item. So That Child Might Say, "At Thanksgiving, I Like to Eat Turkey", And the Next Child Will Say, "At Thanksgiving, I Like to Eat Turkey and Cranberry Sauce." The Next Child Would Continue With, "At Thanksgiving, I Like to Eat Turkey and Cranberry Sauce and Green Beans." Each Child Will Carry On Until the List Becomes so Long, Someone Is Sure to Forget an Item. You Can Either Star the Game Over or Keep Going Until Everyone Is Out but One Child.

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Valentines Day Activites for Families

It's Important for Families to Show Their Love for One Another, So What Better Time Than Valentine's Day to Play Some Game, Engage in Some Fun Activities, All Designed to Show Each Other Love and Support?

One Fun Activity Is All About Giving Each Other "Snaps" For Being Who They Are. Over the Course of the Year, Mom and Dad, And the Kids As Well, Can Add "Snaps" To a Special Jar or Containers. These "Snaps" Might Include Things Like "Dad Helped Me Build My Pinewood Derby Car" Or "Joey Read Books to His Sister Each Night Without Complaint". Read These Little Slips of Good Things, Thank Each Other for Caring and Empty the Jar to Start It Again for Another Year.

At Dinner On Valentine's Night, Have Each Family Member Tell Others Why They Love Them. What About Dad Made Mom Love Him? Why Does Joey Love His Sister? What About Sissy Is Special to Dad? It Might Seem a Little Corny at First, But in the End, Everyone Will Enjoy Hearing Wonderful, Positive Things About Themselves.

One Fun Family Game Involves Family Trivia. This Game Is Particularly Fun If the Children Are a Bit Older and There Are at Least 2 Children in the Family. Mom (Or Dad) Creates a Trivia Game That Looks Something Like This: There Will Be a Series of Index Cards with a Bit of Family Trivia On Each Card. Someone Draws a Card and Tries to Answer the Question Correctly. If Correct, They Get a Point. The Person with the Most Points at the End of the Game Gets a Prize or Extra Chocolate Syrup On Their Dessert. Some Questions Might Be Things Like This:

*which One of Us Suffered a Broken Leg at the Age of 8?

*which of Us, At the Age of 3, Flushed an Entire Box of Tide Down the Toilet?

*which of Us Snuck Into Mom and Dad's Room Every Night Until He or She Was 6 Years Old?

At a Certain Age, Children Begin to Enjoy Preparing Meals for Mom and Dad. For a Fun Valentine's Activity, The Children Could Be Asked to Prepare a Meal for Mom and Dad. Ideally, This Would Be Breakfast in Bed and Could Include Foods That Are Traditional "Romantic" Foods (Like Strawberries and Chocolate) Or Whatever the Kids Want to Make. They Might Even Like to Prepare a Special Valentine's Day Menu and Let Mom and Dad Choose Off the Menu. This Would Be a Fun Tradition to Start As an Annual Event On Valentine's Day.

Consider a Fun Family Game of "Hidden Hearts". In This Game, Children Are Given Clues to Find Chocolate Hearts Hidden Around the House. The Clues Can Be Easy or More Complicated to Figure Out Depending On the Ages of the Children. If One or More Children Are Very Young, Mom and Dad Can Help Them with the Clues. When They Find the Hearts, They Can Eat Them, But Mom or Dad, Remember Where You Hid the Hearts and Be Sure to Count How Many Are Found, So There Aren't Any Left to Get Ugly in the House!

Finally, A Fun Family Activity Around Valentine's Day Is to Make Cards for Other People. Have the Kids Make Handprint Cards for the Grandparents or Have the Kids Make Cards for Their Friends. Handmade Cards Can Be so Much More Meaningful Than the Store-Bought Kind and Kids Learn a Lot From the Experience of Putting Their Hearts (Literally) Into Making the Card for Others.

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Christmas 2013 Eve Games

You Don't Often Think to Play Games On Christmas 2013 Eve, But Playing a Game or Two Can Be a Lot of Fun.

One Fun Game Is Ideally Suited for Anxious Children, But Could Also Be for Adults, If You Want to Add Some Fun for Gift Giving. For Children, This Is a Way to Make That "Open One Gift On Christmas 2013 Eve" Rule a Little More Exciting and Make It Last a Little Longer.

You Create a Hunt with Clues, So the Children Have to Follow the Clues to Find Their Gift. Instead of the Gift Being Under the Tree, For Example, You Might Put It Somewhere Else, But the Children Will Follow Clues to Find It. For This Game, You Can Use Anything to Write Your Clues On. You Could Use Christmas 2013 Cards in Their Envelopes That You Had Extras Of, You Might Cut Out Christmas 2013 Tree Shapes for This, Or You Might Want to Use Ornaments.

Whichever Method You Choose, Write a Clue On Each of Your Items and Leave Those Around the House. You Start by Handing Each Child the First Clue. It Might Say, "You Sleep Here Every Night" And the Children Will Run to Their Beds. On Their Pillow You Have Placed Another Clue That Might Say, "Mom's Eggs Taste Better with This" And the Children Head to the Spice Cabinet, Where They Find Another Clue On the Salt. The Final Clue (And Depending On the Ages of Your Children and Their Tolerance, You Might Have Only 5 Clues for This Game, Or Many More) Will Be the Gift Itself. To Make It Extra Fun, Have the Gift Be Under the Tree. Your Children Won't See That Coming!

If You Have a Large Gathering On Christmas 2013 Eve, Try a Circle Game. Have Everyone Get in a Circle and the First Person Will Start With, "In My Christmas 2013 Stocking There Is an Apple" And the Next Person Will Add, "In My Christmas 2013 Stocking There Is an Apple and a Boot". Each Person Will Continue On, Remembering the Previous Items and the Adding One of Their Own, And All in Alphabetical Order. If You Miss an Item, You're Out of the Game and the Winner Is the Person Who Successfully Remembers All the Stocking Items Over and Over Again Each Time They Have to Recite the Items and Add to the List.

Looking for a Little Physical Activity On Christmas 2013 Eve? How About a Rousing Game of Musical Chairs Using Christmas 2013 Music? This One Can Be Particularly Fun If You Use Upbeat and Well-Known Christmas 2013 Music. Use Songs Everyone Knows and Require They Sing Along and Dance While They Run Around the Chairs. This Adds a Fun Element Because You Are Likely to Have at Least One Person Who Gets so Caught Up in the Music and Dancing They Don't Realize the Music has Stopped. This Game Is Played Like Any Traditional Game of Musical Chairs with the Loser Being the One Who Doesn't Get a Chair When the Music Stops.

Since the Big Event On Christmas 2013 Eve Is Santa's Arrival, Play a Game of "Where's Santa"? In This Game, Everyone Sits in a Circle and One Person Is Chosen to Be Rudolph. That Person Leaves the Room for a Minute. A Santa Is Chosen Among Those Left in the Room. Rudolph Returns and Begins Hunting for Santa. Rudolph Should Stand in the Center of the Circle and Try to Figure Out Which Person Is Santa. Santa, Meanwhile, Winks at Other People in the Circle. If Someone Gets Winked At, They Yell, "Ho Ho Ho".

Once Rudolph Figures Out Where Santa Is, Another Rudolph and Another Santa Are Chosen and the Game Continues.

By Christmas 2013 Eve, Your Christmas 2013 Cards Have Been On Display for a Few Weeks, So Maybe It's Time to Play a Game with Them. Have Someone Set Up a Laundry Basket, Or a Gift Box a Few Feet Away (The Distance Depends On the Age of Your Players and Ability). Have Them Try to Toss the Cards Into the Box or Basket. This Sounds Easy, But Different Cards of Different Weights and Styles Will React Differently and Can Be Harder Than Expected to Get Into the Box or Basket.

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Office Activities Valentines Day

Working Might Not Seem Like All Fun and Games, But Sometimes You Have to Be Silly and Make Work Fun. Valentine's Day Is a Time to Do Just That. There Are Many Activities You Can Incorporate Into the Work World. If Your Office Is Particularly Close-Knit, That Opens the Door to Even More Activities.

Start with the Basics. Valentine's Day Is All About the Chocolate. Buy a Big Glass Jar with a Lid and Make Clear This Chocolate Is Not for Eating (A Big Sign On the Front Might Help Make This Clear). Have Everyone Guess How Many Items Are in the Jar. You Can Fill It with Just About Anything, But Hershey's Kisses Seem to Make the Most Sense. You Can Fill with a Mix of Kisses (Hugs, Regular, Etc) Or with Just the Classic Chocolate Kiss. In Any Event, Have People Guess How Many Kisses Are in the Jar. Their Guesses Should Be Written On a Slip of Paper and Put Into a Box Near the Jar. The Winner Gets the Jar of Kisses On Valentine's Day. If Your Office Is a Bit More Generous, A Small Dinner Gift Certificate Could Accompany the Jar.

Another Fun Idea Is V-Day Bingo. Create Bingo Cards with Various Valentine's Day Pictures On Them. There Might a Heart, A Cupid, A Couple Kissing, And so On. These Are Clip Art Pieces That Can Easily Be Printed Off the Computer. Each Day, Someone Will Call Out a Square. It Might Be "Heart!" Or "Kissing!" And Everyone Marks Their Bingo Card. Start the Game Perhaps 3 Weeks or so Before Valentine's Day so Someone has a Chance to Win Before Valentine's Day. This Is Something That Will Take Literally 30 Seconds a Day but Will Be Fun and Is Sure to Create Some Silly Tension. The Winner Gets a Prize. Perhaps Free Lunch in the Company Lunchroom, Or a Kiss From the Boss, Or Something Else Silly.

If You Have a Few Cooks in Your Office, You Can Suggest a "Heart a Day". Each Day, Someone Must Bring in Something Shaped Like a Heart, A Food Item, That Is. One Day It Could Be Cookies, And Another Pancakes. A Truly Original Thinker Might Figure Out How to Bring a Heart-Shaped Lasagna or Something Else. Perhaps Little Finger Sandwiches Cut Into Heart Shapes. To Make This Extra Entertaining and Challenging, You Could Require That the Foods Actually Be Good for Your Heart (Therefore, Cookies Might Be Out, But Heart-Shaped Chocolates? In.).

Often Officemates Become More Like Family. Why Not Use the Holiday of Love to Share Your Memories of Your Own Loves? Have Everyone Write a Quick Story of How They Met Their Wife or Husband and Put It in a Jar. They Shouldn't Include Names and Shouldn't Identify Their Spouse Either. One Day at Lunch, When Everyone Is Sitting Together (This Could Be at a Valentine's Day Lunch with Your Homemade Goodies), Read the Stories and Have Everyone Try to Guess Which One Belongs to Which Office Friend. Some of the Stories Might Make You Think It Actually Happened to Someone Else. Some of the Stories Are Surprising and Sometimes Even Funny,

Since Email Is Often the Communication of Choice in Offices, Have Some Fun with a Valentine's Day Email Quiz. You Can Ask Historical Questions About the Holiday or Questions About Co-Workers. Some Questions Might Look Like This:

1. Who Married Their Spouse in Yosemite National Park?

2. What Does the Word Valentine Mean?

3. Which of the Following Animals Mate for Life? (You'll Want to Provide Multiple Choice Answers for This One, Of Course.)

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Fun Office Gift Exchange Games

There Are Dozens of Fun Office Gift Exchange Games People Can Play During the Christmas 2013 Season. Officemates Might Have a "Secret Santa" Gift Exchange or a Popular "White Elephant" Gift Exchange. All Are Popular and Always Fun, Provided the Rules Are Clear and Everyone Understands Them.

One of the Most Popular Office Games Involving Christmas 2013 Gifts Is the "White Elephant" Gift Exchange. The Rules Can Vary Depending On the Office and Participants, But Generally It Works Something Like This. Each Person Participating Purchases a Gift Not to Exceed a Certain Dollar Amount (Determined in Advance and Might Range From $5 To $20, Again Depending On the Group). The Object Here Is a Fun Gift, So Anything Particularly Practical Is Not Welcome. You're Looking for Unusual and Interesting, Perhaps Funny, And Something Other People Will Want.

Everyone Who's Participating in the Exchange Gets a Number (The Number Should Be the Same As the Number of Presents). The Numbers Should Be They Drawn Out of a Hat or Something Else (Perhaps a Santa Hat, In Recognition of the Season?). So, The Person Who Draws Number "1" Goes First and Picks a Present. They Open It and Keep It. The Second Person Can Either Pick a Different Present or They Can "Steal" The First Present. They Can't Open a Present Until They Are Sure They Are Keeping Their Choice and Not Picking the First Gift. This Continues Until Everyone has a Present. Any Present That's Been Opened Can Be Subject to Stealing, But a Gift Can Only Be Stolen Three Times.

At the End of the Game, The Person Who Was the First to Open a Present Can Steal a Gift If They Choose, Since They Didn't Have an Opportunity Earlier.

In This Game There's Always One Gift That Everyone Wants and Will Steal Over and Over Again. What Makes It Fun Is Trying to Figure Out Who Is Going to Get the Most Coveted Gift. In Some Cases, People Can End Up with the Gift They Brought.

Originally the "White Elephant" Gift Exchange Was a Way for People to "Regift" Or Give Someone a Gift They Themselves Received and Don't Want. For a Fun Twist, You Could Ask People to Bring Something From Their Home Like That, Or You Can Require They Purchase Something (With the Aforementioned Limit On Spending).

There Are Many Varieties of the Secret Santa Game, Which Is so Popular in Offices, But One Option That's Fun Involves Putting a Dollar Limit On the Purchase and Having Participants Actually Make "Santa Lists". Here's How It Works: Those Participating Create a Little List for "Santa". There Should Also Be a Dollar Limit Placed On This Gift Exchange, So If That Is $10, Then People Should Only List Items On Their Santa List That Can Be Purchased for $10 Or Less.

Everyone Who Is Participating Draws a List Out of a Hat, Or Some Other Object, And Sets About Shopping for That Person. They Know Who They Are Shopping For, But the Recipient Doesn't. On Exchange Day, The Secret Santas Must Deliver the Gifts to Their Officemates' Desks Without Being Seen. Those Participating Can Decide If They Want People to Sign the Cards Attached to the Gifts, Or If the Secret Should Stay a Secret. If They Choose the Latter, Gift Giving Can Be Interesting, Since It's Anonymous, But Many People Choose to Have Cards Signed so in the End, People Who to Thank for Their Gifts.

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Christmas 2013 Day Games

Just Because the Gifts Are Opened and the Paper Strewn About the Living Room Doesn't Mean the Fun of Christmas 2013 Is Over. Add Some Fun Party Games to Christmas 2013 Day to Extend the Fun of Christmas 2013 .

If You Have a Large Gathering On Christmas 2013 Day, Have Fun with the Hat Game. When They Arrive, Give Everyone a Santa Hat. These Are Inexpensive and Can Be Purchased for $1 At the Dollar Store, Or Even Less in Bulk, If You Plan Ahead. As Everyone Goes About Their Business of Getting Food, Chatting with Others and the Like, The Room Will Look Very Festive with Everyone Wearing Their Santa Hats.

However, The Object of This Game Is to Not Have Your Hat On. As People Forget About the Hats, The Object Is to Get Rid of Your Hat and Not Be the Last One Wearing a Santa Hat. Inevitably There Will Be One Person so Wrapped Up in a Conversation or the Buffet Table, They Forget to Take Off Their Hat and Will Be Left the Game's Loser. This Is a Game That Can Be Played Again and Again As You Head Forward with the Day's Festivities.

One Fun Memory Game That Kids Particularly Like Is to Make Everyone Pay Careful Attention to All the Gifts That Are Opened On Christmas 2013 Day. After the Gifts Are Removed From the Room (Or You Remove Yourselves From the Gift Room) Have Everyone Try and Remember Every Single Gift Everyone Got. Include Stockings and Any Food Gifts. Tell People They Only Have to Remember the Items That Were Opened That Day, Not Any Gifts They Received and Opened Prior to Christmas 2013 Day. This Can Be a Fun Game That's Particularly Popular with Kids Because They Love to Relive the Gift Magic. In Addition, If They Were so Immersed with Their Own Gifts They Didn't Notice Anyone Else's This Is a Good Chance for Them to Educate Themselves About What Everyone Got That Day.

If You Need a Game to Keep Everyone Busy Before Dinner, Try the "Guess Me" Game. Buy Some Large Heavy Socks, Not Low-Rise, But the Type That Are Worn Outdoors in the Winter That Are Thick and Come at Least to the Calf. Put Several Items in the Socks. Make Sure Identical Items Are in Each Sock. These Items Should Be Related to Christmas 2013 In Some Way. You Might Include a Small Ornament, Scotch Tape, A Pinecone, A Hershey's Kiss, And the Like. Have Each Person Feel the Socks (Having Two Socks Just Makes the Game Go Faster, But You Can Play with Just One Sock), And Write Down Their Guesses About What's in the Socks. Be Sure to Tell Everyone How Many Items Are in Each Sock. The Winner Gets, You Guessed It, One of the Socks!

If You Have a Bunch of Wanna-Be Performers in Your Group On Christmas 2013 Day, How About Playing a Little Game of "Christmas 2013 Idol"? Set Up a Small Table for the "Judges" And Have Teams of 2 People (Or Individuals, If They Want) Sing a Christmas 2013 Carol. Tell Them to Have a Lot of Fun with the Song, And Even Add a Santa Hat or Other Dress-Up Items If They Wish. The Winners Can Take Home a CD of Christmas 2013 Music. This Game Is Particularly Fun If Just the Children Want to Perform and Be Judged by the Adults, Or If, Conversely, The Adults Perform and Are Judged by the Children.

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