The ability to make others laugh can be a valuable social skill. Gathering kids together and letting them try to make their peers laugh is an effective way to practice this skill. Children take turns telling jokes, saying something funny, or even making funny faces at each another. This group activity can be fun at parties or in any social setting and encourages children to interact with the intention of engaging others.
Encouraging children to work together on any project encourages them to collaborate on a social level. The interaction helps reinforce the importance of paying attention to others and helps strengthen teamwork. Cooperative projects might include having children build something together -- like a model or a house of blocks or craft sticks -- or it may involve starting and maintaining a garden together.
Creative conversations can encourage social interaction by teaching children how to initiate appropriate topics for conversation and how to listen when others do the same. Children can take turns starting a conversation on a topic that interests them and the group can spend 10 minutes discussing the topic. Give each child the opportunity to begin a new conversation. Another effective method of teaching social skills is to allow children to pretend they are strangers and let them take turns introducing themselves.
Team sports can be fun and can help build sportsmanship and reinforce the concept of working together. The act of passing a basketball to other team members -- to eventually get the team's ball through the net -- or kicking a soccer ball to other team members until it gets inside the goal can teach children the importance of working together for a common achievement. This teamwork can help build a strong foundation for social activities by strengthening bonds and communication skills.