Teaching children to cooperatively complete a task encourages interdependence and trust. It builds an appreciation for what another person has to offer. Pairing students with different strengths makes them stronger than either student alone. Once such activity to do this is "Threading the Maze."
Use traffic cones or similar items to map out several winding paths in the gym or outside. Assign kindergarten students a partner and a blindfold. Have one student put on the blindfold and the other student lead him to the beginning of the path. Instruct the leading student talk his partner through the maze, avoiding the obstacles. Remind the students to listen carefully only to the voice of their partner as other students making their way through a different maze may provide instructions that could cause the blindfolded team member to go off course.
Each individual may have a specific idea of what works in a given situation. Asking students to pair together to create a project means they must cooperative to succeed. Students must cooperate, communicate and, perhaps, compromise to co-create. To do this in silence helps them develop nonverbal skills to accompany their verbal skills. One such activity to foster this cooperative skill allows them to produce cooperative artwork.
Provide each pair of kindergarten students with a large sheet of paper, glue sticks, crayons, stickers, magazine cutouts and scissors. Have the students create a cooperative work of art without speaking to one another. You may provide some ideas for the art subject.
Straightening up the classroom can progress much faster when all hands take part and requires that students cooperate with each other and with the teacher. Students can discover the value of cooperation when part of the goal is to win a shared reward. This skill creates a valuable foundation for many other cooperative projects.
Divide students into three to four groups and assign each group a different task. For example, one group may put away the art supplies, while another group straightens up the reading center and a third group organizes the blocks and math center. Reward the group that finishes their tasks first with points to use for free time.
Students can learn to cooperate through games. This provides an enjoyable and energetic atmosphere that students perceive more as play than learning. Adding the flavor of competition challenges students to see cooperation with teammates as a requirement for success. One outdoor or gym activity you can use to accomplish this is "Blanket Ball."
Group your kindergarten students into teams of four. Give each student the corner of a blanket and place a ball in the center of the blanket. When you say, "Go," each team tries to throw the ball up in the air and catch it using only the blanket. Count how many times each team can accomplish the task.