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Teachable Social Games for Children Under 5

A major reason why some parents send their children to school at a young age is to develop their social skills. While a focus on academics is important in an educational environment, enhancing the ways in which children interact with each other is important as well. Use games in your classroom to stimulate their social skills. Educator Megan Waltz says in her article, "The Importance of Social and Emotional Development in Young Children," that "healthy social-emotional development in young children correlates with cognitive development and therefore creates a strong foundation for future school achievement."
  1. Role Play

    • Allow the youngsters to take part in a number of role-playing games. Provide them with props, costumes and scenery that mimic every day life, such as all of the necessities for a pretend kitchen. Provide them with real-life scenarios, such as how to share roles when baking with a parent or safety in the kitchen. Ask the little ones to act out how to react to these different types of situations when they occur.

    Timers

    • The website Parents.com suggests using a timer game to teach children about sharing. Set up different stations with various toys. One section could have puzzles and another could have dolls, for example. Set a timer for a certain number of minutes. Whenever the timer goes off, all of the students immediately have to put down whatever toy they are currently playing with. They will then have to move on to the next station until the timer goes off again.

    Feelings

    • You can teach little ones how they can sometimes tell what other people are feeling based on their facial expressions. Hold up a series of pictures from magazines, newspapers or other sources in front of the classroom, and ask them to tell you how they think each person is feeling. Use pictures that express a wide range of emotions. You could also use the Let's Face It! online activity, which demonstrates the same concept through an Internet game.

    Board Games

    • Teach children how to play a popular board game appropriate for their age level, such as Candy Land. Divide the children into teams. Have them make decisions together and discuss with them how they must value each other's input. Furthermore, explain that they should root for both their own team members and the other team. Playing games in such a manner will help the children to learn how to take turns, work with one another and to not get upset if they are losing.

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