Look back in your memory. If you went to a public school or a daycare, chances are you have a fun memory of playing a supervised game with all of your friends. Maybe the teacher brought out a big, colorful parachute and the colors danced as everyone spun and spun.
Beautiful memories like these are part of growing up, but those games were more than just entertainment for young children. Group games have many benefits for children. Here are just a few.
Group Games Teach Cooperation
Learning to work together is a life skill children will use every day, all their lives. You need to know how to work as a team for almost every single job. Sports, theater, music, and so many other aspects of our daily life require a certain degree of cooperation.
Group games help give young children who don’t have a lot of experience with teamwork a chance to experience it in a fun and engaging way.
By learning that it takes all the kids to spin that parachute, or that the smallest child can make a difference in a match of tug-o-war.
Group Games Encourage Kids to Interact
Children are not born knowing right from wrong. Until they’ve said something mean to another child and seen them cry, they may not realize that their words have consequences. Until they’ve encouraged another kid and seen them go on to succeed, they may not realize how powerful encouragement can be.
Group games give kids the chance to practice their social skills, and to see what happens when they are nice and when they are not as well.
Children with good social skills often do better in school and as adults, because they have learned how to behave properly in different social situations.
Teaches Focus
Group games often require the ability to stay in the moment, and the ability to pay attention to those around you. The ability to focus on a game, your team mates, and the teacher is a powerful tool kids will carry with them their whole lives.
We have all benefited from the ability to focus at one time or another—and suffered when we couldn’t focus. Learning to focus early in life can be of great benefit to children.
Provides Exercise
Finally, movement is as important to children as the ability to sit still. Children need a chance to move, wiggle, run and get their energy out before they can focus on sit-down work. A group game can be a great way to help kids continue to learn while giving their bodies that chance to exercise as well.
Group games are fantastic teaching tools. Whether it’s a game of dodge ball, duck duck goose, or spinning that parachute, kids are learning how to interact with each other, pay attention, and stay focused.
If your child is part of a preschool or daycare, find out if they offer group games occasionally. Those group games could have huge benefit to your child.
