Party games need not always be just about fun. Sometimes they can also be about cognitive and educational skills.Parties can be transformed into useful platforms to engage kids with games that teach them as well as please them! Here are a few games for kids that can be played at birthday parties, tea parties, or even at a simple stay-over.
Photo by: Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC)
#1 Game for kids – Simon Says
How to play –
This is the classic ‘Simon Says’ game that can be tweaked and twisted to introduce kids to various skills. Add ‘Simon Says’ to any command. For example,‘Simon says touch your nose’, ‘Simon says form a circle in groups of 5’, ‘Simon says touch anything that’s blue’, ‘Simon says hop twice’, and so on. Eliminate the one who is the last to perform the action. Continue to play the game till you are left with one winner. Select a skill that you want kids to practice and design the game on that skill.
Skills developed –
‘Simon Says’ promotes the development of multiple skills. Some suggested skills that can be developed are counting, hand-eye coordination, and vocabulary.
#2 Game for kids – Treasure Hunt
How to play –
The treasure-hunt game for kids can be played either indoors or outdoors, and can also be tailored to suit your party theme! Make clues and keep them at crucial points for players to discover. One clue must lead to another unless the players are directed to the ‘treasure’. The game can either be played in groups or individually. Write the instructions in riddles, but make them simple enough for kids to follow. The first team/individual to discover the treasure wins the game.
Skills developed –
Ability to follow instructions, team bonding (if the game is played in groups)
#3 Game for kids – Skittle
How to play –
Wash, paint and keep ready 5-7 large fizzy drink bottles to play skittle. Place the bottles in a triangular pattern (like a rack on a pool board) in a room or the garden, wherever there is enough space for the player to gain momentum to throw the ball. Have three soft balls to bowl the bottles. Mark a start line and ask the players to bowl, one after another. The first one to bowl out all/most of the bottles wins the game. Number each bottle from 5-10 to add more excitement to the game and decide the winner easily (the one with the highest points wins).
Skills developed –
Hand-eye coordination, concentration, ability to focus
#4 Game for kids – Musical Chair
How to play –
We all know what the game is about! Place chairs with their seats facing opposite sides in the garden. The number of chairs will be one lesser than the total number of players. Play a fun song and have the children go around the arrangement in a circle. Make sure they don’t pause or slow down because that’s a trick often adopted by the little menaces! As soon as the music stops, each player must swiftly occupy a seat for himself/herself. The player who doesn’t get a seat stands out. The last player to retain a chair/seat for himself/herself is declared the winner.
Skills developed –
Team bonding, quick reaction time
How to play –
This is the classic ‘Simon Says’ game that can be tweaked and twisted to introduce kids to various skills. Add ‘Simon Says’ to any command. For example,‘Simon says touch your nose’, ‘Simon says form a circle in groups of 5’, ‘Simon says touch anything that’s blue’, ‘Simon says hop twice’, and so on. Eliminate the one who is the last to perform the action. Continue to play the game till you are left with one winner. Select a skill that you want kids to practice and design the game on that skill.
Skills developed –
‘Simon Says’ promotes the development of multiple skills. Some suggested skills that can be developed are counting, hand-eye coordination, and vocabulary.
#2 Game for kids – Treasure Hunt
How to play –
The treasure-hunt game for kids can be played either indoors or outdoors, and can also be tailored to suit your party theme! Make clues and keep them at crucial points for players to discover. One clue must lead to another unless the players are directed to the ‘treasure’. The game can either be played in groups or individually. Write the instructions in riddles, but make them simple enough for kids to follow. The first team/individual to discover the treasure wins the game.
Skills developed –
Ability to follow instructions, team bonding (if the game is played in groups)
#3 Game for kids – Skittle
How to play –
Wash, paint and keep ready 5-7 large fizzy drink bottles to play skittle. Place the bottles in a triangular pattern (like a rack on a pool board) in a room or the garden, wherever there is enough space for the player to gain momentum to throw the ball. Have three soft balls to bowl the bottles. Mark a start line and ask the players to bowl, one after another. The first one to bowl out all/most of the bottles wins the game. Number each bottle from 5-10 to add more excitement to the game and decide the winner easily (the one with the highest points wins).
Skills developed –
Hand-eye coordination, concentration, ability to focus
#4 Game for kids – Musical Chair
How to play –
We all know what the game is about! Place chairs with their seats facing opposite sides in the garden. The number of chairs will be one lesser than the total number of players. Play a fun song and have the children go around the arrangement in a circle. Make sure they don’t pause or slow down because that’s a trick often adopted by the little menaces! As soon as the music stops, each player must swiftly occupy a seat for himself/herself. The player who doesn’t get a seat stands out. The last player to retain a chair/seat for himself/herself is declared the winner.
Skills developed –
Team bonding, quick reaction time