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Kindergarten Games and Activities

Prashant Magar
Learning can be made enjoyable by inculcating various activities and games into it. Research shows that human beings acquire a majority of their skills at an early age. Kids are at their best when they play and have fun while observing the activities around them.
Kindergarten activities are the most effective ways to bring about an all-round development in children. Kids have a lot of curiosity and enthusiasm to learn new things. A very productive way to tap into this excitement, is to make learning a fun experience.

Language Development
Language is the foundation on which kids build every aspect of their intellect. Children love activities like mimicking voices, singing, and dancing. Studies show that children imitate the language of their elders.
They learn language through interaction with people and the environment. So, we have to be very careful with our words and gestures when around them. Following are some examples of word games that will teach as well as entertain children.

Secret Out

Arrange for a regular talk game where the kids are made to whisper a word in each others' ears while sitting in a circle. The last kid in the group has to say the word out correctly and loudly. It is a fun way to improve their communication skills.

Know the famous People and be Famous

Make regular visits to a zoo, railway station, hospital, and other public places, and encourage interaction with people of different professions. Ask the kids later on to give a brief account of what they learned in their own words.

Word games and Activities

Tongue twisters, riddles, and tricky word games should be a regular feature of dining table talk with kids. Children enjoy nursery rhymes and songs. Make them recite the ones that they know and praise them for doing it.

Mathematical Skill Development
Early exposure to learning is very essential for a child's growth. Good music aids brain development in children. This has a positive impact on academics, especially mathematics. Encourage them to understand math vocabulary in everyday events.
Children are always keen to learn new skills. Introduce them to the common concepts in math like big-small, more-less, near-far through the following games.

One Minute games

Make them compete in household games like adding up grocery items and calculating the price of articles on a calculator. This will increase their speed and encourage them to complete the activity correctly in the given time span.

Clock games

Arrange for clock games to identify and learn proper use of time. Time and space bound games, coloring, dressing-up, shoe-lace tying help them appreciate and understand small but important tasks.

Counting

Use of everyday articles and objects for counting will make them apply maths in real life while enjoying it. Activities like identifying patterns, comparison of people, objects in size, height, weight are an easy way to learn basic math.
Board games having colorful drawings on them make addition and subtraction effortless.

Sports
We are familiar with the simple and important adage, 'A healthy mind in a healthy body'. Sports boost confidence and instill a sense of goodwill and determination in kids. Children learn most of their social skills and importance of teamwork through sports. An hour of play teaches more values than a whole day of work.

Help with Devices

It is a fun way to make kids learn the importance of maintaining vehicles. This activity also creates awareness about structure and parts of gadgets in daily use. This can be extended to other devices like lawn mowers and small tools, but under supervision.

Picnic games

Hoop games, hunting the clues, and such others increase the analytical ability of a child. Occasional trips to near-by places increase a sense of bonding in kids.

Hopscotch

It not only makes a great outdoor activity, but it can also be played indoors. The children can make use of cardboard to cut out squares, and write numbers on them using a marker.
This not only helps them with numbers, but also helps them creatively, as they have to write the numbers and draw borders on the edges of the cardboard squares.

Tag

This sport can also be used to increase the kids' vocabulary. Get a group of kids together and decide who is going to be the 'it' among them. Then, decide a safe word for the other kids to shout out when the 'it' is about to catch them. This is where you can make it interesting.
You can either ask the kids to shout out the words in the order of the alphabet (starts with A and the next word should start with the next letter), or words that start from any one alphabet (all words should start with D). There can be a rule that no word can be repeated. This will make the game fun, interesting, and educational.

Hobby Development

Coin collection, philately or stamp collection, helping with cooking, and gardening are some of the hobby arts that can be inculcated in kindergarten years. Hobbies keep kids busy and away from unnecessary and harmful activities.
Kids are fond of collecting things they like. Help them develop a passion for positive accomplishments. Let them be involved in constructive activities which give them a sense of pride and achievement. These activities have a great emotional and educational value.
The word 'Kindergarten' originates from the German language and literally means 'a garden of children'. This garden has to nurture and bring out the best in the children.