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Kindergarten Ideas: Themes, Games, and Activities

Uttara Manohar
Kindergarten is the time in a toddler's life to learn the basics of language and knowledge, while also having fun activities and games incorporated into each session. Learn how this can be done while helping the kids remain interested in class.
Kindergarten is a fun learning experience for the toddlers where they are taught about the basic learning skills, that are required for the statutory education ahead. Kindergartens are also known as preschools, play schools, or nursery schools.
Usually, children who are between ages two to five are included in these. The kind of activities and games that are included in a kindergarten usually have activities that improve the hand-eye coordination, introduction to alphabets and numbers, and basic communication skills.

Things to Keep in Mind While Planning Kindergarten Activities

Education

Any activity that you are planning to include in the kindergarten curriculum has to have an element of education. Education at this level can mean the simplest of things and should not be confused with academics.
This could be done by teaching a child how to speak, paint, or recognize colors and the names of flowers, plants, and animals. Many kindergarten activities also include computer-learning, which are useful for introducing the children to the new technology and increasing the hand-eye coordination.

Good Values

Kindergarten is the first time when a toddler gets to interact with the children of his age. These interactions and observations have a great impact on the child's mind.
Make sure that the activity focuses on teaching important things like the joy of sharing, the importance of helping others, or the ways to communicate with people. Many kindergarten schools also teach the toddlers the basic etiquette like saying thank you, sorry, or excuse-me.

Creativity

Creativity is a very important element that should be a part of every activity or game that is designed for small children. Make sure that the activities that you plan or the games that you conduct do not limit the creativity of the child.
Instead give him complete creative freedom to express his/her thoughts and ideas. For example, during an art class if a child wants to make the sun pink or even green instead of yellow, don't tell him that he is wrong, instead appreciate him for his innovative ideas.

Innovation

Instead of sticking with the same activities, you can always try to make the old activities a bit more interesting. Make use of technology to help you create interesting activities.
For example, instead of just reciting the rhymes, how about playing a nursery rhyme DVD with visuals, which are not only great to look at but will also help the children to relate better and have a visual picture of the things that they are singing about in the rhymes.

Fun and Entertainment

Last and most important point is that you need to get the children to enjoy all the activities and games that you plan in the kindergarten. Create things, which the children will enjoy. Try to incorporate songs, dance, rhythm, and color to them.
For example, instead of teaching the children about types of colors from a typical, dull chart, you can create a song about colors and give children different props of different colors which will not only be a learning process, but also a fun thing for the kids!