Games can have a positive impact in your classroom, as well as in the relationship between you and your students. I am not just referring to math games, language games or any other kind of “educational games”. It turns out that all games that take place in the classroom have some educational merit. Fun-inducing games also have educational merit. There are some valuable things that can be learned from games for both children and adults.
There are games that create fun memories and a good association with other people. Some games help us collect our thoughts and some games help us express our feelings. There are games available that stretch our thinking and foster the ability to spontaneously react to challenging conditions. There are games available that help us go after a certain goal. If only we understood the power of games in education for life, there are games for practically all educational contexts.
The value of sport as part of the school curriculum is very clearly understood by society and schools. But playing various types of games is often considered a waste of time. That is absolutely missing the point. Classroom games provide distinctive values in school activities.
I will not forget to note the pleasure of personal discovery that some students have when they realize that they have the ability to succeed in games even if they have academic problems. Children find value in games and attach great importance to those who are good at playing. Students who never achieved academically, never exhibited prowess in sports, sometimes display undiscovered abilities in games that require a completely different set of talents.
For example, several students show a lot of self-control with a game like ‘Dead Fish’ when they have to stay completely still and not make a sound for as long as they can. People are eliminated from the game if they move or make noise. To maintain control for very long periods, there is a great deal of self-discipline. A game like ‘Wink Murder’, which requires people to guess who the murderer is before all the people die in the blink of an eye, helps people to expand their strength of observation and notice the expression on the face from someone for the slightest secret.
A game like “Knee Fights” makes students establish good reflexes and balance the body when they are the first to touch their playmate 5 times on the knee.
All kinds of word games train the brain to think fast and be more creative, when mixed with stories, they allow students to be very imaginative.
The instructor’s imagination is the only limitation, as the possibilities are endless. Your own talent for modifying or creating games for a particular purpose expands when your repertoire of games expands. If you have not yet come across this discovery as a teacher, I urge you to explore the great power that games of all kinds have in the classroom.
Are you a teacher looking for some great classroom games?
Are you a child or youth group leader looking for fun games that kids of all ages love to play?
Are you organizing a summer camp, youth retreat or weekend getaway for your social group and looking for icebreakers and other fun activities for your group?
Then your search is over!
“The Games Box” is about to be released and is simply the most user-friendly and comprehensive compendium of games for all ages available anywhere.
