Everybody Wins! A Fresh Take on Preschool Games

One day on the way home from preschool my daughter declared, “I hate musical chairs!” I was surprised at the force behind her statement, but not so surprised by her feelings.

My daughter is not exactly a speedy child. She moves at her own pace and in her own good time in spite all of my coaxing and demanding. I try to remind myself that it’s developmentally appropriate, preschoolers generally don’t have much of a concept of time, at least not the way adults do!

Then I came across this article in YC Magazine. In it the author, Rae Pica, reminds us that as early childhood educators, we need to be aware of what children might learn from the activities we plan, including games.

Children learn from all of their experiences. What will children learn from the games we offer—self-confidence,problem solving, cooperation, trust, and improved motor skills? Or “rejection, competition, failure, and humiliation” (Staley & Portman 2000, 67)? It’s up to us to decide.

The article goes on to give the reader new ideas for modifying traditional games like Musical Chairs, Simon Says and Duck, Duck, Goose to better fit the emotional, physical and cognitive needs of young children.

Preschoolers are just discovering the joys of playing group games. They are fun, social, active and can offer a lot of learning opportunities. No game is right for every group of children, and very few games are always wrong. It is up to us to really think about the games we choose to introduce. What lessons will the children learn? How will this game foster their development? Then we can modify the rules as necessary to ensure that all children benefit from the games we teach them.