30 Cooperative Games for Preschoolers Simple and Easy for the Classroom, Playgroups, and Home

By Chelsea Lee Smith

30 Cooperative Games for Preschoolers: Simple and Easy for the Classroom, Playgroups, and Home Copyright 2013 Chelsea Lee Smith All Rights Reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a published review. The information presented herein represents the views of the author as of the date of publication. This book is presented for informational purposes only. Due to the rate at which conditions change, the author reserves the right to alter and update his opinions at any time. While every attempt has been made to verify the information in this book, the author does not assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, or omissions. Editing services by HelpyHelperVAServices.com.

Table of Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Alphabet Body ........................................................................................................................... 2 Animal Time .............................................................................................................................. 2 Beep .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Behind This Door ....................................................................................................................... 3 Bunny, Bunny ............................................................................................................................ 4 Charades ................................................................................................................................... 4 Circle Time ................................................................................................................................. 5 Copy Cat Train ........................................................................................................................... 5 Cross the Bridge ........................................................................................................................ 6 Follow the Leader ..................................................................................................................... 6 Freeze ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Guess Who ................................................................................................................................ 7 The Ha-Ha Game ....................................................................................................................... 8 Happy, Sad ................................................................................................................................ 8 In My Square ............................................................................................................................. 9 Jumping Jacks ............................................................................................................................ 9 Look At Me .............................................................................................................................. 10 Movement Memory ................................................................................................................ 10 The Name Game ..................................................................................................................... 11 Parachute Game ..................................................................................................................... 11 The Rain Game ........................................................................................................................ 12 Red Light, Green Light ............................................................................................................. 12 Relay Race ............................................................................................................................... 13 Silence, Silence ........................................................................................................................ 13

Simon Says .............................................................................................................................. 14 Stand Up Together .................................................................................................................. 14 Telephone ............................................................................................................................... 15 This Is How We Do It ............................................................................................................... 15 Who Am I ................................................................................................................................ 16 Who Is Missing? ...................................................................................................................... 16 About the Author .................................................................................................................... 17

Introduction

Welcome, and thank you for downloading my collection of 30 cooperative games! Whether you are a teacher or a parent, I hope you will find some fun ways to play with the children in your life.

The games in this book have been compiled to give teachers and parents hands-on ways to encourage children to have fun and interact without competition. As an added bonus, many of them may also give the children the opportunity to practice observation and listening, problem solving, self-confidence, creativity, and communication skills.

Although many games require no materials, a few games may require a small lightweight ball, a sheet or blanket (small thin table cloths work great!), two long ropes or ribbons, and/or a blindfold. If you keep these supplies together in a bag with the game ideas, you will have a complete portable set of games to use anywhere!

Keep in mind that children in the preschool age are still learning what it means to play by the rules. Be encouraging and flexible as they begin to understand how to play the games. As they get more familiar with them, they will be even more fun.

Cooperation is crucial for young children to learn if they are going to work well with others both at school and at home. I hope these games give you a chance to help the children practice this very important skill while having fun together.

Enjoy!

Alphabet Body

Children should be put into pairs for this game. Each pair is given a letter to represent with their bodies (specify whether it is capital or lowercase letters). For example, to make a capital A the children may lean the heads toward each other and hold their arms. Give the children five minutes to prepare their letter, and then have them share with the rest of the group.

Animal Time

Ask the children to pretend they are a cat, dog, bunny, snake, mouse, etc. Tell them to take the position and movements of the animal, as well as the sounds. If space is an issue, you can specify that the children stay in a small area for their pretending or do not touch other children.

Beep

Students sit in a circle. One student starts the game by looking at the student to their left and saying, Beep. That student then continues by looking at th e next student and saying, Beep. The beep should go around the whole circle. Once the students are familiar with the game, you can add another option, which is looking straight ahead and saying, Brake, which stops the beeps and changes their direc tion. After saying, Brake, they should say, Beep, in the opposite direction (i.e. to the right if the beep was currently moving left), and the game continues.

Behind This Door

In this game, the children must be silent as they act out the instructions of the teacher. The teacher calls out different scenarios like Step through a tiny door, and there is ice on the other side, Push open a really heavy door, and there is sploshy mud on the other side, or Run through a big door to get some ice cream on the other side! Describe the door and the other side well so the children can imagine it and act it out.

Bunny, Bunny

Students should stand in a circle. One student is selected to be the bunny and goes to the center of the circle with their hands on their head like bunny ears (they can also hop). They then pass the bunny role to someone else by going up to another student in the circle and saying, Bunny, bunny. They take the students spot in the circle, and the new bunny hops to the center of the circle and continues the game until all students have had a turn being the bunny.

Charades

Pick a category such as things you do on the weekend or things you do at home. Choose a child to go to the front of the class to act out their answer without words. The rest of class puts up hands to guess what the action is. Have three guesses total before the child has to tell what the action is. Then the rest of the group does same action before choosing another actor.

Circle Time

You will need: two ropes Give the children the two ropes, and ask them to make as big of a circle as they can with them. Then give them instructions for what to do around the circle, such as step inside, hop outside, skip around the circle, act like cats walking around the circle, walking on the circle like a tightrope, etc. You can ask one child at a time to go if the circle is not large enough for them all to obey the instructions.

Copy Cat Train

You need a fairly large room or open space for this game. The teacher stands in front of the children who line up like a train. The teacher announces, All aboard the Copy Cat Train! The children start following the teachers actions: walking, skipping, clapping, side stepping, walking with one arm up, walking with hands on the head, etc. The children should copy the child in front of them (not look at the teacher), so the directions should be held long enough for the children at the back of the line to copy.

Cross the Bridge

You will need: two long ropes Make a long narrow bridge with the two ropes, so that two students can fit tightly beside each other. Split the group into two. Have two opposite rows of children walk on the bridge without falling off (which means stepping over the rope) going in opposite directions. Describe whats under the bridge, if that helps (i.e. water, crocodiles, etc). Have the children help each other by holding hands, going slowly, etc.

Follow the Leader

One child is nominated to be the leader. The leader should then give instructions to the other children by doing; they scratch their head and the other children will scratch their head. Take turns being the leader. This game reminds us that others are always watching what we do, especially those younger than us, so we must always remember to be good examples.

Freeze

Get children to move around the room/space in the way you specify (walking, running, skipping, dancing). When you say, Freeze!, they should freeze and close their eyes. Let them be still and close their eyes for about 10 seconds. Then give them a new direction (i.e. Dance!) until you say Freeze again.

Guess Who

You will need: a blindfold The students should stand and make a circle. Choose one student to be in the middle with eyes blindfolded. Spin them around, and then have another student join them in the middle of the circle. Have the blindfolded student try to guess who the other student is by feeling the face, hair, shirt, etc. If the student is having trouble, the other students can give clues but NOT share the name (for example, its a boy, they have brown eyes, etc.) Take turns.

The Ha-Ha Game

Students should stand facing the teacher. The teacher explains that they are going to put up fingers (start with 1 to 5 using one hand), and the students should say Ha that many times. For example, if the teacher puts up 2 fingers the students should say ha -ha. The students have to watch the teachers hands closely. If the students need help counting the has, the teacher can use their second hand to count with them as they say ha. Speed up with time. As the students get used to the game, you can use two hands for the students to say ha 6 to 10 times.

Happy, Sad

Students should sit or stand in a circle. The teacher should enter the circle and point to students saying either happy or sad. The student they point to has to make a happy or sad face, depending on what the teacher says. The teacher can surprise people by quickly pointing to them when they dont expect it.
A student can be the caller of happy or sad once they understand the rules.

In My Square

The children should draw pretend squares around themselves. Give them instructions to do things inside the square, such as touch the ceiling of the square, try to get out of the square, dance inside, bend down without bumping their head, etc. End with sitting in their square.

Jumping Jacks

Everyone stands and faces the teacher with plenty of arm space. The teacher demonstrates counting one (putting hands above head in a clap), two (putting arms upwards and out), three (putting arms downwards and out), and four (putting arms straight down on legs). With each count, they alternate jumping with legs out and legs together. Children are invited to join in actions and counting which should get faster with time. If appropriate, let the children take turns leading.

Look At Me

Everyone stands in a circle. Each child takes a turn saying, Look at me, I am a choosing an object or animal to be and making up an action for it. For example, Look at me. I am a bird, while flapping arms like wings. The rest of the children then copy their words and actions. Then the next person in the circle has their turn.

Movement Memory

Children stand in circle. Each child has to think of a simple action and show the rest of the group (such as clapping, patting their head, nodding their head, or twisting their hips). After each child has a special action associated with them, the teacher chooses one child (Child #1) to go in the middle. Then the teacher says the name of another child (Child #2), and Child #1 has to copy the action of Child #2. If they cannot remember, others can help. After Child #1 does the action correctly, they go and sit down in their place in the circle. Then its Child #2s turn to enter the circle and copy the next child named by the teacher. Keep going until everyone is sitting.

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The Name Game

You will need: a ball Children should sit in a circle. Each child will be passing the ball to a person and receiving the ball from someone and should say, Thank you, (name). Here you go, (name), so they are practicing each others names and being courteous. The children must throw carefully to the person so that they can catch it. If it is too much for younger children to throw, they can simply pass the ball around the circle and say the name of the child they are handing the ball to.

Parachute Game

You will need: a blanket and a light weight ball The children should stand around edge of the blanket (holding it off the ground) and practice lightly shaking it. The teacher throws the ball onto the blanket and the aim of the game is for the children to make the ball jump without getting thrown to the ground. The children can work together to count out when to lift the blanket, etc.

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The Rain Game

The children should sit in a circle as the teacher leads them in movements to make rain. First simply tap fingers on the ground, then rub hands together, then snap, then slap thighs, then stomp. You can even add in shhhhh sounds to make it louder, woooo! for wind, or chhh chhh crashes for lightning. After the rain gets to the loudest, then start to slowly make the movements quieter until the rain stops altogether.

Red Light, Green Light

The group stands behind a line. Teacher calls out green light, and the students run to the other side of the room. They must stop when the teacher calls, Red light. The object of the game is for all the students to make it to the other side of the room.
The children must follow directions and if anyone keeps running after red light they must all go back to the starting line. Children can all hold hands for this game so the group has to run and stop together.

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Relay Race

Create an obstacle course by laying a rope down for children to jump over, a chair to run around, and/or a bucket to drum on. Show the children the course. Then have the children line up and have them each complete the course, afterward touching the hand of the next child in line until all the children have run the relay. Have them sit down once they have completed their race and cheer each other on.

Silence, Silence

The group can sit in a circle or sit facing the teacher for this game. The teacher puts their finger on the lips and says, Silence, silence, no more words. All children copy the teachers actions without any words. The teacher should choose smaller, soft actions the children can imitate without giving verbal directions such as rubbing hands together, patting legs, wiggling toes, tapping body parts like eyes/nose/ears, rolling shoulders front and back, blinking eyes, etc.

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Simon Says

Everyone stands facing one person, who plays Simon. Simon chooses actions for the others to copy, starting his directions with Simon Says. For example: Simon says, Clap your hands three times. When Simon doesnt start his direction with Simon says the children should not obey. You do not need to put children out if they accidentally obey. Just have fun. After five directions are given, a new Simon is chosen.

Stand Up Together

Pair the children up. Have the children stand back to back as though their backs are glued together. Ask them to try to stand up individually, and then together. They will need to problem solve how to stand up successfully and learn that they can only do it together. They will probably need to hook elbows and help each other stand. This game reminds us how we must work together and how our success is dependent on helping others as well.

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Telephone

The students should sit in a circle. One student is selected to choose a word (or sentence). They whisper it to the person beside them with their hands cupped around their mouth. All the students pass the message until the final student receives it. The final student shares what the message they heard. The students can be challenged to pass the message as accurately as possible. This shows how it is important to listen the first time.

This Is How We Do It

In this game the teacher will call out adjectives that the children have to act out. For example, I want you to do a slow movement, a jumpy movement, a small movement, a fast movement, or a funny movement. The children then do the movement and say, This is how we and then complete the sentence using the movement the teacher specified (ex. This is how we do a slow movement.)
Children can be given turns to give instructions if age appropriate.

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Who Am I

You need a group of children who generally know each other. One child starts by standing with their back to the others. The teacher points to another child, and they say, Who am I? The standing child with their back to the class has to guess by listenin g to the voice who has spoken. If the children know each other well they can try and disguise their voice when they say, Who am I?

Who Is Missing?

You will need: a blanket Have the group all sit together. Ask one child to leave the room and put a blanket over one of the other children in the class. Then have the first child return to the room and try to guess who is missing (covered under the blanket). The child under the blanket must be very quiet and still so they do not become uncovered or their voice recognized.

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About the Author

Chelsea Lee Smith is the mother of two boys and blogs at MomentsADay.com sharing activities, ideas, and resources for families to build character. She believes in using small moments throughout the day to help children learn how to use their head, heart, and hands to make the world a better place.
Find more activities, free downloads, inspiring articles, and character building product reviews on her website.

Photo by Andy Hodge Photography

To connect with Chelsea, click on the links below: Website Pinterest Twitter Facebook

You may also enjoy Chelsea's free set of character building activity cards.

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