Once upon a time, students at school were only required to memorize the material and know the multiplication table perfectly. But times are changing rapidly, and now modern children are taught “soft skills” from an early age — skills that will help them realize their maximum potential in society. These include empathy, teamwork, critical thinking and creative vision.
In this article, we have selected interesting games for developing “soft skills” that children will definitely like!
Critical thinking
Pack your suitcase
Prepare a list of things that can be found in the house (if the child is small and can't read yet, draw the right items). Now ask your child to pack everything listed in a “suitcase”, which can easily be the most ordinary box. This game develops spatial thinking and also teaches the child to build an action strategy.
Distribute items
Take silicone muffin molds and randomly fill them with various small items: buttons, pasta, large beads, erasers, magnets, plastic stones, etc. Then ask your child to sort the “treasures” by color or any other characteristic.
This game develops concentration and perseverance, and also helps you understand what classification means.
Creativity
How to draw comics
Have you ever tried creating your own comics? If not, it's time to get started! And, of course, do it with the child. Take album sheets and draw a few squares on them. You can draw “mental bubbles” or a hint of a character in them (or leave them empty).
Now is the time to make up a story!
Creating comics develops the ability to think consistently and build a logical narrative.
Shadow
You need to play this game as a couple (child-child or adult-child). One of the players is a “man”, the other is his “shadow”. A “person” needs to perform any imaginary action (for example, walking in the forest, picking mushrooms, smelling flowers, etc.). “Shadows”, on the other hand, should repeat everything that a “person” does to it.
After playing a little, you can change roles.
Collaboration
Send me a picture
Give each child a pen of their own color. Then place a piece of paper in front of the first baby. His task is to draw a simple figure (circle, square, etc.). The child following him complements the picture with his element. The children pass the sheet to each other until the drawing is completed. Now we can evaluate the joint efforts and, perhaps, insert the masterpiece into the frame!
Build a robot
The children's task is to use improvised materials (boxes, buttons, plastic packaging, etc.) to create one robot for everyone.
Each child is responsible for a specific robot part. To avoid arguments, you can blindly give the children cards with the image of the head, torso, legs, arms, etc.
When the robot is assembled, the fun begins! Solemnly hand out brushes and paints to the children and let them let their imagination run wild. Let the guys draw the robot's eyes, nose, mouth, and whatever they see fit! =)
Communication
Art gallery
Take the children's pictures and hang them on the wall. If you are alone at home, let toys become guests of the art gallery. Explain to your child that you have an exhibition of his paintings at home today, and ask your child to tell us the story behind each of them! Don't forget to treat everyone present to imaginary cocoa and cookies!
Interviews
Ask your child to imagine that he has become an adult and choose a profession. Next, say that you are a journalist who will be interviewing him. Ask your child questions about what he does at his imaginary job, how he spends his free time, what he dreams about. Then you can switch roles.
Would you like your child to learn another important skill of the 21st century: programming? Then sign him up for a free trial class at Progkids!
