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Cooperation … how can we teach it to our kids?
As a mother of two children whose age gap is 6 years, sibling rivalry is a consistent thing in our house. Like with many families getting children to learn how to work together can be a tough challenge. Too many kids play to win and forget good sportsmanship is more important then the end result. Since children learn though play, I thought it would be nice if "I" played with them and teach this valuable lesson. So with the help of other children, we played these team building games.
Make a spider web
What you need: white yarn, stuffed animal spider or spider rings
Before you start: Have the children sit in a circle. Ask them if they think humans can make spider webs? Of course they will giggle and say no. Tell them although we do not have 8 arms, we can work together using our two arms to create a spider web.
How you play: Pass the yarn around the circle gently without throwing. Once they get a ball of yarn, they must hold on to their part of the string with one hand and pass it to the next person they choose. Each person will take turns until the web is spun. Once you have a complete web that will hold a spider, place the spider or spider rings on top of the web. Ask the children to work together and try to move the web without dropping the spiders.
Funny stories
What you need: Mad libs or make up your own mad libs either from the web or writing your own story. For little ones, use stickers or give them suggestions of words as they can use as they will not know a noun, pronoun or verb.
How you play: Tell the children we will work together to create our own funny story. Go around the room and ask each child to pick a word you will use to fill in the blanks. When you are finished, read the story out loud. Everyone is sure to laugh!
Make a snack
What you need: Pieces of fruit such as apples, oranges, bananas, cherries, etc. Verify with the parents prior if any child has a certain allergy prior to selecting the fruit. Whipped topping, bowls, plastic knives, a large bowl, paper plates.
How you play: tell the children we will use our cooperation skills to make a fruit salad. Assign each child a task such as "banana cutter" or "apple slicer". Once they are finished cutting the fruit have a "salad mixer" mix and dish the fruit salad to everyone. if children complain about a certain type of fruit, remind them that working together also means accepting things that may not always like. So if they do not want to eat the fruit then set it away and not eat it.
In the end, my kids learned that playing together can be fun and does not always have to be a fight. Has that stopped sibling rivalry … course not! But at least the message was delivered in a fun and supportive activity.
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