Boardgame

Age group

3-5 yrs

Number of children:

3-7 ppl

Theme: Problem solving

Developmental area: Communication and socialization, Motion and motor skills

Areas it develops: following rules, rule consciousness, understanding order, communication, larger movements, problem solving skills, reading comprehension, senso-motoric integration, socialization

With this game we can involve/integrate kids who experience a hard time with understanding and following rules. By making our own movement based boardgame we can make learning about rules fun and memorable!

Ingredients

  • boradgame (It should be a boardgame that 3-4 kids can play and that requires a little strategy but it’s mostly just luck. (It definietly should not be based on lexical knowledge!)

For ‘home-made’ boardgame:

  • large canvas
  • paints or markers
  • if you draw it on the asphalt chalks needed
  • a big dice

How to play a boardgame

Instructions:

If a child is familiar with the game they should be the one telling the rules. If noone knows them, it’s of course the adult’s job to share them. The rules are followed by a practice round and after that children should repeat the rules by heart. It is important to involve everyone in this!

Pro tip: If we have a child with related problems make sure to always ask them to share at least one bit of the rules. By engaging them we can make sure that they will focus on the rules the others are sharing.

All children have to follow the rules at all times and the adult has to be the judge of this. Should someone have a problem with this, it is essential to emphazise at each step that these are the rules whether they like it or not.

Let’s create our own boardgame

Instructions:

It will based on movement. For indoor use pick a large canvas and for outdoor use just draw on the asphalt. Sketch a board with about 10 squares and let the children take on the role of counters. Use a big dice, which could be prepared by you. Every third square should have a symbol on it: an arrow pointing forwards or backwards or 1 or 2 footsteps to indicate jumping on 1 or 2 feet. Children have to perform the square’s rule and if a child lands on another child’s square the one that was already there is ’knocked out’ and has to return to the start. The winner is the one reaching the finish line first.