One of our goals with this blog, our videos, and our programs in general is to bring literacy alive! We want to make reading/learning fun for families and kids. Bring a game into your storytime to help add information so the kids practice something they learn in the book. Let's say you are reading "The Bad Seed" by Jory John
and you want them to practice their manner just like the character in the story does, a game you could play is Simon says but with a little twist, instead of saying, "Simon says..." have whoever is it say "Please..." this way the children get a chance to practice their manner in a controlled setting and get to have some fun while they do it as well.
Another game you could play with any topic is musical dots. All you need to play this game is a bunch of colorful circles (or any shape), music, and signs.
The game is similar to musical chairs but instead when the music stops whatever color the kids land on, have a matching question prepared for that color. So let's say you are teaching them what the word thankful means then you could have questions like this... Blue = what is a place you are thankful for? Green = Who is someone you are thankful for? Yellow = What food are you thankful for?. Once the children have answered the question start the music again and do it all over switching what color you choose (you can take out a shape each time as the original game but if works just as well if you don't take a spot away). This game provides them with practice listening to others, linking the word/ topic to a question helping them learn whatever the word/topic means.
As you might see above the two examples are two games that are very commonly known by most people but, just with a little something added to help relate it to a certain theme. When planning a game for little ones it does not need to be a complex new game that you came up with it can be something that the kid already knows but geared towards something to help them learn.
Games help keep the kid's attention on the topic you are learning. We all know that kid's attention span does not last along time if you are reading a longer book, so adding a game will bring their attention back to where you want it. Another way to make reading more alive in your storytime is by acting out different parts in the book if you are looking for more ideas on how to do that look at 3 Ways to Act Out Books with your kids!
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