section 10
Play
5 years
61 meeting
Let’s review:
Once the meeting starts, welcome everyone and ask the participants: • Who can help us remember what we talked about in our last meeting? • Who was able to do the activity at home that we asked you to do at the end of the meeting? How did it go? • Does anyone have questions or concerns after doing the activity?
What are we going to learn? We are going to learn about the need for children to play actively in a safe place.
LET’S TALK ABOUT IT! We are going to look at some pictures, so we can talk about what we all know about this topic.
Why do you think it is important that children have opportunities to play actively?
What are some of the traditional active games for children in your community?
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Activity:
“Playing with children” We will practice some games that help develop language, writting and reading skills.
What we’ll need: • Playground or field
WHAT WE’LL DO: • A few days before the meeting ask the participants to clean up the playground or field where they develop activities in the community, taking away things that could be dangerous for children. • Tell participants to invite the same children from the last meeting to have a morning or afternoon of games. • Start by welcoming all the children and then help to direct the following games: • Worm race. Each participant should sit on the ground with the child they invited, take the child’s hands and place then on the sole of their feet. At the count of three move like a worm scrunching up and then straightening your legs. Every pair should try to be the first one to get the other side in order to be the winner. • The wolf. Make a circle and ask one of the participants to get inside the circle - he/she is the wolf. Hold hands as you walk around the circle singing: “Let’s play, play in the meadow, right now, now that the wolf isn’t here… wolf what are you doing there?” Sing this several times. The person that is the wolf should respond by saying he/she is sleeping, eating…etc. listing off things until he/she says “I am preparing to eat you”! Break the circle and everyone should run around quickly to avoid the wolf trapping them. The person that is caught turns into the new wolf. • Ocean and land. Place a line in the middle of the playground (it can be a rope on the floor) that divides the playground into two sides, the ocean on one side and the land on the other side. Stand on the “land” side and when you hear the word “ocean” everyone should quickly jump towards the ocean in order not the lose. Try to confuse the group by saying ocean even if they are on the ocean side or say land several times in a row. Repeat this until there is only one person left. • The train. Stand in a line one behind the other, holding on to the wasit of the person in front of you to simulate a train. Walk around the playground making train noises. “chu chu... chu chuuuu...” Then say it with all the vowels: “cha, che, chi and cho”. • Following the leader: Move around the porch following the leader’s instructions. Everyone walk, run, walking and clapping, running with your arms up, crawling and slithering like a snake.
Facilitator’s Manual
39 Other Suggestions: Try to use convince everyone to participate in the games. Only allow pregnant women or those that are sick to not play.
Summing Up:
What did we learn today? Now, we’ll review what we discussed today. • How do you feel after this meeting? Why? • What are the two most important things you’ve learned today? • What will you do differently based on what you learned during the meeting? • What did you like the most? Are there things you didn’t like? • Do you have any remaining concerns or questions about what we talked about? To finish, what would you recommend to improve today’s meeting when we do it again with another group. (Explain that answering this question will help the meeting be even better in the future for parents with small children.)
To do at home:
Tell families to organize an afternoon of active games with the neighborhood children.
Basic information for the facilitator: Learning more about play: 1- With the family: Family playtime should be reinforced at this age. The child will learn how to
win or loose, and see that nothing happens either way; that they aren’t judged or stop being loved, but are valued for exactly who they are. Stimulation activities should be done through play and not seen as an obligation. If children feel forced to do something they might begin to lose interest.
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2- At school: Help children learn how to play with their classmates in respectful ways and with
responsibility in their action, so they can understand that if they don’t act nicely they can provoke discomfort in others. Support your children so they will talk about what they are thinking and feeling in positive ways with their classmates. When they have problems with a classmate reinforce that they should treat them nicely and not with violent or negative communication.
3- Playmates and friends: At this age they should start to notice the difference between having
playmates and friends, who he/she can share likes and activities with. Encourage your child to have relationships with new children, so that they will feel relaxed and confident in relating with others. In moments when they get sad because a friend isn’t talking to them, don’t minimize their feelings, for them the emotions are real. Give your child hugs and talk to them about ways that they can try to relate with the other child again, if there is no resolution, then make sure they accept that they did the best they could but the other child also has the liberty to make whatever decision they wanted to. It is good to find a way to invite your child’s friends and classmates to your home in order to strengthen a space for communication and play, so that they always feel that your home is a warm friendly place where they are loved and can enjoy time with others. Organize activities for them, and let them do what they want to, this also gives up the opportunity to get to know other children and their families.
Facilitator’s Manual