Thursday, October 20, 2016

Why Learning Games For Kindergarten And 1st Grade Work

By Charles Wood


Each new school year brings new challenges. This is true for the teachers and the students. For the educators who are in charge of the five to six year old children, the first days of classroom activity can set the tone for the whole year. Most kindergartners these days have attended pre-k and know a little about what is going on. Other little ones are first time students with no prior experience. First graders will be a lot more savvy than their younger counterparts, but they are still small children. One of the best ways to start the year off is to jump right into learning games for kindergarten and 1st grade.

Teachers have to adhere to certain guidelines that the school districts set down. There are achievements that students must meet before they can proceed to the next grade level. Within the curriculum however, there is leeway for the educator to be creative enough to engage their students and help convince them that learning can be fun.

Small kids have notoriously short attention spans. As an educator, you do not have very much time to capture their attention and imaginations. This is where playing a game can help. If you distract them with something new and unexpected, children will be curious and willing to give it a try.

Most young people are visual. They love picture books, kids television shows, animated movies, and puzzles. Many of them are already computer literate. If you offer them interesting and novel images that tell a story or pose a problem, they will not even realize they are learning a lesson.

As a teacher, you should consider yourself an authority figure to be respected and obeyed. Most young children will want to please you and will respond well if you praise their accomplishments and encourage their participation. Having a respectful and pleasant attitude toward them is critical if you expect cooperation. For whatever reasons, there are some children who find it difficult to interact and tend to sit back and keep quiet. With work, these kids can greatly improve their communication skills.

Small students will not be able to sit at a desk or table all day long. They need frequent breaks. Standing up, stretching, touching toes and doing jumping jacks for just a few minutes will stimulate them physically and mentally. Games that include exercise or some form of movement usually work well with this age group.

Most children are musical to some extent. Even tiny babies respond to musical stimuli. Learning through music has been proven to be very effective. Musical games and the introduction of instruments into the classroom is something your young students will look forward to.

Games will help reinforce the idea that learning is fun. The more creative and imaginative you, as their teacher and guide, can be the more they will absorb and retain. Students remember good teachers all of their lives.




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