Whenever we think our children are not getting enough interactions this summer it is important to remember Maria Montessori’s quote, “Play is the work of the child”. When I taught kindergarten and first grade we filled those early weeks of school with essential activities to enhance our students’ impulse control. Very important activities that required our little ones to work extra hard. Basically, we played a lot of games. Simon Says, Red Light, Green Light, and Freeze Dance. You know, the games we all thought were lots of fun when we were kids but actually taught us to listen, follow directions, and stop our bodies from moving even when we don't want to stop?
“Run, run, run… Freeze!”
Engage your child and practice impulse control with those simple yet joyful childhood games.
When I worked in schools what I loved so much about these games in the beginning of the year is how hard it was for the kids to play them. They wanted to play the games- they wanted to follow the rules- they thought they're going to stop when they were suppose to stop- they planned to stop when they are suppose to- but they never did. Their little faces would fill with frustration when they realized they didn't stop/move/run/tap their head at the right time. It's such a metaphor for the beginning of kindergarten- little ones who want to follow the rules but haven't trained their bodies to do it yet. They were not being impulsive just to make us mad- they were just in the process of learning impulse control.
Our job as educators and parents is to support them in this development and one of the most natural, meaningful ways to support this is through playing games.
All the classic games are so perfect for this. Red Light/Green Light is a killer. A perfect impulse-control practice game, but so, so tough for those trying so hard to make their bodies stop. My mother who was also a teacher used the game "laughing machine" where the teacher drops a tissue from in the air and the class laughs until the tissue hits the floor. This teaches them to control their laughing- something that comes in handy when you're ready to move on from a funny part of a book and they just aren't...
Follow the Leader is another classic where all the kids have to do is walk behind the teacher/parent while doing whatever motion she was doing. Which meant their eyes needed to stay on the adult -and not their friends, or their shoes, or the window, or the bathroom. I loved playing this game in the early days of a kindergarten class because every time a little one looked up and realized the whole classroom was taping their heads while he was still taping his knees, his face would scrunch up in confusion- and he'd put his eyes on the teacher with more determination than before- until something else caught his eye and he looked elsewhere.
These games remind us that our students and children have good intentions and it is our job to support this with this - along with the reminder that these important developmental supports do not have to be strenuous - in fact, they work best when delivered through play.