Articulate!

Select a relevant and engaging topic of interest to your children: animals, transport, dinosaurs. Write a list of key topic words relating to the chosen topic or draw simple associated pictures on post-it notes or paper to make word cards. Between you, take on the roles of articulator, guesser and timer! The articulator must select a topic card and explain and describe what this is in their own words, without saying the word written on the card/post-it. The rest of the team must guess the word from the descriptions. How many words can they guess within a minute? Keep score. Then swap roles.

PNI

Positive, Negative, Interesting

Prepare a list of statements that will get children thinking and discussing:

Cinderella should never have gone to the ball.

Humans should have the powers of invisibility.

All children should be able to fly.

Playtime should be banned.

Children should be allowed to eat sweets whenever they want.

Discuss the positives and negatives of these proposals and any other interesting related points they come up with.

Four Corners

Write the numbers 1 – 4 on a sheet of paper and stick them into four corners of a large room or garden.

Everyone to start in the middle. One person is blindfolded and counts down from 10 and the others must creep as quietly as they can to a corner of their choice. The person in the middle will be listening carefully because they must select a corner where they think most people are.

If you are stood in the corner the person in the middle calls out, you are out. Take it turns to play the person in the middle.

Ship Ahoy!

This is an energetic, highly interactive listening game! Children line up and imagine they are on a captain’s ship! They must follow the captain’s instructions to get things ship-shape, putting actions to follow each instruction, eg

Climb the rigging!

Scrub the decks!

Port!

Starboard!

Walk the plank!

Grandmother’s Footsteps

Another traditional favourite. One person takes on the role of Grandma and faces a wall (or could be blindfolded), the rest of the children have to spread themselves as far away as possible around the room. Their job is to creep as silently and as slowly as possible towards Grandma without her hearing and turning. Grandma can turn as soon as she hears any moment or sound – then that child is out. Take it in turns to be Grandma.

Simon Says…

A traditional listening game to get children following instructions!

Simon says….

Climb the stairs.

Do ten star jumps.

Sit on the floor.

Run to the end of the garden.

Do a roly-poly.

Take it in turns to give and carry out the orders!