Kindergarten is a time to laugh and play! Research has proven time and again that play is the best and most natural way for children to learn, or as Dee Ray, professor of early childhood education and director of the Center for Play Therapy at the University of North Texas College of Education, puts it - “Play is education for children.” So leverage their natural tendency to learn through experience and hands-on encounters by engaging kindergarteners in fun classroom games frequently. In this post we’ll go over some of the most popular classroom games for children at the kindergarten age level, along with some fun and affordable prizes teachers can use to reward winners and participants.
Fun Games for Kindergarteners
Let students do what they do best and learn through play with these classic kindergarten games. These tried-and-true crowd pleasers will have students excited to get back to learning time. Sprinkle in some teachable moments and prizes for the lucky winners and teachers can create a fun way to spend restless afternoons.
Hot Potato
Pass the spud around while the music is playing, but don’t get left with it once the music stops or you’re out!
Duck, Duck, Goose
Have all students sit in a big circle while one student walks around the outside of the circle, touching each student on the head and saying “duck” as they pass by. Once the walking student reaches the seated student they want to replace, they tap them on the head and loudly yell “Goose!” before running all the way around the circle to take the seat. If the seated student can get up and catch the walker before they get all the way around the circle, the walker is out.
Pictionary
Split the class into two or more teams. Have one student from each team start drawing something on the board that the other student’s on their team have to guess. The team that guesses the drawing the fastest wins.
Charades
Have one student act something out without speaking while the other students try to guess what it is. Split the class into two or more groups so they can compete against each other.
Freeze Dance
Play some fun, upbeat music and let the students dance, wiggle, and squirm all their energy out. Abruptly stop the music at random time and anyone who doesn’t freeze is out!
Simon Says
One student gets to be Simon, who tells all the other students what actions to take. However, the students should only listen to Simon if he first says “Simon says…”. If Simon doesn’t say “Simon says” and a student does the action anyway, they’re out.
Musical Chairs
Count the number of students playing, subtract one from that number, then arrange that many chairs in a circle with seats facing out. Have the students line up around the outside of the chair circle. Start playing some fun music, then randomly stop it in the middle of the song. When the music stops, each student must try to sit in a chair. The student left standing is out. Repeat until only one student is left.
Four Corners
Students scurry into one of the four classroom corners while one student in the middle counts blindfolded. The student in the middle then calls out a corner number and all the students in that corner are out. Repeat until only one student remains.
Limbo
Let two students hold each end of a bar or stick while the other students attempt to walk under it without touching or falling. After all students have walked under, lower the bar or stick a few inches and repeat. The last student standing wins!
Great Prizes for Kindergarteners
Games are fun to play just for the bragging rights, but they’re even better when the students get to win actual prizes. However, on most teacher budgets, buying elaborate game prizes just isn’t feasible. Cheap candy is a prize option, but no one wants to end up with an entire classroom full of sugared-up six year olds!
So what does a savvy teacher do? They stock up on game prizes in bulk at the beginning of the school year from wholesale school supply and toy suppliers like GEDDES. By using an affordable wholesaler, teachers can still give their students awesome, safe prizes throughout the year without blowing their entire budget. Some of the best prizes for kindergarteners that teachers can get from a wholesaler include:
Novelty Toys
Novelty toys like squishies, plushies, squeeze balls, and animal figures are super popular right now, especially with the kindergarten age group. Keep a variety of these types of toys in varying colors and themes to suit the tastes of both boy and girl students.
Fun School Supplies
Students can always use school supplies, and they enjoy getting bright colorful pens and pencils, notebooks, pencil grippers and toppers, erasers, and other useful items as game prizes. Some students may even be more productive when they have school supplies that they got to choose themselves with themes and designs that they like.
Tech Gadgets
Most toddlers these days can operate a phone or tablet better than their grandparents, so it’s no surprise that many kindergarteners are little tech gurus. Cater to the students who love technology with fun tech toys like bluetooth speakers, stylus’ with fun characters, and colorful earbuds.
Fidget & Sensory Toys
Students who have sensory processing issues are more common these days, so keeping some fidget and sensory toys around for prizes is a great idea. Not only do these toys make the students happy, they can also help them relax and focus more on their work. Slime, putty, fidget cubes, chewable pencil toppers, squeeze balls, and more are all good options for fidgety fingers.
Make Learning Fun With Games & Prizes Perfect for Kindergarteners
Make learning fun for kindergarteners with games and prizes they’ll really be excited about. There are so many great classic classroom games for kindergarten teachers to choose from, and they can take those classic games to the next level with fun and useful prizes for the students who win and participate. Prizes will motivate and incentivize the students to try harder so they can finally win the prize they really want and show it off to their friends. Plus group games teach valuable social skills that students just can’t learn in individual activities. There’s no doubt about it, learning through play is the best way, and fun games and prizes are valuable tools for teachers to use in their quest to provide a quality education to the littlest learners. That’s why smart teachers do their prize shopping at GEDDES, the best wholesale school supply and novelty toy supplier. View the GEDDES catalog here, order online at raymondgeddes.com, or contact us at 888-431-1722 for more information.