Non-Competitive Games

www.fridayschildmontessori.com

The trouble with a lot of traditional organised games for children

(of all ages – not just pre-schoolers) is that they involve winners and losers.

This can be a bit worrisome for some parents who would rather that children

avoid intense competition and the problem of getting a

child who either

(a) wins everything and gets unbearably arrogant about it or (b) loses everything and ends up with a self-esteem problem.

A little competition now and again won’t hurt and some children enjoy

races and the like.

But there’s no real need to have every single organised game at a party or “play date” a competitive game with

winners and losers.

However, there are a lot of non-competitive games out there that children (and adults) can enjoy.

This doesn’t mean that these are quiet games where you all sit around giving each other group hugs, any more than

children who go to Montessori preschools are chaotic and unable to

stick to a programme

(or hyper-neat and organised, depending which Montessori myth your uninformed auntie spouts when you mention that you’re sending your

son or daughter to Friday’s Child Montessori).

A lot of non-competitive games are quite boisterous. A lot of them are

traditional. And one of the good things about these games is that everyone can

join in and give it all they’ve got, no matter how old

or young they are.

Having said that, some of these games are more appropriate for slightly older pre-schoolers compared to, say, two-

year-olds – but that won’t stop t he two-year-old joining in and

having a blast!

Here’s a selection, which could come in handy if you’re

organising a children’s party or if you’re going to be in charge of entertaining the children this

Christmas:

Socks Off. For this game, everyone has to be wearing socks (but not tights)

and no shoes.

Everyone gets down on their hands and knees and the aim of the game is to

remove everyone else’s socks while not letting yours come off.

If your socks are pulled off, you’re not out but you just keep on going. The

game ends when everyone’s barefoot.

If you want to get really technical, the person who is last to lose a sock could be called a winner, but this game is so

much fun that this is irrelevant.

Blanket Toss. Get a large blanket and put a selection of soft toys in it.

This really does mean soft all over so watch out for any teddies with hard

plastic noses or huge goopy plastic eyes.

Definitely leave Barbie dolls and similar off. Everyone grabs and edge or a

corner of the blanket and shakes it to make the soft toys fly

up in the air.

The game ends when all the teddies have flown off the blanket and/or

everyone’s exhausted. A variation can be played with balloons, although these

fly off more readily.

Obstacle Courses. Use chairs, tables, blankets, large boxes, beanbags and the

like to create an obstacle course.

Children take turns at negotiating their way up, around, over, through and

under the obstacles.

On a hot day, if the children are dressed appropriately for it, one obstacle could

be a lawn sprinkler that has to be jumped or stepped over.

Bubble Blowing. Make bubble wands from those plastic ring things that let

you know that you’re the first one into a bottle of juice – pinch one part of the circle into a point and stick this point

down a drinking straw.

You can also make them out of various bits of wire or buy a cheap set that comes with bubble mixture. Make

mixture by combining dishwashing liquid, sugar (or, better still, glycerine –

but who’s got that in the kitchen cupboard?) and water.

Experiment to get the right consistency and don’t overdo the sugar. Put the bubble mix in a series of dishes and

bowls and issue each child with a bubble wand.

It’s best to do this outside where the wind will blow the bubbles away very

prettily and where inevitable spills and the residue from popped bubbles won’t

make the floor sticky.

Treasure Hunts: Like the Amazing Race, you start with a clue that takes

you to a new location, where you’ll find another clue and so on until you get to

the final destination where there is a stash of treasure

to be shared

(if you do this for a birthday party, the treasure could be the party bags or stuff

to go into them). Keep the number of clues and the difficulty of them

age-appropriate.

More non-competitive game ideas at

www.fridayschildmontessori.com/blog/non-competitive-games