I was invited to interview at a centre where the hiring process involved bringing an activity for the entire group. Having never met any of the children in the group and not knowing where they were developmentally, I decided to do a large group activity. I thought I would focus on one that would promote teamwork and social skills and of course it had to be something that would be fun for all involved (including me!).
I decided on the classic circle game, "Doggie, doggie, who's got your bone?" I made a "doggie bone" by finding a paper cut out of a dog bone and laminating it for durability. The game was a hit with the children.
For those who don't know, to play this game, have all the children sit in a circle while one child sits in the middle with their eyes closed. The rest of the children sing:
"Doggie,doggie, who's got your bone?
Somebody took it from your home.
Guess who, maybe you, maybe the monkey from the zoo!
Wake up doggy find your bone!"
While the song is being sung, the doggie bone can be passed around from each child to the next with their hands behind their backs. When the singing stops, the person with the bone holds onto it.
The child seated in the middle of the circle opens his/her eyes and has three guesses as to who has the bone.
Other circle games that are fun for this age group include:
- broken telephone
- duck, duck, goose
- hot potato
- parachute games (switching colours, class photo, cat & mouse, keep the ball from falling through the centre)
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| michelhrv. creative commons, flikr |
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| J.Bones creative commons, flikr |
Some of the skills these games promote cooperation, listening, taking turns, and gross motor which are skills preschoolers are learning to develop.
