Physical games: everyone's favourite

Children are active. They love to jump, bounce, run around be it the house or in the park. And this is what makes action games captivating to kids, they make learning fun and exciting.

Today, we will learn how to teach young toddlers with physical games to make learning extra effective.

Youngsters acquire certain language targets when provided with demonstrations as references rather than pictures-Leonard, 1975b

So, what are physical games?

As the name suggests, they are games that involve body movements!

How to plan an effective physical game?

1. What topic do I want my child to learn? e.g verbs, the use of verb + adverb, etc

2. Is there any specific vocabulary I want my child to learn? e.g under, in

3. Will I demonstrate how to play first?

4. Are there tools I will need? e.g a chair

Youngsters are more likely to talk about things that occur to themselves -Lahey, 1998

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Put into practice!

So now, you have decided on a topic, prepared your tools and is ready to invite your child to play.

*note that the below is just an example of teaching prepositions in the context of a hide and seek game.

Check out 'Free Downloads' for a list of physical games that kids will surely love!

1. Ask your child to hide in a place, preferably within a small room so they can hear you and explain that the big bear is going to find them, use characters within their knowledge e.g a big bear from a book they have just read, kids love that

2. Modelling: ' (name), (name), where are you? Is (name) in the wardrobe? oh no! it is empty, there is no (name). What about under the table? There you are! PEEKABOO I found you!' Make sure your words are clear and loud so the child listens to it.

3. Take turns by saying, 'now it is (name) turn, (name) is the big bear.

4. Feel free to express any excitement when your kid finds you, 'Oh, you found me!'

And that's it. if your child loves it, which is extremely common, they will request you to search for them again. This game would be great for children to learn the act of turn-taking as well.

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Tips:

1. Stress out the production of preposition used

2. Do not force your child to talk! The key is that they are enjoying the activity and exposing to a language rich environment! Though, It is important for parent to produce grammatically correct speech production as often as possible.

3. The complexity of words and sentences depends on age and what the child has already learned.

4. Prepare a script if needed but, otherwise, it can seem unnatural. Have fun and play!

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Hope the above will be useful for you, drop me a comment if you have anymore questions or thoughts.

Have a great day and don't forget to smile!

Joyce Lau