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Sports and other games are usually played in groups and team effort is absolutely essential in that regard. But not all kids are good at sports and may miss out on understanding how team dynamics comes into play. There are certain activities that can be organized, which are simpler as compared to sports, and can teach your kids to work together.
Benefits of Team Building Activities and Games for Children
The young age of kids is the perfect time for them to begin inculcating the core principles of teamwork, co-operation, and thinking outside the box.
Group activities help the kids interact with one another which also adds to their own self-esteem. Having help at hand, they can learn to strive to go beyond what was expected by rallying the team with them.
Types of Team Building Games
1. Communication-Based Games
These games rely heavily on being able to communicate ideas amongst each other. This is where children know which ideas can be easily explained, which kids respond better, and how they can sculpt the ideas to better suit others.
2. Teamwork Based Games
These games are based on having a cooperative effort to achieve a goal. By understanding each other’s opinions and choosing the right one to take the team ahead is how kids learn to resolve situations. Keeping a positive attitude to achieve the goals is the key in such games.
3. Trust Building Games
Carrying out the motions of the game in an experience that is shared with everyone forms the core of such games. Interpersonal skills that develop faith and trust in each other help build the game. By understanding which kids relate to you and who can build strong relationships with the other, a huge amount of social understanding is gleaned from kids.
15 Fun Team Building Activities and Games for Kids
Here are some fun activities for children that will help them engage and interact with their peers as a team.
1. Dream Drawing
What it is
All kids come together to one place with chalks or crayons and start drawing their dream objects. Some could draw a spaceship, others could draw a dragon, and so on. Once everyone is done with their drawing, kids can work together to choose the drawings and create a wonderful story from it.
How it Helps Kids
Dream drawing primarily stokes creativity in expressing ideas. Later, it involves discussion and skills of collaboration to work towards a common goal.
2. Dragon Weapon
What it is
There is a dragon, usually the facilitator, who must be defeated. For that, all kids have to work together to create a powerful weapon. Each kid needs to develop a small powerful object. These objects can later be discussed among the group and put together to create a weapon which can fire these powers at the dragon.
How it Helps Kids
Dragon weapon helps all kids understand how important it is to work towards a singular goal. If two powers end up being similar, kids can then work amongst themselves to combine them into a stronger power. Leadership and collaboration skills play a huge role.
3. Tell Me Your Life
What it is
A bowl of cards is passed around among the kids. On the cards are emotions, either happy, sad, excited, scared, and so on. Based on the emotion, a kid has 30 seconds to search for a memory of their life that can be connected to that emotion. Then, the kid ends up talking about it to everyone around.
How it Helps Kids
Being brave with vulnerability and making connections can be great lessons that kids learn from this game. There might be other kids in the group who have felt similar emotions and these can then bond together to be great friends.
4. Circle Space
What it is
A large circle is drawn and all kids are supposed to stand inside the circle, with their bags and other properties. If they can all stand, reduce the size of the circle and repeat. The kids will start leaving out luggage, or some might fall outside. Keep going on until all kids fail to fit inside it
How it Helps Kids
Problem-solving skills and making use of three-dimensional space can be easily learnt from this game. Moreover, it teaches kids to put people first instead of material objects.
5. Human Alphabet
What it is
Kids have to work together to quickly form the letter shown by the facilitator. Kids can work in teams to achieve this or simply play by pairing up instantaneously. The kids who can make the letter quickly using their bodies get points.
How it Helps Kids
Understanding the shape and structure of letters is extremely important as a communication device. At the same time, being able to look for creative solutions is key to winning the game.
6. The Sound of Silence
What it is
One blindfolded kid is chosen to stand in the centre of a circle formed by other kids. A tin box filled with marbles is handed to one child. The kids in the circle are supposed to pass the tin box around without making any sound. If the central kid can hear the smallest sound and point at the tin box correctly, the kid who has the box replaces the kid in the centre.
How it Helps Kids
For the kid in the centre, being able to listen sharply and making informed guesses using cognitive abilities is a learning experience. For the kids in the circle, they can all work together in figuring out alternative ways to transfer the box without making noise.
7. Save the Egg
What it is
This is a slightly messy game that requires lots of eggs and lots of supplementary material like cardboards, thermocol sheets, bubble wrap, packing material, and so on. Kids are split into teams and each team has the same objective. Create a package such that when the egg is wrapped in it and dropped to the ground, it stays safe.
How it Helps Kids
By choosing the right material, kids learn to think in advance and hypothesize the possibilities that can take place. Resolving conflicts amongst each other and thinking creatively about an innovative solution can all yield a great result.
8. Walk the Talk
What it is
Kids are split into teams and one kid from each team is selected. The kid is blindfolded and placed in a common area with others. Each team then has to direct their team member to reach a particular point before any other kid.
How it Helps Kids
The amount of noise and clamour the activity creates teaches kids to focus on the right instructions and follow them appropriately. For teams, they can come up with simpler techniques to convey directions to the other player appropriately.
9. Cool Currency
What it is
Gather together as many coins as possible of as many denominations and all possible currencies. Split the kids into teams and let each team pick out a coin. The kids have to study the emblem of the coin and then come up with their own emblem, coin, and currency.
How it Helps Kids-
Coins have emblems that have meanings to them as well as certain lines or mottos engraved to it. Kids can work together in figuring out their common beliefs giving rise to the engravings.
10. Make My Story
What it is
Gather a stack of newspapers and let the kids go through them to choose a favourite panel of their choice from the comic strips. All kids should keep the panels to themselves. Then group the kids together in teams and let them show their panels to the team members. The team then should work together in creating the best possible story using the panels that they have.
How it Helps Kids-
This is an intensely creative activity which, at the same time, requires problems resolutions and collaborative effort. Kids can get extremely attached to their own panels and want to make that the centre of the story. This is where kids also learn to make compromises for the bigger picture.
11. Bridge Builders
What it is
This game can be played using Lego blocks. Split the kids into teams and each team into two groups. All the groups have to construct one half of a bridge by themselves without looking at anybody else. Once they are prepared, they have to figure out if their half fits together with the half of the other group from the same team.
How it Helps Kids
The teams cannot see each other’s bridges but they can talk with each other. Communicating clearly and in detailed terms of how to build the other half is where kids learn to work together and collaborate in the absence of complete information.
12. Listen Carefully
What it is
Kids work in sequence. One kid has to talk for a short time on any topic of his choice. The kid that follows has to repeat exactly what the kid said as close as possible. The kids then reverse roles and the game continues.
How it Helps Kids
Exercising their memory well and making associations between words is how kids can learn to listen carefully to the other kid while understanding the meaning of their words.
13. Don’t Wake the Dragon
What it is
Kids have to quickly arrange themselves in the increasing order of height without talking to each other or making any sounds within a short period of time. By the time the dragon (facilitator) wakes up, the kids should be ready to shout “Boo!”
How it Helps Kids
Communicating by making use of physical movements and working towards a common goal by observing the actions of others can help in non-verbal communication to a great degree.
14. Tallest Tower
What it is
By making use of a variety of objects before them, each kid has to make their tower and try to make it as tall as possible.
How it Helps Kids
Thinking quickly on their feet and trying to visualise the tower in advance helps with planning skills and thinking outside the box.
15. Juggling Groups
What it is
Just like juggling alone, this is where the entire group works together to juggle as many balls as possible. Each kid tries to juggle balls for himself and pass on the rest to the next. The team that can juggle the most balls wins.
How it Helps Kids
While exercising the motor skills, each team member learns to keep an eye out for the other and prepare in advance to keep the balls juggling without letting them fall down.
Team building activities for young kids are not only exciting but are full of learning lessons that are necessary to be responsible adults. Working together and being socially open to each other goes a long way in developing the interpersonal skills that the kids will require later in their lives.
