Image by Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Children love to play games (and don’t pretend that you don’t too), but unfortunately children also get bored pretty quickly. Thinking up new games for your little darlings is a little tough, but that’s okay! I have plenty of games you can try out with the kids. Plus, as an added bonus, they’re from all over the world to add a little culture to your children’s play time.
Australia: Skippy Roo Kangaroo!
Here’s a game played in many Aussie schools to help the children learn their classmate’s names - but it can certainly be fun at a party, or for a bigger group of children.
Have the children sit in a circle, with one child sat in the middle. The lucky chosen one starts of being Skippyroo the kangaroo! The children forming the circle then sing a song:
“Skippyroo, kangeroo, dozing in the midday sun, here comes a hunter, run run run, guess who’s caught you just for fun!”
The final part of the song (guess who’s caught you just for fun) is said by one child, (who is selected secretly during the song), as they touch Skippyroo’s shoulder. Skippyroo must then guess who has caught them from the sound of their voice. If Skippyroo guesses correctly, they switch places. A great game from down under!
Armenia: Egg Jousting
Egg Jousting. This Armenian game sounds fun even before I’ve explained it right?
All you need to do it boil one egg per child playing the game. The children can then decorate them how they please. When they’re happy with their egg designs it’s time to joust!
For the first round, the children tap the smaller ends of their eggs together until one cracks. The egg that doesn’t crack is the winner and advances to the next round!
In round two, the children tap the larger ends of their eggs together. The last one standing is the egg jousting champion! Reward the champion with a small toy such as a bubble maker.
Ghana: Pilolo
All the way from Ghana, this game is great fun to play in groups, large or small. ‘Pilolo’ literally means ‘time to find’, and that’s the idea of the game.
Start off by choosing a child to be a leader. The leader then hides pennies (one for each player) while the others aren’t looking. The leader then goes and waits by the finish line to judge the winner. When the leader shouts ‘piolo’ the players race to find a penny and cross the finish line with it. A game that can be played over and over without getting boring! You could try substituting the pennies for gifts such as sweets that the children can keep.
Greece: Statues
This game is particularly full of culture, and also happens to be especially fun. Greek children have access to amazing statues from thousands of years ago. Now, just because your children aren’t surrounded by marble sculptures, doesn’t mean you can’t teach them or show them other famous works of art. In this game they can become The Thinker, The Statue of Liberty, or the classic Greek Discus Thrower through the power of a child’s imagination!
Select one child to be ‘It’. ‘It’ then covers their eyes and counts to any random number they choose - different each time. They then spin around shouting ‘Agalmata!’ (meaning statue in Greek) and look at the other players. The other children should then freeze in the pose of one of many famous statues. ‘It’ then tags the players who moves when ‘It’ tries to make them laugh. This can be played repeatedly until each kiddie-wink has had a go at playing ‘It’.
That’s just four of many games to be played from around the world that your children will surely enjoy.
Do you have any games you and your children love to play? Let us know in the comments!
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