KINDERGARDEN GAMES

*Action Race: This is a fun game using actions. Use actions like jump, hop, clap, run etc. Have the Ss split into two teams and sit in lines with a chair by each team and one chair at the other end of the room. One S from each team stands next to their chair and T calls an action, e.g. "Jump". Ss must jump to the chair on the other side of the room and back, sitting down in their chair Ss say "I can jump". First one to do it gets their team a point. (Submitted by Gareth Thomas).
• Airplane competition: First, have your Ss make some paper airplanes. Stand the Ss in a line and let them test fly their planes. For the competition, assign different classroom objects points (e.g. table 5 points, door 10 points, trashcan 20 points). Ask a S a question and if s/he answers correctly then s/he can throw and try to hit one of the target objects to win points. This works well as a team game.
*Apple Pass: Have all Ss sit in a circle. Use a fake apple and toss it to one S. But you must say one English word as you pass. The S then throws to another S and says a different English word. If the student you threw it to drops it, he/she is out. And the game keeps going until you have one winner. It can be played with different categories, such as Food, Animals, Etc. My students love it! (Submitted by Kim.S.).
*Attention: Call out commands such as: Attention, salute, march in place...stop, sit down, stand up, walk in a circle, clap your hands...stop, run in place...stop, jumping jacks...stop, swim in place....stop, etc. At first students will copy you but later they should be able to do the commands without you. (Submitted by Tania Bibbo).
*Color Circles: A good activity for young kids. Get some pieces of A3 paper and draw a large circle on each one. Pin the circles on different walls in the classroom. Model the activity: Say "Blue", take a blue crayon, walk over to one circle and color a small part of the circle. Do this for each color you plan to teach. Then, say a color ("Blue") to a S and s/he should pick up the blue crayon and go over to the circle you colored in blue. Let him/her color it a little and then call him/her back. Continue with other Ss.
Cross the River: Place flashcards on floor in winding manner. Each card represents a stepping stone in the river, as students must say word/phrase/question/etc in order to step on it and cross the river! (submitted by Michelle K).
• Dog & Cat Chase: Have Ss sit in a circle. T walks around the outside of the circle patting the Ss on the head saying "dog" each time. Suddenly, T says "cat" as s/he touches a S's head and then that S must chase the T around the circle. The T must try to sit in the S's spot before being tagged by the chasing S. If the T is tagged s/he must touch the heads again. If T makes it back without being touched then the chasing S walks around the circle touching heads. This can be done with any variation of words.
• Follow the leader: Ss line up behind the T and follows him/her around the classroom. The T does an action and shouts out the word for that action. The Ss copy the action and repeat the word. Good actions include: wave, hello, goodbye, it's cold/hot, stop, go, run, hop, skip, crawl, walk backwards, jump, sit down, stand up
• Knock-Knock: This can be used at the beginning of each class. Teach the Ss to knock on the door before entering the classroom. There are 2 variations for the next step: 1. When the S knocks, T says "Who's there?". The S replies "It's (Koji)" and then the T says "Come in (Koji)". 2. When the S knocks the T must guess who it is "Is that (Koji)?". The S replies yes or no - if no, the T continues guessing. Having your Ss develop their own knocking styles makes this even more fun.