Tip 171: December 2022 – Non-Competitive Games

Website Educational Tips for Cognitive Development

Rae Pica said in her book Moving & Learning Across The Curriculum
that “Movement is an important element in programs for young children.
It enhances physical development and it contributes to the development
of a positive self-image, self-confidence, creativity, and self-expression.
Movement also stimulates the learning process. There is increasing
evidence that because a child’s earliest learning is based on motor
development, subsequent learning is, too. And abstract concepts
can become concrete, forming long-lasting impressions, when they
are physically experienced.”

Infants:
Pat-a-Cake:

Sing “Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake baker’s man. Bake me a cake
as fast as you can. (clap to the rhythm) Roll it (roll hands), and pat it (pat baby’s belly), and mark
it with a (insert first letter of baby’s name) and put it in the oven for
baby (insert baby’s name) and me.”

Sing and do this activity with baby while changing diapers often.

Toddlers:
Float Like a Cloud:

Have the toddlers lay on the floor. Encourage them to curl up like a ball,
hugging their knees. Tell them to roll gently from side to side. Ask them
to pretend to be clouds: soft and airy, floating quietly in the sky.

Preschoolers:
Hug Tag:

This is a variation on a classical tag game and is a perfect example of how
it can be turned into a new non-competitive one. The only time children are
safe is when they are hugging others. If a child is caught they are not out
but have to hold hands with the chaser and work cooperatively together to
catch others.

Drs. Lilian Katz and Diane McClellan in their book Fostering Children’s
Social Competence says “Competence in building
and maintaining relationships with others involves a complex interplay of
feelings, thought, and skills. While these components take a long time to
learn, their foundations are laid early in childhood…in the context of a
variety of opportunities to interact with peer.” Non-competitive games can
easily form the bases of these opportunities.

Frances Carlson in her book Big Body Play says that “the sometimes
rowdy, always very physical running, rolling, climbing, tagging, jumping,
grabbing, and wrestling that most children love and many adults try to shut
down can and should be an integral part of every early childhood setting.”
Drawing from evidence-based practice there is a multitude of benefits for
big body play for young children’s cognitive (intellectual) development.

The gift of true friendship is that it takes us by the hand and reminds us
that we are not alone in the journey.