The children have been showing a strong interest in playing board games and choosing to engage with them frequently. During play, Finn began changing and creating their own rules for familiar board g
ames such as Sneaky Snacky Squirrel. Finn set up the game independently and then spun the wheel to identify the colours, choosing the beads according to that colour landed on, turning the activity into a probability-based game. He was showing a great creative mind. After some time, we observed that Felix and Zyan played games like Tic Tac Toe in teams, working together and taking turns. Felix and Zyan were observed collaborating, discussing the rules and supporting one another during gameplay. As the children showed interest in modifying games, we provided some cardboard and materials to support them in creating their own board games, offering ideas and assistance when needed. We used the colours, papers, carboards, cardboards and dices in our games. We made an alphabet game, each of them collaborated as one did the colouring, another one helped in combining the cardboards. We just helped them in giving ideas and they made their own rules of the games
The learning shows the children’s developing their problem -solving, critical thinking, mathematical, and cognitive skills. By changing the rules and creating new rules they show their confidence, creativity and leadership by playing together. They explored concepts like probability, colours, teamwork and fairness. Working in teams supported their social development, communication skills and cooperation. The children’s ability to adapt the games to their own ideas shows independence and a strong sense of ownership over their learning. Overall, they showed a big progress in developing all these skills.
We will continue to support and extend the children’s interest in creating their own board games. Moving forward we will provide more opportunities and materials for the children to design and modify their games. This may include help from the internet, offering additional materials, encouraging the children to create written and visual cards and supporting these discussions about planning, structure and fair play. These experiences will continue to support a deeper understanding of the different concepts of board games.
