Autumn is here again and with it, the days of rain, wind, and cold will begin to arrive. At this time of year, it is common for students to not be able to go out for recess on some days and it becomes necessary to carry out activities so they can entertain themselves and relax during their free time.
It is normal for children to get nervous if they cannot go out for recess and that break time becomes boring for the students. To avoid this, we propose a list of games and dynamics for rainy days that are simple and require little or no material. Although, at first, it may seem that they are designed for students in Preschool or Primary, many of them can be adapted to Secondary school courses.
1. The ball dance
This is the most active activity we propose. This perception game aims, in addition to movement, to develop hearing skills. To play, we only need a ball and the ability to reproduce sounds. The children will sit on the floor in a circle and the music will start playing. While the music is playing, the students will pass the ball around clockwise. When the music stops, we will assign the letter ‘b’ to whoever has the ball in their hand. This will continue until someone completes the word ‘ball’ and is eliminated.
2. I saw
This is a variation of the popular game, I Spy. With the students sitting in a circle on the floor or each at their desk, they will take turns describing or imitating objects, landscapes or anything they have seen on their way from home to school and the others will have to guess what it is. Whoever guesses it will go on to describe the next object.
3. Strange story
On a sheet of paper, one person writes several sentences of a story. Then the sheet is folded so that only the last word remains visible. The next person must continue writing from there, without knowing the content of the previous person’s writing. At the end, when everyone has participated, they will read the story out loud.
4. Dictation of drawings
Working in pairs and with their backs turned, one member of the pair will dictate to the other an object, place, or thing using characteristics and shapes while drawing it on paper. Once they believe that their partner has finished the drawing, they must let the person drawing know what it is.
5. What do I have in my head?
This game is loved by students of all ages. Each person will have a sticker, post-it note, or small sign on their forehead with a profession, person, or character. By observing the reactions of the other children and the answers they give to their questions, they must guess who it is. We can adapt it to different ages by complicating the names we put on each person’s forehead and we can use it to review relevant characters in history, writers, or any general cultural topic.
6. The young Quinquela
This is another simple game that requires the resources we have in any classroom. The first student receives a piece of chalk and a card that tells them what they should draw on the board. The person who guesses what they are drawing first will be the next to go out and draw something different.
7. Letters and numbers
With this game, we try to train the mental agility of the students while having fun. It is easy and we only need a pencil, paper, and a copy of the alphabet in which each letter is accompanied by the number it occupies in the alphabet. To play, we divide the class into pairs and threes. We will write a sentence or a word on the board, depending on the level of the students. The first group that can correctly replace all the letters with numbers will get a point.
8. Stop the pencil
This is another classic. On a piece of paper, the students will draw a table with different categories such as names, cities, animals, foods… We will say a letter and the children will have to complete each category with a word that begins with that letter. The first one to finish will say: Stop, pencil! And the rest will stop writing. Each correct word will add 5 points and, if someone has written a word that no one else has chosen, they will get 10 points for that word.
9. Who’s Who?
The famous board game can also be used in the classroom. We can practice descriptions or, in the case of older students, we can work on historical figures. We will need a strip of pictures with clearly different people or with photos or drawings of historical figures if we so decide.
10. Taboo
This game combines quick thinking with working on the content we want to review. The mechanics of the game are the same as the traditional ones: the student receives a card with a word that the rest have to guess through their explanations, but there will be three words that they cannot say. The first person to guess the word will go on to explain the next one.
To this list of games for rainy days, we can add two more, which never fail. Last week we talked about educational films to watch in class. These moments could be good to start watching them in the classroom. And of course, another fantastic option is to use that time to read some of the compulsory readings for the term or to go down to the library and discover new books.