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Show No such thing as 'only a game ' to kids I was a pre-school teacher's aide before I got my teaching certificate. That's where I learned that with kids, there's no such thing as "only approximately two minutes before the tears broke loose. The first child out looked perplexed that he had no chair when the music stopped. He cried as I led him away from the circle. He wanted to play. The second child out began to cry. The other children began to look frightened as yet another chair was taken away. It was about this time that my razor-sharp instincts kicked into gear, slowly forming the message: "These kids don't seem to be having much fun." We stopped and quickly organized an other game: Follow the Leader. We took turns being the Leader, being in charge, being silly. No one Kids take games seriously, and games can teach important lessons. But as parents and teachers, we must understand where games fit in the evolution of the child's life. For very young children, games can teach cooperation, the need to take turns, and pride in success. The downside, of course, is that many games are based on competition with clear winners and losers. And there's nothing wrong with that if you're dealing with children who are emotionally ready to lose and, even more important, to win. It takes time to teach kids appropriate ap-propriate behavior for winning and losing. Play games with your children. Model for them the behavior of a winner who doesn't gloat and a loser who congratulates his opponent. Whether you're playing play-ing Monopoly or soccer or Go Fish, your attitude will eventually allow your child to see that it's only a game. 1 .1 Children & School by Lily Eskelsen a game." I rounded up the 4-year-olds to play musical chairs. It lasted |