It has been a misunderstanding for such a long time among some parents that playing is a matter of time-wasting of their young children. Thus, there are many private schools that emphasize working only on children’s cognitive domain in their early years. That is a misfortune for our children. Fortunately, when I was growing up, academic achievement in young children was not the first priority and, of course, we were allowed to engage in physical activity and to play games in school. Several games in my childhood started popping up into my head, but the one I liked most is one of the traditional Thai games, which is called, ‘What does the wind blow?’
‘What does the wind blow?’ is easy to play and no equipment is required. Children form a circle and sit shoulder to shoulder closely, no space is left between each child. There will be only one child standing in the middle of the circle. His duty is to answer the question from the young children who shout out, ‘What does the wind blow?’ He can give any answer he likes like ‘The wind blows people who are wearing shorts’. Then, anyone sitting on the floor who is wearing shorts must stand up and run to find a new seat. At that moment, the one who stands in the middle of the circle and answers the question needs to find a space and sit down quickly in the line of the circle. One who cannot find a seat quickly enough will be left standing in the circle and the game continues many rounds until it is done.
Playing games, a traditional one or a computer game, gives benefits to the game players. Besides giving fun, it helps develop the skills in cooperation and build teamwork spirit to the players. Children also learn to conform to the rule of the games. And obviously, many traditional games help children develop their muscles, physical balance, and make them to be alert and active. ‘What does the wind blow?’ also helps them develop their listening skills as they need to listen for the answer given from the one who stands in the middle attentively in order to respond to the answer quickly enough before the others.
As narrated above, children’s games offer many benefits to them. And certainly, my favourite, ‘What does the wind blow?’ is the one that I would recommend to children and even to adults to use it as a warm up activity in their meetup.
Hi P. Kitt, I love playing the game too, and recently I have play the game at a team building activity at my company. I think the game is quite challenging, as we have to compete for a space to sit. I have never won the game, as I am not good at grab or fight over someone. Another traditional game that I enjoy playing is 'musical chair'. I often play it at New Year party. Again, I have never won the game.
ReplyDeleteI agree that schools should promote physical activities so that students will have opportunities to develop physical strengths and cognitive ability. My school would also promote these activities, and it would arrange sport day activity annually. I used to participate in several competitions, including basketball, a short distance sprint, tug-of-war. I love sports as they allow me to practice discipline.
Hi Emma. Musical chair is also another exciting game I love to play. I used to introduce it to my class. Everyone enjoyed playing the game and, of course, all of my students were waken up and ready for the lesson. It's a great energizer before starting the class.
ReplyDeleteHello P'Kitt. I like that you pointed out a very interesting point that playing game is not a waste of time, but it has many advantages, such as the development of physical and mental health of a child. As we war now living in a fast-moving, high-technology world, children nowadays tend to spend less time outside. As a result, they may not be as healthy as they should when they grew up. Therefore, we should encourage our children to be more active by suggesting to play games and "Where does the wind blow" would be a perfect fit!.
ReplyDeleteThank you Anik. I totally agree with your idea.
ReplyDeleteYour initial essays and the comments on them have all brought up useful ideas, several of which are excellent preparation for what's coming in the next reading in Skillful, which we will look at this evening.
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