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Communication Games

The document emphasizes the importance of communication skills in children's emotional development and relationships, detailing both verbal and nonverbal communication types. It outlines the benefits of strong communication skills and provides ten engaging activities to help children improve these skills. Activities include games like 'Guess the Object,' 'Telephone,' and 'Charades' that foster creativity, critical thinking, and effective communication.

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karlauribehernandez.17
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3 views4 pages

Communication Games

The document emphasizes the importance of communication skills in children's emotional development and relationships, detailing both verbal and nonverbal communication types. It outlines the benefits of strong communication skills and provides ten engaging activities to help children improve these skills. Activities include games like 'Guess the Object,' 'Telephone,' and 'Charades' that foster creativity, critical thinking, and effective communication.

Uploaded by

karlauribehernandez.17
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Communication is one of the most important aspects of our relationships with others—

especially our children! Children begin to develop communication skills from the day
they are born and start interacting with their caregivers.

What are the types of communication?

• Verbal communication has to do with the words we use when speaking:


• Pitch (speaking in a loud voice vs. whispering)
• Tone (calm, firm, loving, gentle, angry, accusatory)
• Word choice (“Please speak more softly” vs. “Shut up” might mean the same
thing but have very different connotations)
• Language/dialect (using words that your child understands)

Nonverbal communication has to do with body language:

• Physical touch (hugs, high fives)


• Hand gestures (thumbs up)
• Facial expressions (smiling, frowning)
• Eye contact (direct, indirect)
• Personal space (body autonomy)

Why Are Communication Skills Important?

When parents communicate with their children, they are teaching them how to interact
with others and are helping shape kids’ emotional development.

Children will use the communication techniques that they learned from their caregivers
long after they grow up and set out on their own!

What are the benefits of communication skills?

• Mental well-being
• Emotional intelligence
• Assertiveness
• Empathy and compassion
• Self-control and motivation
• Boundaries

10 Activities and Games to Support Communication Skills

1. Guess the Object


Place an object in a bag and give clues to help your child guess what it is.

For example, if you are hiding a spoon, you could say: “It’s small.” “It’s silver.” “It’s a tool
we use to eat food.”

After modeling how to play, let your child pick an object to hide. Then, ask them questions
until you guess correctly!

2. Telephone

This is a classic game from childhood! It’s best to play with 3 to 5 people, so you can get
the whole family involved.

• Have everyone stand in line.


• Start with an easy sentence, like “The ball is red.”
• Whisper the sentence into your child’s ear without letting anyone else hear.
• Then your child must whisper it to the person next to them.
• The last person in line gets to say the sentence out loud.

3. Show and Tell

• Gather the whole family together for “Show and Tell.”


• Each family member needs to pick out a favorite item from their room.
• One of the adults should go first to model how to play.
• Show off your favorite item and explain why you love it so much, where you got it,
and how it works.
• After modeling how to play, let your child go up and deliver their speech!

To make the game a little sillier, the game can also be done with “least favorite” items…
will your child go straight for the broccoli or their toothbrush?

4. Picture Storytelling

• This is a great activity to teach children new vocabulary words and sequencing.
• Start with one photo and have your child tell you everything they see. For example,
if it’s a farm photo, they might say: barn, cat, farmer, pig, straw, cow.
• Then, have your child invent a story about what they see in the picture.
• You can help prompt them by saying, “The farmer brings food to the animals in the
barn” or “The cat is unhappy because she has to share her food with the pig.”

5. Chain-link Story

This is a fun game that encourages creativity and quick thinking!


• Grab a ball and sit in a circle.
• Start off the story by saying something like, “once upon a time there was a baby
dinosaur…”
• Then, pass the ball to someone new and have them add to the story.
• Keep passing the ball and adding to the story until it comes to an end!

6. Charades

• “Charades” is a family favorite and a great way to teach kids nonverbal


communication.
• Write down a bunch of different emotions and place them in a bowl.
• If your child cannot read yet, you can draw the emotions (and help them act when
it’s their turn).
• Each player must grab a piece of paper from the bowl and act out what it says…
without speaking!
• Then, the rest of the players must guess what the emotion is.

7. Ten Questions

This game helps strengthen kids’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

One person must think of an animal, but they can’t tell anyone what it is.

The other players have 10 chances to ask questions about the animal in order to figure
out and guess what it is!

For example, players might ask: “Does it have a tail?” “Does it live in the ocean?” “Does
it have fur?”

8. Obstacle Course

Obstacle courses help kids strengthen their active listening skills.

• Use household objects like frisbees, shoes, chairs, pillows, etc. to set up an
obstacle course.
• To create an obstacle course, you’ll need a starting point and a finish line.
• Set up your household items in between these two points and give instructions
like:
• Hop on each frisbee
• Go around the shoe
• Crawl under the chair
• Spin 3 times in the hula hoop

Help guide your child as they make their way through the course, and don’t forget to
celebrate them when they make it to the finish line!

9. Exact Instructions

This game is bound to make your child laugh and sigh in frustration! It’s a great way to
practice clear and effective communication.

• Tell your child that you want to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and you
need them to tell you how.
• Set out all the ingredients you need: bread, peanut butter, jelly, a knife, and a
plate.
• Do the literal action that your child tells you. For example, if they say “put the
peanut butter on the bread,” place the whole jar of peanut butter on the bread.
• Then, prompt them to give you clearer instructions. They might say, “spread the
peanut butter on the bread.” In this case, maybe stick your fingers in the jar and
spread it on the bread with your hands!

10. Role-Playing

Role-playing games help stimulate creativity and imagination.

Let your imagination run wild and act like police officers, firefighters, nurses, vets,
astronauts, etc. Pretend to be mermaids, grocery store clerks, or even shooting stars!

While playing, communicate your needs and ask for help. For example, if you’re role-
playing veterinarians, you might hold up a horse figurine and ask your child to help it relax
while you fix its hoof!

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