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Fun Games for a 1st Grader

First graders are learning to read, write and do math, so they are full of curiosity. Children in first grade are also starting to understand that life does not always go their way. Help reinforce all these lessons by playing games. Children have fun playing, and also learn lessons about taking turns, teamwork and luck.

Musical Chairs
- Musical chairs gets children up and moving, and helps teach children about rhyming. Set up a line of chairs, using one fewer chair than there are children. Tell children what the "key word" is for that round. As they start to circle the chairs, recite a list of random words. When you say a word that rhymes with the key word, everyone must stop and try to find a chair. For instance, if the key word is "bat" children must circle the chairs until you say "mat" or "cat." The child who does not get a chair is out. Remove one chair and start again with a new key word.
Create a Board Game
- First graders will be pleased to see their own faces in a board game. Design and draw your own board or use a board to a game you already own. Cut out pictures of the children's faces and tape them over some of the spots on the board. Have children cut game pieces out of cardboard. Glue their faces onto the pieces, then stand them up in clumps of clay. Take turns rolling dice and moving spaces. Make up your own rules about what happens when you land on one of the face spaces.
Addition Bingo
- Bingo is a quiet game that is ideal for car trips or indoor play. Make one Bingo card for each child, drawing a grid with six spaces down and six spaces across for a total of 36 spaces. Fill in each space with any number between two and 20. You will need to use some numbers twice. Remove all the face cards from a deck of playing cards, then split the deck in half. Turn over the top card in each deck. Children must add the two numbers together. Explain that an ace counts as a one. Children must then mark the spaces on their boards that show the sum. Play until someone fills in an entire row on his grid.
Make Up A Sport
- Get first graders active by asking them to create their own outdoor sport or game. Break children up into groups. If you are playing with one child, design a game together. Give each group a sports ball, such as a basketball or volleyball. Give the groups 15 minutes to design their own games using the ball. Ask them to decide how the game is played, how to earn points and how the winner is determined. Have each group teach the others how to play.

Kids Games