Hobbies And Interests
Sneak In Some Education
Charades is fun for kids and, as long as the content is accessible, there's no reason this game can't be geared to enhance their education. Possibilities include geographical charades, wherein each child is given a country for a clue. For younger children, you may want more specific clues to denote countries (a bull fight, eating spaghetti) or stick with U.S. states. Promote other languages by playing charades with basic vocabulary in a second language. A clue might say "chien" for "dog" in French. The very young might do best with basic animals in English.
Inspiration From Books
Get a game going with characters or animals from a book. Specify the book or series of books if you like---the Chronicles of Narnia or Harry Potter series would work well. Make sure that all children playing the game are familiar with the book(s). Use movies in lieu of books if you like, but again, make sure the children have all viewed the movie or movies you plan to use. While there is typically one actor on stage at a time, in this category it can be interesting to have a team of two go up to portray a pair of characters. Shy children will especially appreciate this.
Turning Up the Volume
While the actor is normally silent during his/her time in spotlight, the charades can also be played with sounds. Write down something like, "telephone" or "Gandalf" depending on the appropriate difficulty level. You may also set a theme that deals with a specific category, like "sailing and the sea" or "classroom." The former may include clues like "seagull" or "waves," while the latter might suggest "pencil sharpener," "scissors" or "recess bell."