Hobbies And Interests
Paycheck
Paycheck is a game that focuses on math skills and monetary values. It teaches children about the wage value of different jobs.
An adult facilitator writes a monetary value on index cards. On the other side of the cards are the titles of jobs. The players (employee) have to close their eyes and pick one index card from the stack. The employee then takes the card to another player, the payroll clerk. The payroll clerk has to figure out the value on the card and pay out the right amount in play money. Each employee may not say what they are paid until everyone has their money. Then the employees all compare their paycheck amounts and figure out who received the most. The person with the highest wage wins one point. After ten rounds, the player with the most points wins. The children can take turns being the clerk.
Babysitter
Babysitter is a simple game designed to teach child care and general responsibility. Any number of children may play.
The leader provides each player with one hard boiled egg or rock, which represents a "baby." Once the players have their eggs or rocks, they proceed with normal activities. The catch is that they cannot sit their "baby" down. At irregular intervals, the leader will check that the players still have their "baby." If a player is discovered without their egg or rock, they are out. Throughout the game, the leader gives all players an equal number of babysitting tasks to complete, such as taking the "baby" for a walk or giving the "baby" a bath. Each successfully completed task receives one point. The player with the most points after half an hour wins the game.
Archeologist
Children love to play in the dirt. Archeologist is a job game that turns this habit into something constructive.
To prepare, the leader buries many kinds of items in a large sand pile or box. They may be anything from cleaned up (non-sharp) bones from dinner to dollar store beads. The leader gives each child a small plastic shovel, bucket, water squirter and old paint brushes. Then the leader guides the children in how to be archeologists who dig up the treasures in the sandbox. They are shown how to remove large amounts of sand with the shovel and work carefully around items with sprays of water and strokes of the paint brushes. The game continues for a period of 10 minutes. The child who unearths the most treasures wins.