Yesterday, some father’s got ties for Father’s Day and some received socks. But save the old socks for some fun and learning in a simple game called “Cleaning My Room”. It’s also great for exercise.
Lots of old socks are needed for this game along with 2 or more kids, or 1 child and 1 grown-up who needs some exercise. In a backyard or big space in a playroom, divide the area into 2 halves. Put half the socks all over in one end of the space, and half all over the other end. Now, comes the fun part. Each child throws the sock on his/her end into the other person’s territory. The goal is to get rid of all the socks, but as soon as some are thrown to the other side, more arrive. The game ends when somebody is too tired and calls Stop!
How does this game help kids with kindergarten readiness? At kindergarten, one of the first things that kids learn is some of the rules, such as after taking something out, it’s important to put in away in the same place or everybody helps at clean-up time. Simple games give kids a chance to practice handling rules. In this game, some of the fun is because the rules are so silly. After playing, it’s important to talk about how this is just a game. And then everybody can clean-up the socks and save them until next time. Readiness for kindergarten can use all kinds of learning materials, even old socks.