Playing Charades with Younger Kids (Without Tears)
My mum's a teaching assistant and she plays charades with kids at school. Here are her tips for making it work with little ones.
So my mum works at a primary school and she uses charades loads in her classroom. She asked me to write down her tips cos she reckons lots of parents make the same mistakes when playing with young kids.
Why kids love it
Kids are mental at charades. Like they've got no shame so they'll just throw themselves into it. My little sister does the most dramatic performances ever — she once spent three minutes pretending to be a penguin and it was genuinely impressive.
It's also good for them cos they learn new words, get to move about (instead of staring at a screen), and have to work together as a team.
What words to use for different ages
Little ones (4-6) Keep it really simple. Animals they know, things they can see: - Dog, Cat, Fish, Bunny - Jumping, Dancing, Sleeping - Ball, Hat, Star
My mum says at this age it doesn't even matter if they don't follow the rules properly. If they talk a bit while acting, just let them. They'll get the hang of it.
Middle ones (7-9) Now you can make it a bit harder: - Penguin, Elephant, Butterfly - Swimming, Cooking, Painting - Camera, Guitar, Skateboard
Older kids (10-12) These lot can handle proper tricky words: - Embarrassed, Confused, Excited - Juggling, Rock climbing, Surfing - Invisible, Enormous, Slippery
Mum's top tips
- Short turns. Don't make them wait ages. 30 seconds is fine for small kids.
- Don't be strict about rules. Like if a 5 year old says "it's got four legs!" just go with it. They're having fun, who cares.
- Cheer everyone. Even if their acting is terrible, clap and say well done. Otherwise they won't want to do it again.
- Mix ages. Put a big kid with a little kid on the same team. The big ones help the little ones and everyone has a better time.
For teachers
If you're a teacher you can use it for loads of stuff — spelling practice, learning French vocabulary, or just as a brain break when everyone's going a bit mad after lunch. It costs nothing and the kids love it.