The Games We Play!

Hello First Grade Families!

How are you?  Yesterday's Halloween Character Party was a fun time!  Since it was our first party that the class planned, I wasn't sure what to expect.  Would the students like what they planned?  Did they plan enough things to keep them busy?  Were the areas engaging enough?  As a teacher I always need to be ready with options for the "just in case" element.  I didn't need to use any of them!  The students spent the whole time doing many of the stations they created and having a nice time!

The big interests were the face paint and the games that the class created.  Friends were into being the face painters as much as having their face painted.  Thank you so much to all the families who sent in face paint, that really helped!

The two games the students created are called Spooky Dangerous Road and Bats in the Haunted House.  These are each board games that involve reading cards when it is your turn.  The students were really dedicated to playing their games for the first time.  Since this was our" first play" we thought of it as a test run.  This meant that we were looking at ways we might need to change or fix the game. 

At the end of the party we came together as a class to discuss any thoughts about how the games, and the party, went.  The students identified three key things: to incorporate both a get out of jail card and a lose a turn card and to have less going backwards cards and more forward moving cards.  I also suggested having a logo for the back of the cards to be able to keep track of which go with which game. As for the party, the students said it was fun.  They thought they could have more activity stations if they were to plan a party again.

It was really neat to see how invested and enthusiastic the class was to the games they made.  They are starting to identify key elements that make a game more interesting or tricky.  It seems to me that many students are interested in making more of their own games.  If you play games at home, can you take some time to discuss how the parts of the game make it work? Here are some questions to think about together:

What are your favorite types of games?

What elements make the game interesting to you as a player?

How might you change or tweak a game to play it multiple ways?

Do you ever add rules to make a twist or challenge?

Thank you so much to all the families who contributed to help with the party.  It was a lot of fun and I really appreciated the extra adults on hand to keep each station running.  Who knows what their next party theme will be?  Stay tuned!  The kids have already brainstormed some tentative possibilities!

Have a lovely week!  Sincerely, Jennifer