Kiddipedia
Enriching your child’s free time with performance and play
By Heidi Manche, Founder of Room to Play Kids and Teens Studio
It’s nearing June…which means the countdown is on until the winter school holidays. And this of course comes with a bunch of emotions.
It’s no secret that having the kids at home can be both joyful and stressful at the same time.
There’s less pressure to make the morning school drop-off rush…but it’s balanced out by the overwhelm and juggle of managing your “normal” life – like managing work, and while having the kids at home for two weeks.
No one’s saying you’re not a fun parent, but sometimes our busy lives often mean we look to technology to keep our kids entertained.
And while this is of course a necessity at times, we know most of us don’t want to see our kids on the screens for 20 hours.
Thankfully, as a mum, a business owner, and someone who teaches drama and acting to kids, I get the challenges school holidays can bring.
So I thought I’d share the benefits and simple ways to spark up some creative play and performance activities with kids while doing some seriously fun activities that are incredible for their confidence and creativity!
Why adding in some ‘Pizzazz’ is great for building confident kids!
Activities combining performance, acting, and play enrich a child’s life in many ways.
Research shows that children are four times more likely to be high academic achievers when they act, play, sing, and dance.
Not only that, they build valuable qualities like confidence, empathy, creativity, imagination and problem-solving.
So, what better way than drama and play, to liven up their time at home!
And in case you had any doubts – here are some quick facts about the benefits of acting and performance
- Jessica Hoffman Davis, author of Why Our Schools Need the Arts says that incorporating play teaches kids about empathy; they learn to put themselves in another person’s shoes and develop the ability to think like them.
- A study by The Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) on the effects of drama on children, showed that 89 percent of participants saw it as having a positive impact on their self-confidence, with 94 percent seeing a rise in their overall sense of wellbeing.
- Imagination taking the forefront provides an environment where a child is allowed to question, listen, comprehend and support within a guided, intensive and safe platform. This instills teamwork, socialisation, and listening skills at a very early age.
- In a digital age, play and improvisation provides a much-needed breath of fresh air and the opportunity for kids to interact with each other while also giving the platform to address and communicate in situations such as bullying, friendships, and family relationships.
- Performance also gives a child a sense of responsibility – that ‘winning’ is not necessarily the most important thing as the end product is the result of long days of hard work and bonding.
Using performance and play to entertain your children not only acts as a great way to keep them occupied but also introduces a host of transferable skills that a classroom might not be able to give.
These skills would help them navigate life, careers, and any challenges in a healthy manner –while also improving how they connect and communicate with their family and friends.
Performance-centric games to do at home
So now we know the benefits, but what can you do at home to spark up some fun and creativity – in between balancing your ‘regular life’?
Here are some easy games that incorporate improvisation, character development and listening that would be a hit with your children!
ABC Game: Improvisation
This is an improvisation game that keeps children thinking fast and being creative.
Start by choosing a scenario to do with school.
For example, cleaning the playground, learning maths, going on an excursion to the Art Gallery, bullying in the playground, or music class.
The first line of your scene must start with the letter A.
The second line of your scene must start with the letter B, and so on through the alphabet.
Each made-up line must start with the next letter of the alphabet.
If you have trouble remembering the next letter of the alphabet, whoever went before can then call out the next letter after their line of dialogue.
The scene ends when you get to the letter Z if possible.
For example: Scenario Learning Math
Child 1: Ah, this division is so hard
Child 2: Because you haven’t learnt it, that’s all.
Child 3: Can’t help that!
Child 4: Don’t you do your homework?
Child 1: Everyone doesn’t like homework you know! etc.
Dead Fish: Focus
Ok, so the next game involves getting your child/children to lie on the floor as still as a dead fish.
The octopus (parent) moves around the room inspecting the fish. If any other fish move they are eaten by the octopus and eliminated from the game.
I am a chair: Character Development
Finally, the next is all about sparking up your child’s focus, imagination and spontaneity!
Start have having your child/children walk around the room.
The parent asks the child/children to think about as many different chairs as possible e.g. – wooden chairs, cane chairs, school chairs.
Then ask them to choose a particular chair and try and imagine as many things about it as possible, ask questions like
- What does your chair look like?
- How old is your chair?
- Who sits on you?
- Where do you live?
- Do you like being a chair?
When the parent yells freeze the children freeze in the shape of the chair. The parent then walks around the room and taps each of the chairs one by one, when a chair is tapped it comes to life and tells the rest of the group all about itself. Repeat until every chair has spoken.
Variation
This game can be played with objects, plants or characters other than chairs, it is good to think of something that comes in many varieties e.g. – flowers, aliens.
So, what are you waiting for? Turn off the television (even for an hour!) and get your children engaged with these fun activities!
Heidi Manche and Room to Play
Heidi Manche is founder of Room to Play, one of the leading Brisbane-based kids and teens acting and drama studios helping kids and teens to thrive. Heidi is also a mum of three and experienced professional actor, director and producer both in Australia and internationally.
Through Room to Play’s popular and personalised holiday school programs and school-term weekly drama classes, their team help kids build the skills they need for life – like empathy, resilience, connection, self-worth and a love of creativity and communication – and have the confidence and delight to perform in front of others.
Contact Room to Play
- Phone: 0404 220 465
- Email: heidi@roomtoplay.com.au
- Instagram: @roomtoplaytheatre
- Facebook: @roomtoplaytheatre
- Address: Paddington QLD 4064
