The Importance of Games During Stressful Events
During stressful events, playing games is crucial for maintaining mental and emotional well-being, especially for children. Games the same as singing songs provide a sense of normalcy and distraction from anxiety-inducing situations, helping to reduce stress and promote relaxation. Children can find joy and relief, making it easier to cope with challenging circumstances and fostering resilience in the face of adversity. Please find a section on Games to Play With Kids of 1-10 years old.
Games To Play During a Power Outage
During a power outage, it is both possible and important to play games with children. Such moments offer a unique opportunity to disconnect from technology and engage in meaningful, interactive activities. Playing games can help ease any anxiety children might feel about the power being out, and it provides a fun and educational way to pass the time. Board games, card games, or even simple storytelling not only keep children entertained but also help strengthen family relationships, making the experience of a power outage a positive and memorable one.
Discover how the magic of reading can nurture your child’s growth! Children’s Books To Ignite Imagination
List of fun games to play during a power outage by Clever Hedgehog:
Games for Kids 0-3 Years
Sing and act songs The Wheels On The Bus, Old MacDonald Had A Farm, If You’re Happy and You Know It.
These classic children’s songs are a great activity for little kids. Kids will learn vocabulary and have fun.
Games for Kids 3-5 Years
Play “Hot or Cold” Game
Equipment: a small object (or a prize) to hide.
Step 1. Choose one player to be the Hunter, and have them leave the room or move away from the group.
Step 2. Hide a small object or prize somewhere in the space where you are playing. Make the game easier by showing the Hunter what the object or prize is before sending them out of the room.
Step 3. Bring the Hunter back into the playing space, and have them look for the hidden object by moving around the area. Hide a piece of candy or a small toy that the Hunter can keep as a prize when they find the hidden object.
Step 4. Indicate to the Hunter that they are moving away from the hidden object by saying “colder“. If they keep moving in the wrong direction, words that indicate degrees of cold, such as “freezing” or “icy“.
Step 5. Tell the Hunter that they are getting closer to the hidden object by saying “hotter“.
Step 6. Continue giving clues until the Hunter finds the hidden object. Keep playing the game until all of the players get a chance to hunt.
with 2 or more players
Play “Duck, Duck, Goose” Game
All but one of the players sit in a circle facing the center. A player who does not sit in a circle is called a Goose.
The Goose walks in a circle and touches each player’s the top of the head with a hand, while saying the word “duck“.
At any moment, the Goose can touch the next player’s head and say the word “goose” instead of “duck“.
The one who was just called a “goose” gets up and runs after the Old Goose. The old Goose has to run around the circle so that the New Goose does not tag them and takes their place in the circle.
If the New Goose tags the old one before they run around the circle and take an empty seat, the New Goose sits in its former place, and the old Goose continues the game. If the new “Goose” has not caught up with the old Goose, the new “Goose” leads.
with 4 or more players
Games for Kids 6-8 Years
Play “Simon Says” Game
Equipment: no equipment is needed, just a spacious area to play.
Setting Up: Select one player to be the “Caller.” The Caller will give the commands to the other players.
How to Play:
When the Caller says “Simon Says”, players do what the Caller says. But if he doesn’t say “Simon Says”, players don’t move.
The commands can be:
Cross Your Arms
Clap your hands
Shrug your shoulders
Touch your toes
Stomp your feet
Bend your knees
Blink your eyes
Raise your eyebrows
Wiggle your nose and so on.
Getting Caught: If a player acts out a command that didn’t start with the word “Simon Says” he is or becomes the new Caller.
The game continues.
with 3 or more players
Play the “Charades” Game
The goal of Charades is to guess the word that one player is acting out, without them speaking or making any sounds.
How to Play:
- Decide which team will go first and choose one player from that team to be the first actor.
- The chosen actor chooses a word from the table below and reads the word or phrase silently. They must not show it to anyone.
- The actor must act out the word using only gestures. They cannot speak, make sounds, or use props.
- Others try to guess the word based on the gestures. The actor can use gestures to indicate if they are close or far from the correct answer.
- Continue playing until everyone has had a chance to act, or until all words in the table have been used.
| shark | alligator | chair | chicken |
| smile | dance | robot | bird |
| ice cream cone | pillow | puppy | Moon |
| dress | pilot | band-aid | snow |
| night | school | backpack | camping |
with 3 or more players
Clapping Game 👏 “Double Double This That”
All you need is a partner.
So once you’ve found your partner, sit down, facing them.
All you need to know is three motions: The first one is “double” – you clap both hands.
The second one is “this” – you face your partner and hit their palms.
The third one is “that” – with the back of your hand you’re going to hit the back of your partner’s hands.
So it’s going to be: Next time try it a little faster. Then try really fast.
Double, double, this, this
Double, double, this, this
Double, this, double, that
Double, double, this, that
Next time try it a little faster.
Then try really fast.
with 2 players
Games for Kids 8-10 Years
“Fortunately, Unfortunately” Game
“Fortunately, Unfortunately” is a fun and creative storytelling game that helps kids develop their imagination, quick thinking, and narrative skills.
How to Play:
Players sit in a circle or line so everyone can hear each other. One player is chosen to start the story. This player will begin with a “Fortunately” statement. For example, “Fortunately, I found a treasure map“. The next player continues the story with an “Unfortunately” statement that contradicts or complicates the previous statement. For example, “Unfortunately, the map was in a language I couldn’t read“. Players take turns alternating between “Fortunately” and “Unfortunately” statements, building on the story each time.
Ending the Game: The game can end when players feel the story has reached a satisfying conclusion or after a set number of turns.
Variations:
Theme-Based Stories: choose a specific theme for the story, such as “space adventure,” “underwater exploration,” or “magical kingdom.”
Example Game:
Player 1: “Fortunately, I found a magic lamp.” Player 2: “Unfortunately, it was buried under a ton of sand.”
Player 3: “Fortunately, I had a shovel.”
Player 4: “Unfortunately, the shovel broke.”
Player 5: “Fortunately, there was another one nearby.”
Player 6: “Unfortunately, it was guarded by a sleeping dragon.”
with 2 or more players
“The Truth About Me” Game
Everybody sits in a circle and there’s one person in the middle.
Make sure there are no empty seats.
Then the person in the middle says something true about him starting with a phrase “The truth about me is that I…”
If it’s true about you too then you have to stand up and switch with another person.
The middle person also tries to get an empty seat.
If you end up without a chair you become a new person in the middle. And the game continues.
with 3 or more players
Clapping Game 👏 “Miss Mary Mack”
All you need is a partner and some comfy space. You are going to start with Miss Mary and then use your right hand to clap you partner’s right hand, then left hand, clap both hands followed by cross hands on your chest, toucj both knees, and clap.
Now repeat the same steps over and over again with the lyrics:
Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack
All dressed in black, black, black
With silver buttons, buttons, buttons
Up and down her back, back, back.
She asked her mother, mother, mother
For fifty cents, cents, cents,
To see the elephants, elephants, elephants,
Jump the fence, fence, fence.
They jumped so high, high, high,
They touched the sky, sky, sky,
And they never came back, back, back,
To the Fourth of July-ly-ly.
with 2 players
“Dots and Boxes” Game
This classic game requires two players, a piece of paper to draw a grid (or download a Free printable game board), and two pencils, pens, or markers of different colors for each player.
First, you’ll need to set up your game board make a grid of dots on your paper it can be any size you want from five by five to fifty by five today, or use the free printable game board.
On your turn draw a line connecting any two dots next to each other. They can be in any direction but not diagonal.
Then it’s the next player’s turn.
Keep drawing until one player draws the four sides on any of those tiny boxes.
A player should make some sort of indication that that is their box you can do initials or color it in.
Continue drawing lines and completing boxes until the entire grid has been colored in.
Count each player’s boxes and the player with the most wins dots.
with 2 players
“Tic Tac Toe” Game
Tic Tac Toe is a fun two-player game where players try to get three of their symbols, either X or O in a row before their opponent can.
To play the game first draw a three-by-three grid (or use the free printable with 9 game grids) so there are nine open spaces in total.
Then decide who will use X‘s and who will use 0’s.
How to Play:
Take turns writing your symbol in one of the open spaces on the grid. Try to get three symbols in a row while also blocking your opponent from getting three of their symbols in a row.
Whoever gets three of their symbols in a row first wins.
If no player gets three in a row it’s a draw and the game starts over with a new empty grid.
with 2 players
This or That” Conversational Game
The ‘This or That’ game is an easy and fun way to learn about everyone and their preferences. Below are some This or That Questions to ask each other and share experiences and stories about various topics. You can easily create your own “This or That” questions about your friends and family.
Entertainment This or That:
- Movie Theater or Home Theater?
- Theme park or Water Park?
- An evening reading a great book or an evening with friends?
- Watch or Play Sports?
- Birthday or Christmas?
Travel This or That:
- Traveler or homebody?
- Bus or Train?
- Airplane or car?
- Water skiing or snow skiing?
- A day at the beach or a day by the campfire?
- A day at the beach or on a ski slope?
- Winter coat or bathing suit?
- Travel back in time or to the future?
Food:
- Breakfast or Dinner?
- Dinner or Dessert?
- Sweet or Salty?
- Mustard or Ketchup?
- Hot Dogs or Hamburgers?
- Pizza or broccoli?
- Home cooking or fast food?
Download the file with more game questions or create your own questions.
with 2 or more players
Discover More
A child’s sensory development helps children to better understand and remember the content and can improve auditory processing through listening to stories.
A few simple things that help to reduce your children’s worries.
tags: digital books for kids, kids affected by war, refugees, Games During Stressful Events, Games To Play During a Power Outage
