Community building activities are designed to help students know one another and work
together. When you promote team building and cooperation among elementary
school children, you give them the opportunity to develop their interpersonal skills with kids from other homes, backgrounds, and cultures.
Apart
from working as a team and establishing relationships, being able to build
trust is important in school. And with the right mix of community building
activities, you can prepare students for the new life ahead of them.
Why are Community Building Activities Important?
At
the beginning of a new year, schools welcome new students and encourage their
already-known students to interact with them. Even teachers try their best to
help new kids fit in into the classroom and school system.
However,
there have been cases where some students kept to themselves. In other cases,
new students have been bullied into silence and withdrawals, therefore losing
the opportunity to mingle, make friends, and have fun.
Inasmuch
as elementary education is the primary level of actual learning for many
children, it should be filled with games and activities that allow them to
connect with other students and appreciate the school experience.
In
essence, the onus lies on the teacher to engage students in community building activities for kids that enhance social skills and verbal fluency. The right
ideas come with the following benefits:
·
Students in the new
class are often eager to express themselves during team games
·
Every child gets to
feel a sense of equality
·
The need for critical
thinking is gradually developed during activities
·
Physical health is
encouraged through movement-based activities
·
The learning
environment becomes welcoming and supportive.
How to Implement Community Building Activities
Now
that you appreciate the value of community building activities for elementary students, let’s discuss the ways through
which you can execute these ideas.
·
Try a STEM Activity
Even
though STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) is common during
summer, you can integrate some of the interesting STEM activities
into the classroom.
Put
the students into groups and give them some materials to create something (like
a design). Additionally, you could ask them to solve a puzzle or try to crack a
code.
·
Parachute Games
Parachute
games are another group of community building activities that encourage
students to work together and depend on each other.
·
Talk About Yourself Activity
Ask
the children to write something about themselves on a tiny piece of paper.
Afterward, have them fold it neatly and drop it into a basket. Play a song and
have a child pick one when the music stops.
When
the papers have gone round, let each child read the content of their paper and
identify the child who wrote it.
Conclusion
Are
you looking to bring out the best in the students in your elementary class?
Consider including some community building activities in your classroom
routine.
Encourage
each child to contribute something or get involved in one activity or the
other. In time, you’ll find that they’ve built strong and impactful
relationships.
