OC AmeriCorps Alliance

Great Game - "LIfe with the Wright Family"

Here is a great warm up or cool down activity that you can do with your kids, called the "Life with the Wright Family."  If you remember we played this activity at the OCAA Team Day on November 17 on Behavior Management. 

To start the game, have all the children sit in a circle on the floor.  You can use candy or some other items like tennis balls, but you will need one for every child that is participating in the activity.  Hand out the item (if you are using candy, make sure they do not eat it) and then explain that the point of the game is to listen carefully.  You are going to share a story called "The Life of the Wright Family" and in the story there are times that you will say the words left and right.  As you read the story, they will have to pass the item in the direction of the word you say.  Tell them that you will start when the group is quiet.  Once you have finished the story, you can let the children have the candy to eat or take home.  If you try this activity, let us know how it goes and reply back to this post.  Thanks and enjoy! 

You will find the story below:

LIFE WITH THE WRIGHT FAMILY

One day the Wright family decided to take a vacation. The first thing they had to decide was who would be left at home since there was not enough room in the Wright family car for all of them.  Mr. Wright decided that Aunt Linda Wright would be the one left at home. Of course this made Aunt Linda Wright so mad that she left the house immediately yelling “It will be a right cold day before I return.”

The Wright family now bundled up the children, Tommy Wright, Susan Wright, Timmy Wright and Shelly Wright and got in the car and left. Unfortunately as they turned out of the driveway someone had left a trash can in the street so they had to turn right around and stop the car. They told Tommy Wright to get out of the car and move the trash can so they could get going. Tommy took so long that they almost left him in the street.  Once the Wright family got on the road, Mother Wright wondered if she lad left the stove on. Father Wright told her not to worry he had checked the stove and she had not left it on. As they turned right at the corner, everyone started to think about other things that they might have left undone.

No need to worry now, they were off on a right fine vacation, When they arrived at the gas station, Father Wright put gas in the car and then discovered that he had left his wallet at home. So Timmy Wright ran home to get the money that was left behind.  After Timmy had left, Susan Wright started to feel sick. She left the car saying that she had to throw up. This of course got Mother Wright’s attention and she left the car in a hurry. Shelly Wright wanted to watch Susan get sick so she left the car too. Father Wright was left with Tommy Wright who was playing a game in the backseat.

With all of this going on, Father Wright decided that this was not the right time to take a vacation, so he gathered up all of the family and left the gas station as quickly as he could. When he arrived home, he turned left into the driveway and said “I wish the Wright family had never left the house today!”

Activities That Teach by Tom Jackson

Try these Attention Getters

• Make a red stop sign and glue to a popsicle stick. Introduce the idea that the stop sign is the tool that you will use to get everyone’s attention and for the class to be quiet. Part of the rules could be that they have to fold their arms, be quiet and look up front. You can also count to yourself and when everyone is quiet, tell them how long it took. You can encourage them to beat their record from the previous time.
• Children will do anything to be noticed. Usually the kids who are always acting out and always disrespectful are begging for attention.  By asking them to be quiet or to stop, give the attention in a negative way. One way to counter this is to change who you give the attention. Instead of asking the noisy children to behave, point out the children who are already acting the way they should. Once the misbehaved children follow along then recognize the good behavior.  For example, tell a child that you appreciate the way she is doing her homework quietly because the child next to her is talking. This will allow you to give attention to the children who are doing well and give some positive encouragement to the children who need to be reminded.
• Use Simon Says type instructions (put your hands on your hips, on your toes; wave them in the air, etc.) For example, have the children put their hands in the air, grab their elbows, pull their elbows down in front, and voila! Their arms are folded.
• Try saying "If you hear me..." statements.  Some examples are: "If you hear me touch your nose."  "If you hear me blink your eyes."  "If you hear me wiggle your fingers."  "If you hear me wiggle your nose."  "If you hear me fold your arms."  "If you hear me pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time."  Try to vary the directions so that the children will be caught by surprise.
• Turn the lights off and on in the room.
• Have a different person call them to attention. Sometimes hearing the same voice all the time makes it easier to not listen.
• Most importantly, BE PREPARED for your activities. If the kids are used to giving you their full attention, because you consistently have something that merits their attention, the attention comes naturally.