Get an honest insight into your kids' current interests, priorities and opinions without them feeling like they're being put on the spot.
Living in London, we don't use our car for day-to-day journeys, so when we get in it to go somewhere out of town, it's always a bit of a novelty. For my children, I'm pleased to say, it's a well known and looked forward to chance for chat, music and games. A few days ago, when we were on a weekend car journey to visit family, I suggested we play a new game that I had just thought up and quickly decided to call 'My Top Three'. I find that a new game always has better status and chance of sticking if it arrives with a name, however hastily thought up.
I explained that to play the game we would take it turns to each choose a topic or theme or thing, and then everyone would take a minute to think about what their top three would be, ranking them accordingly. Well, they jumped at the chance of playing it and, youngest first as is often our way for deciding who starts, my daughter immediately came up with our first category. 'What are your Top Three... birds?' she asked, brilliantly. Well, we all took some time to think about it, and then we announced our answers and compared our choices. Here's what we all came up with:
D: #3 golden eagle, #2 robin, #1 penguin
B: #3 red kite, #2 hawk, #1 peregrine falcon
Me: #3 peacock, #2 pied wagtail, #1 robin
Then we went round and round the car, each choosing a different category like Top Three Cars, Top Three Days Out, Top Three Books, Top Three Smells, Top Three Toys, Top Three Things Daddy Does, and my son, somewhat out of the blue, suggested Top Three Plays by Shakespeare.
Now, you will probably not be so interested in what all our answers were - but play this with your nearest and dearest and you'll definitely be intrigued. Their answers may surprise you, they may even delight you or move you, like my children's answers did me. But one thing's for sure - they will give you an up-to-the-minute insight into what your children are about right now.
Try it, and see what's making your child's Top Three today.
Way to Play : Stay and Play
Learning Opportunities: speaking about one's own opinions and listening to those of others, taking turns, making thoughtful choices, respecting other people's choices, developing self-awareness and increasing knowledge of one's own and other's preferences
