Popular Games for Positive Play: Activities for Self-Awareness

Does this exchange sound familiar? Adult: What are you doing? Child: Just playing. Adult (turning away): Okay. Have fun. Just playing is not a phrase to be taken so lightly. While playing, children learn important concepts about their abilities and relationships. The more than 400 games in this inspiring and valuable professional resource build on children's love of fantasy, action, creativity, rhythm, and rhyme. Learning is subtly incorporated in the guise of a lighthearted romp. Many of the activities are appropriate also for developmentally delayed adults and elders. Author Barbara Sher, M.A., OTR, is an occupational therapist with an extensive background in child development. Instilling her own sense of humor and imagination into the instructions, she knows how ordinary games can be used to consciously develop skills and a positive self-image. She also shows adults that it is not too late to join the fun. Children's all-around development is enhanced because the games have no right or wrong responses, need no special equipment (players imagine most of the props), and are not concerned with winning and losing. The activities have been designed or adapted to enhance: *Relaxation*Imagination *Flexibility*Self-esteem *Relationships*Self-knowledge *Sensory awareness*Perceptual motor skills