In school, children are faced with not only the task of learning, but also with the task of meeting new people. Elementary school education is the launch pad for introducing children to the social world. Some children, if more outgoing than others, find that being social is their forte.
Regardless of whether or not your child fares well in social situations, teachers and parents should encourage their children to meet other people.
However, meeting others is only the first step; being able to interact with others can prove to be more difficult. With that said, it is imperative that children are immersed in social activities when they are young. Taking these early steps will ensure that children can be more comfortable around others as they continue to live their lives.
There are lots of social activities you can have your child partake in. Below are some great examples.
Sports
This is perhaps the best way of interacting socially. Sports, especially team sports such as soccer or basketball, encourage children to work with others. Team sports are a concerted team effort, and somewhat forces children to have to be social with each other. A game cannot be played effectively and well without the communication and interaction between team players.
Even single-player sports can help a child socialize. Many individual sports have leagues or classes. By signing your child up for one of these, they can meet people who enjoy the same sport as them. This will give them a great platform on which to bond with these other kids. They'll also be able to meet others at competitions.
Breaking the Ice
Adults participate in this game in job situations as well. This is another version of the name game or “getting to know you”. On the first day of a class, a teacher can ask their students to go around the room and tell each other one fact about themselves. Or, they can go around, introduce themselves, and try to remember each other’s names. After the activity is done, the teacher can ask that all the students sit down and reiterate what they learned about each other.
Name That Quality
This is an activity that involves children recognizing others’ best traits. Teachers can ask their students to sit in a circle. Starting with one child, have him or her state one good personality trait about the person sitting to their left. Then, have that child say something nice about the next person and so on. This is a great way to teach kindness and appreciation for others. You can also have each child name a quality about themselves that they like, to help build confidence and self-esteem, in addition to naming a quality about another person.
Secret Pal
Similar to the holiday game of Secret Santa. Over the duration of a week, a teacher can have his or her students draw names out of a hat. The name that is chosen is their secret pal. For every day of the week, that child will find a different present in their cubby hole. On the final and last day of the week, the kids will have to guess who their secret pal is. This really can be challenging for some because they have to try to pinpoint who their secret pal is based on the presents that they’ve received. It's a great way for new friendships to form!
Make Them Laugh
This activity can be a lot of fun. Teachers will ask one of their students to stand and freeze like a statue. The other kids will do everything in their power to try to make the statue kid laugh. This can be either really easy or really hard, depending on the child. The other kids will have to figure out what makes the frozen kid crack!
Team Games
Many games in school involve teams to help kids learn how to work with others. A team game doesn't have to be a sport, although kids will likely have their first team experience as part of a sport. Team games can be academic, such as trivia. Or, they can be physical without counting as a sport, such as charades.
Team games can also be played at kids' parties, to help strengthen bonds between friends. Like sports, a team game forces all of the children participating to work together towards a common goal. While at times this can turn messy due to the competitiveness of children, with the guidance of an adult everyone can have fun.
Involving your child in any of these activities will help them learn how to socialize properly with others. Being able to interact properly with their peers will help them throughout their entire life, especially as they get older and greater social pressure is placed on them. By starting early, you'll set them up for great success.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©hortongroup / freeimages.