Last week, I conducted party games for Yume Kirara kids. Each day, I prepared different party games for the kids to play. My initial goals were to teach the kids how to play western party games and be able to work with other grade levels as a team.

The winners took special prizes of snacks that they could enjoy at home. On Monday, we did an egg-and-spoon relay game. As the name suggests, an egg was placed on a spoon and the children would relay it to other members of the group. On Tuesday, we played a paper dance game. I handed newspapers to the students. They danced when they heard the music, and when it stopped, they stepped on the paper. They folded the paper for the next round and so forth until a winner was decided. On Wednesday, we played pass the parcel. As the music played, they passed the parcel and when it stopped, the student holding the parcel would open a present. We did it until everyone received a parcel. Each of the students brought home a present of different school stuff. On Thursday, we did a cleaning relay. Each of the members would do a specific cleaning task. On Friday, we played a money-scooping game. Using a flat spatula, blind folded players would scoop fake money on the table and place it in the basket. The winner is decided based on how much money the team got.

Prizes were given to motivate each student to do their best. But, at the end of the activity, I also handed consolation prizes to those who didn’t win for their effort and good sportsmanship. 

As I held this activity, I realized that there were more important things children should learn in playing games. One is the value of playing nicely by following the rules. It’s never a good feeling to win when you cheat. They should also learn to accept defeat because it’s a natural thing to experience. We don’t always win, but it’s okay because what’s important is the lesson you learned from it. Finally, I want them to realize that what matters is that everyone had fun and enjoyed the games we did.