Last week, I was assigned to do foreign games as an afternoon activity for the kids. I searched fun and engaging games from other countries that the kids would enjoy playing. I chose animals as a theme for this week’s activity. I planned different animal-themed game each day so that kids would learn as many foreign games. I prepared a powerpoint presentation with a short video of how the game is played. There were some adjustments made to secure the kids safety because at Yume Kirara we prioritized everyone’s safety.

On Monday, we played “Luta de Galo” or Fight of the Roosters. It is a famous game in Brazil. To play it, a handkerchief is placed at the player’s back pocket to serve as the “tail” of the rooster. Two players will face each other and stand in one leg while one arm is positioned cross their chest. They will then get the opponent’s handkerchief. The first one who get it will score a point.

On Tuesday, we played “Rumal Jhapatta” or Dog and Bone. It’s a game in India. Two kids will race to get the ball inside the hula hoop. When one gets it, the other player has to tag him/her to secure a point. When a player successfully goes back to his/her team without being tagged, he/she gets a point. Since the weather was nice, we played it outside.

On Wednesday, we played Leapfrog, a game from America. It’s a popular game that other countries have adapted and called it with different names. In Japan, it’s known as うまとび. Because it’s dangerous to play this game as it is, I changed it a bit by asking the kids to jump over small toy ducks. They had to jump as if they are frogs. The player who did it the fastest gains a point. We did this game outside so kids could jump on a wider space.

On Thursday, first and second graders played animal croquet. Croquet is game that was popularized in France. When I presented it with the kids, they said that it’s like a golf. It seems like golf, but instead of holes, we used animal croquet hoops that looks like small animal gates. A point is rewarded to the first player who successfully has the ball pass through the gates using a swatter since we didn’t have croquet mallets. We played it outside because we had a huge number of kids.

Third and fourth graders played Leapfrog on Thursday because the students who came this day were not on Wednesday.

On Friday, first and second graders played the fight of the roosters because most of the students who came this day didn’t have a lesson on Monday. And third and fourth graders played the animal croquet.

I awarded the students who scored the highest with their chosen snacks. This motivated them to follow the rules more carefully and to play the games properly.

I hope to see them play these games during their free time.