Games’ Goal: “Spontaneity and Joy”

Rosangela Snavely is on the big playground teaching children to jump rope. This game is unfamiliar to most children today, and she encourages participants by having those who have gathered around to cheer for a child who can only execute a few jumps over a stationary rope. Responding to her enthusiasm, the children cheer and call out the child’s name each time she makes it over the rope, and lo and behold, she is able to jump 20 times.

With the new school year, Rosangela, a teacher and mother of two student in our elementary school, has just begun a fun “game-playing program” two times a week in both preschool and on the playground after lunch.

Rosangela surprises children every Tuesday and Thursday with new activities that ease them out of their comfort zones and entice them to try new things. One day she assembles an obstacle course, on another she might initiate a game of tag. Bringing the element of surprise into activities encourages children’s curiosity, engagement, and problem solving and allows them to respond to challenges in quick, innovative ways. In these new games, everyone becomes a learner and the diversity of the activities allows them to acquire new physical skills.

In competitive games, it’s natural that some children who are not highly skilled may feel tentative about participating. Children who aren’t naturally adept at physical activities often tell themselves “I’m not good at that” and opt to find something else to do. However, few children today are super stars at managing an obstacle course, jumping rope, or playing hopscotch or marbles or games like “Simon says.” Rosangela’s goal is to get everyone moving in fresh, motivating ways and to create opportunities for social connection where everyone feels confident.

Studies show that children have tended to become more sedentary after the pandemic, and providing a range of age-appropriate physical activities can help their overall physical fitness and remind them of the delight of movement. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children ages six to 17 have 60 minutes of aerobic activity a day and muscle-strengthening exercise three times a week. Catherine Thompson offers elementary school students a wonderful physical education program involving everyone in skill- and strength-building activities. Rosangela’s new twice-a-week surprise activity is designed to get children moving and involved with each other in new and motivating ways.

In our area, parents typically enroll children in team sports, like soccer, at a young age, often before they understand the game or know which way to run on the field. Sports are fun, but they can also represent another structured activity in a child’s life and a competitive venue where some people win and some people lose. Winning and losing are part of life, but the regimentation of team sports and burnout from too many scheduled activities in their lives causes a high proportion of children to eventually quit sports unless they are highly skilled. The reason they give: the games lack a feeling of spontaneity and joy.

The question for all of us in this age when we sit a lot and attend to digital devices: “How can we bring spontaneity back into physical activity and promote non-competitive feelings of fun?” Adults need physical activity and fun too. Families can engage in spontaneous physical activities at home that feel like free play: balloon volleyball, freeze dance, sock toss, hide-and-seek, table tennis, or a homemade obstacle course. Try Rosangela’s idea of cheering each other on when trying new activities so everyone will feel motivated to join in the fun.