Reviews - Activities and Games
This book offers the reader a tantalising menu of ideas to create the perfect
banquet that will keep any child or young person entertained for hours.
An essential 'back pocket'
handbook for all
playworkers, parents, carers and
practitioners to pull on for inspiration. It is a
collection of all the traditional old time favourite games
parents and grandparents used to play before the electronic
era exploded into the 21st century.
How many times have you struggled to come up with some
ingenious game that requires no resources, no equipment
and just a little imagination? This book provides a multitude
of ideas to play anywhere and anytime without the need for
money or fancy gear.
Being a child of the 70's, I played many of these games in
my youth and had a fantastic time with friends, amusing
ourselves for hours at a time; when coming home scruffy,
dirty and with 'scabs' on our knees was an indication of how
much fun we'd had and not an excuse to 'ground' you. Now
I struggle to remember the details of many of my favourites,
but with a quick reference to this book, full details and more
suggestions are available to give you many hours of fun. A
smaller, paperback edition would provide easier access to
the treasure trove of ideas featured in this book.
Written by Janet Orrock, Play Development Co-ordinator,
Northumberland Early Years and Childcare Service.
This book is fantastic! It is far more than an instructional guide to
puppet making. Baric's narrative throughout is interesting, witty and
incredibly inspirational, teamed with Kristiina Louhi's beautiful
illustrations, both children and adults are welcomed into the magical
world of puppetry.
The book is split into twelve different themes, including and ranging
from finger puppets and table top theatres to rod puppets and
shadow theatres. There are so many ideas and helpful tips to
creating the most basic to the most extraordinary puppet shows.
You can't help but want to unleash your creativity upon flicking through the pages. Children of all ages will
adore this book due to the lively pictures that accompany the writing and fill every page, and children who
don't usually like crafts can still get involved by helping build the theatre or providing the sound effects.
There really is something to spark everyone's imaginations!
Written by Deborah Fullwood, manager of an out of school club and SEN TA.
Jabulani is the African word for rejoice. Being almost tone deaf with no
sense of rhythm music is something I have never rejoiced about! This
book however has gone some way to change that. A trip to the scrap shop
and a few sessions exploring the first section of the book certainly
increased the enthusiasm of all involved. Some of the instruments were
harder to make than others but using our own bodies to make sounds was
a big hit! I only wish we had the resources to make a large resonance
board.
The remaining sections of the book are all about ways to use the music.
Some of which were more popular than others! The warm-up activities
helped to focus everyone on the task in hand whilst warming up our voices
caused great hilarity. This then led to improvised human beat boxes and
a great rapping session.
I would recommend this book for anyone who struggles with musical activities. It is great fun and
has ideas to suit most people and even has examples of how you can run musical sessions. If you
are unsure you can always experiment with the ideas at home first by using the CD supplied with
the book - just make sure the windows are shut!
Written by Sandra Roberts.
When I first opened this book I found a page with
a yellow Post-It Note on which is scrawled "I like
this". The game is 'Splitz Kidz' and describes
how children can make short throwing spears to
play splits; rather than the game of my
childhood that involved using ones penknife.
The kids will still get to use knives to make their
spear; the instructions for cutting and knife safety are
comprehensive. This book is a great read, and whenever I
pick it up I find a new idea of Chris's that I want to try out.
This summer I'll be 'Filtering Water with Rubbish' and can't
wait to get some kids to play the human woodlouse activity.
They'll enjoy the challenge and I will laugh (a lot) watching
them bump blindfold about the environment.
Chris includes a dialogue within his instructions,
which make good reading, and provide a script
for the practitioner to adapt for their own use. My
only gripe with the book is that the photos could
be in colour or higher definition, but that's pretty
petty to be honest.
The book is superb value. £15.95 gets you plenty of
crafty ideas, activities for exploring nature, bushcraft
ideas, instructions and photos for some crucial
knots and lashings, cooking and ceremony ideas. In
fact I'm going to buy myself a copy and give this one
back to my colleague Eleanor Image, presumably the
person behind the enthusiastic Post-It Note!
Written by Suzannah Walker (and Eleanor Image), Play Association Tower Hamlets.
Links to other review sections:
Activities and Games,
Behaviour,
Management,
Outdoor Play,
Play,
Play in Schools,
Playwork Theory,
Play Therapy,
Playwork,
Rights and Responsibilities.
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