Game of the month: Team Musical Chairs

This activity is fun and you can play it many times throughout the year!

Materials:

The same number of desk chairs per participant minus one.

Music or noise maker (optional)

Description:

This game is like musical chairs. All of the chairs need to be placed in a circle with the seat facing outwards. All of the participants will walk in a circle around the chairs and when the music stops/time is up, EVERY participant must find a place to sit. Like Musical Chairs, in the following rounds 1 chair will be taken away before the start of each round. However, in Team Musical Chairs, no one gets eliminated. Instead, the goal is to have EVERYONE on a chair. The only rule is that every body part must be off the floor for the class to be successful in that round. This will get more and more challenging as chairs get eliminated. Challenge your class to see how few chairs they can fit on!

Game of the month: Snowman-Hangman

Have some creative fun outside by playing hangman with a snowy twist!

Materials:

up to 25 Short Sticks (or something else to mark letters), Snow

(optional) Snowman materials: hat, scarf, buttons, etc.

Description:

• This game is hangman with a snowy twist.
• This game is to be played outside and requires a minimum of two players to play the game.
• Like in traditional Hangman, one person, the “password selector”, will pick a word or phrase, and using branches or even simply making marks in the snow identify the number of letters in the word or phrase.
• After the markings have been made the game can begin. The other player(s) can start guessing letters
• If a letter is correctly guessed, the Password Selector will carve that letter into the snow at each position that letter appears in the secret word / phrase.
• If a letter is incorrectly guessed, instead of simply drawing out a stick figure on a paper, the Password Selector will add a piece to a snowman.
• To save time the snowman’s main parts can be built in advance, but not yet assembled.
• If the snowman is completely built before the people can guess the word the game is over and can be restarted. (You should pre-determine how many pieces must be added for a round to be considered over. Suggested snowman parts include: head, torso, bottom, arms, eyes, nose, mouth and hat if available.)

Season's Greetings!

Season's Greetings

We would like to wish you a happy holiday season and extend our best wishes to you and your family in the new year.

From,
The Dynamix Team

Safeguard kids against cyber-bullying

Posted by: Mitch Zeltzer

Whether for homework or chatting with friends, kids spend a lot of time online.  Chatting and messaging friends can be fun, but it can quickly turn ugly when kids encounter cyber-bullies.

One Possible Solution: Encourage real interaction with outdoor play!

Many kids today spend endless hours glued to the television or their computers. Why not encourage them to power off their electronics and go play outside. Whether it is the summer or winter kids can play outside, they only need to dressed appropriately. They can play many games that can include little to no equipment. (visit our website, www.getdynamix.com, and sign up for our monthly newsletter for a new game idea every month!!)


Naturally this won't eradicate the problem, as online interaction has become part of daily routines in today's world. (Not to belabour the point but you are more than likely reading this online yourself!) So assuming we all accept that as a reality of today's world, we need to implement some structure to keep our children safe when online.


For some great tips on how to safeguard your children from cyber-bullying, be sure to check out our November Issue of our newsletter, Dynamix: Get Connected. http://eepurl.com/bC7tP


 

Do-It-Yourself Costume Ideas, and more!

If you are looking for some great Do-It-Yourself Costume ideas, you have to check out our most recent issue of Dynamix: Get Connected!


In this month's issue:

1. Top 5: Costumes You Can Make Yourself!
2. Trick or Treating Safety Tips
3. Game of the Month: Spider Tag
4. Featured Workshop: The Great Treasure Hunt!

See it all here: http://eepurl.com/bicj1

And be sure to sign up for all future mailings here:

Quebec Edition

Ontario Edition

Are water guns bad for kids?

Written by Adam Kertesz

I recently got into a very interesting debate on Facebook and I thought it would be make a great blog entry as I'm curious to know what people's opinions on this matter are.
A friend of mine [we'll call her "Shawna"] posted on her Facebook page that her 4 year old son's camp was having a giant water fight the next day, and have asked the kids to bring in water guns. Shawna wasn't comfortable with this as she feels kids should not be playing with guns of any kind, even ones that shoot water.

It led to a series of interesting comments. here are some highlights that stood out to me:

"um xxxxxx picked up a stick yesterday and called it a shooter and we don't even have any guns!! Yes she has a big brother but still you just can't get away from these things!"

" ok but just because he's gonna learn to swear from his friends (or wherever...) doesn't mean it's going to be ok for HIM to swear in the house, right?"

" [...]children can be taught the difference between water guns (AKA Super soaker_ and violent guns... xxxxxxxx and yyyyyyy play water fight hide and seek in the back yard and "GUN VIOLENCE" the awareness of "GUNS" isn't even a thought i...n her mind... She just thinks its a fun way to spray people...."

" [...] how do you say ok to guns now and then teach them that they are actually bad when they get older?"

"If you ask [my children] they will tell you a gun is something that people use to hurt other people; so tell me, why would I let them even pretend to use one?!"


While most people who commented are parents, and I admittedly am not, the debate struck a chord with me and I felt compelled to get involved. Here are my thoughts.
First, there is a big difference between a toy gun and a water gun. I am heavily opposed to toy guns where their only purpose is for the child to pretend they are holding a real gun. While I think proper education can teach the child to separate a toy gun from a real gun, it is still not something that I feel is appropriate for a child to simulate.
A water gun however, is meant to be a fun toy. 95% of water guns, especially the popular Super Soakers, are big, bright, fun looking and colorful. That is not a coincidence. I do not even feel children under the age of 6 would make the correlation to actual gun and gun violence (if they are even aware of real guns).
To children, a Super Soaker used in a water fight is just a really fun device used for squirting water.

Of course this comes with a major 'BUT....'. Kids are smart. We all know that. It is not a far reach from Point A to Point B for the children to realize that there are similarities between a fun water gun and a real violent gun. And that is where the parents, teachers, and other influences in the children's lives come into play. Kids can and should be taught the difference between the two. And I believe it is not as ambiguous a difference as some people think. A real gun that they may have seen on TV is used by 'bad guys' for hurting people. A fun, exciting fluorescent green and orange Super Soaker is a toy, but should only be used in a fun water fight.

Please comment below as I'd love to hear your thoughts on this rather interesting debate.

And tune in next week when we discuss if having a water fight can lead to children wanting to start a real war... (that's a joke!...)

Happy Monday!

How to deal with separation anxiety

Written by: Nicky Praseuth

September is just around the corner and it starts a whole new school year for many children. Whether it be that they are returning to school or starting school for the first time. From a full summer of playing, going to camp, or just spending time at home with the family, many children will have trouble adjusting to their new environment for the first couple weeks.

Anxiety is a normal feeling when moving from one environment to another that is unfamiliar. Reactions to distress vary from child to child with common reactions such as crying, clinging, and whining.

Here are some ways you can help your child with their anxiety:

1. Prepare and discuss with them in advance that they will be going to school soon. Explain that their routine will change (play time, sleep time etc.) and that they will have a new teacher and be able to make new friends. If you know, inform your child about who their teacher will be and which children will be in their class that they are familiar with.
2. Be positive and try to make their transition fun and exciting! Let them know that you are excited to hear all about their day after school.
3. If they are sad or upset, let them know it is ok to be sad and reassure them that you (or whoever) will be back to pick them up.
4. Don’t sneak out but keep your good-byes short and sweet. Make sure you follow through with what you say you are doing. So if you say bye, do not hover around.
5. Lastly, make it a routine and follow through! Children need consistency.

For more information visit, http://www.ivillage.com/separation-anxiety-15-ways-ease-your-childs-fears/6-a-145201