The design of board games by the Senior Kindergarten children began with close observation of the children and their interests.  They were drawn to the recycling basket which was filled with all sorts of materials.  As they were “messing” about with the materials, they began to have a dialogue with each other about what they were making. “Games” and “Playing” came into conversation with each other. They became excited and engaged with drawing, cutting, gluing and assembling objects that began to have “game – like” attributes such as how to move pieces, and what were  the rules for engaging together.  This provided a perfect entry into the creation of games.

Thinking, Planning, Designing. 

Testing.

Collaborating and refining.

Sharing our knowledge with the Grade 5/6 Class.

They were excited to share and teach what they had learned to their Grade 5 and 6 “learning buddies”. Some of the learning they shared was:

• L: “Some games have rolling, some have walking, and some have flying.”
• M: “You should make a “Start” sign at the beginning of the game.
• A: “The players have to look different from the other parts of the game.”
• L: “You can roll a dice. It has dots on it. You count the dots to move.”
• A: “Make arrows to see what direction to go in.”
• Y” You can use a spinner and spin the teapot.”
• O. and I.: “Think in your head about what is fair, how to take turns, and how many players there are in the game.”
• S: “The players need to stand.”
• T: “Make little squares, make a dice roll it, see what number you get, then start playing the game.”

The SK children will next use this knowledge to build a game in the “Tinker Lab” that relates to their study of bugs.