http://www.fridayschildmontessori.com/blog/non-competitive-games/ A game can be boisterous without having winners and losers, including some traditional games. Suggestions include tossing soft toys in blankets, Socks Off, Sardines, blowing bubbles, Musical Dress-Ups, treasure hunts and obstacle courses – and slime fights. Adult supervision is usually necessary for pre-schoolers – and the adults can join in too, if they like.

1. Non-Competitive Games
www.fridayschildmontessori.com

2. The trouble with a lot of traditional
organised games for children
(of all ages – not just pre-schoolers)
is that they involve
winners and losers.

3. This can be a bit worrisome for some
parents who would rather that children
avoid intense competition and the
problem of getting a
child who either

4. (a) wins everything and gets
unbearably arrogant about it or
(b) loses everything and ends up with a
self-esteem problem.

5. A little competition now and again
won’t hurt and some children enjoy
races and the like.

6. But there’s no real need to have every
single organised game at a party or
“play date” a competitive game with
winners and losers.

7. However, there are a lot of non-
competitive games out there that
children (and adults) can enjoy.

8. This doesn’t mean that these are quiet
games where you all sit around giving
each other group hugs, any more than
children who go to Montessori
preschools are chaotic and unable to
stick to a programme

9. (or hyper-neat and organised,
depending which Montessori myth
your uninformed auntie spouts when
you mention that you’re sending your
son or daughter to Friday’s Child
Montessori).

10. A lot of non-competitive games are
quite boisterous. A lot of them are
traditional. And one of the good things
about these games is that everyone can
join in and give it all
they’ve got, no matter how old
or young they are.

11. Having said that, some of these games
are more appropriate for slightly older
pre-schoolers compared to, say, two-
year-olds – but that won’t stop t
he two-year-old joining in and
having a blast!

12. Here’s a selection, which could
come in handy if you’re
organising a children’s party or if
you’re going to be in charge of
entertaining the children this
Christmas:

13. Socks Off. For this game, everyone
has to be wearing socks (but not tights)
and no shoes.

14. Everyone gets down on their hands and
knees and the aim of the game is to
remove everyone else’s socks while not
letting yours come off.

15. If your socks are pulled off, you’re not
out but you just keep on going. The
game ends when everyone’s barefoot.

16. If you want to get really technical, the
person who is last to lose a sock could
be called a winner, but this game is so
much fun that
this is irrelevant.

17. Blanket Toss. Get a large blanket and
put a selection of soft toys in it.

18. This really does mean soft all over so
watch out for any teddies with hard
plastic noses or huge goopy plastic
eyes.

19. Definitely leave Barbie dolls and similar
off. Everyone grabs and edge or a
corner of the blanket and shakes it to
make the soft toys fly
up in the air.

20. The game ends when all the teddies
have flown off the blanket and/or
everyone’s exhausted. A variation can
be played with balloons, although these
fly off more readily.

21. Obstacle Courses. Use chairs, tables,
blankets, large boxes, beanbags and the
like to create an obstacle course.

22. Children take turns at negotiating their
way up, around, over, through and
under the obstacles.

23. On a hot day, if the children are dressed
appropriately for it, one obstacle could
be a lawn sprinkler that has to be
jumped or stepped over.

24. Bubble Blowing. Make bubble wands
from those plastic ring things that let
you know that you’re the first one into a
bottle of juice – pinch one part of the
circle into a point and stick this point
down a drinking straw.

25. You can also make them out of various
bits of wire or buy a cheap set that
comes with bubble mixture. Make
mixture by combining dishwashing
liquid, sugar (or, better still, glycerine –
but who’s got that in the kitchen
cupboard?) and water.

26. Experiment to get the right consistency
and don’t overdo the sugar. Put the
bubble mix in a series of dishes and
bowls and issue each child with a
bubble wand.

27. It’s best to do this outside where the
wind will blow the bubbles away very
prettily and where inevitable spills and
the residue from popped bubbles won’t
make the floor sticky.

28. Treasure Hunts: Like the Amazing
Race, you start with a clue that takes
you to a new location, where you’ll find
another clue and so on until you get to
the final destination where
there is a stash of treasure
to be shared

29. (if you do this for a birthday party, the
treasure could be the party bags or stuff
to go into them). Keep the number of
clues and the difficulty of them
age-appropriate.

30. More non-competitive game ideas at
www.fridayschildmontessori.com/blog/non-competitive-games