Party Time Lessons
When you ask a bunch of adults if they want to play Charades, you’ll likely receive smiles and enthusiasm from some folks and groans from others. Ray, our kids, and I would be among the smilers. We have played hours of Charades and created fun memories of each other and of our guests.
We’ve used cards from the same Charades game I found at Big Lots® decades ago to play our own modified version. You can see the already-tattered box in these pictures of Ray and me back in 2006.
We divide into teams, often the guys against the girls. Then, the first guy tries to get the other guys to guess what he is acting out. We play a sort of lightning version in which a player has one minute to act out as many things as he can. His team gets a point for everything his teammates guess correctly. He loses a point for everything he skips on his card, but we give grace for things the player has never heard of. Then, the first girl tries to get her team to guess what she is acting out. And on we go until every person has had a turn — or two or three, depending on how long we want to play.
Yesterday I talked about meshing family fun, family time, and family learning. Charades is one way to do that. I believe the game teaches children valuable lessons, including these:
- How to stand in front of a group,
- How to think on their feet,
- How to use their imaginations,
- How to communicate non-verbally,
- How to be comfortable in their own bodies,
- How to handle losing and winning,
- How to handle embarrassment,
- How to laugh at themselves,
- How to enjoy friendly competition, and
- How to work as a team and encourage both their teammates and their opponents.
In many ways, charades can teach every player a good dose of kindness and humility.
To sum up, all of you be harmonious,
sympathetic, brotherly,
kindhearted, and humble in spirit;
not returning evil for evil or insult for insult,
but giving a blessing instead;
for you were called for the very purpose
that you might inherit a blessing.
1 Peter 3:8-9
This is wonderful. I have played Charades but never considered all of the things it can teach a young person. Yes, we will be implementing this into some of our party time. Thank you Mrs. Notgrass for this enlightenment.
Blessings,
Johnna
You blessed me with your kind words. Thank you much for that sweet encouragement.