SmartFun Activity Books

Originally written for drama teachers working with students aged 9 to 18, this collection of short, snappy theater dialogues makes the perfect short break activity in any classroom, camp, or youth group situation. Students get much more out of these dialogues than just acting practice: they increase alertness, cultivate curiosity, boost literacy, and improve school attendance. The one-to-one dialogue format facilitates friendships and allows shy students to demonstrate new skills. Written by a family of drama experts, each dialogue centers around a theme related to young life: food, parents, hobbies, movies, even falling in love, to name just a few. Each dialogue is introduced with brief notes suggesting different ways of playing them at different ages and tips for adapting the dialogues to different age groups and situations.

The movement games in this book are intended to cultivate children's social and creative abilities. Some are based on playground games, others on professional theater and dance exercises. The games described are divided into ten categories including touch and reaction, concentration and puzzles, impersonation and cooperation, and music and movement.

Playing with your offspring helps parents to meet their children as equals and to bring fun and laughter into family life. When we laugh and have fun together, tensions are dissolved, and we come fully alive. In this age of electronic media, families are simply forgetting the many wonderful ways of playing together.101 FAMILY VACATION GAMES includes different types of games new and old and from all around the world that create a wonderful repertoire for parents to explore with their families. The author encourages parents to use games as a parenting skill and finds that parents who do this cause their families to blossom and bubble over with vitality. Although the book focuses on games for families on vacation, the games can be used for any time when parents or other adults want to engage with children in a positive and fun-filled manner, helping the children to learn and laugh, and building lasting relationships between children and adults. The book includes games to play at the beach, camping, in the car, on the plane, at picnics, at vacation homes, and at birthday parties. Some sample games: Word Tennis, Treasure Hunt, Pebble Pictures, Storytelling Starters. Age level is 4 and up.

This introduction to yoga for children contains variations on traditional yoga postures that help children develop physical strength, flexibility, emotional calm, and self-expression. The games involve relaxation, trust, and cooperation. Included are over 50 illustrations and 16 completely structured lessons based on themes like the seasons, rain, snow, and animals.

How do you teach tolerance, self-awareness, and responsibility? How can you help children deal with fear, mistrust, or aggression? Play a game with them! Games are an ideal way to help children develop social and emotional skills; they are exciting, relaxing, and fun. 101 LIFE MORE SKILLS GAMES FOR CHILDREN: LEARNING, GROWING, GETTING ALONG (Ages 9-15) is a resource that can help children understand and deal with problems that arise in daily interactions with other children and adults. These games help children develop social and emotional skills and enhance self-awareness. The games address the following issues: dependence, aggression, fear, resentment, disability, accusations, boasting, honesty, flexibility, patience, secrets, conscience, inhibitions, stereotypes, noise, lying, performance, closeness, weaknesses, self confidence, fun, reassurance, love, respect, integrating a new classmate, group conflict. Organized in three main chapters: (I-Games, You-Games and We-Games), the book is well structured and easily accessible. It specifies an objective for every game, gives step-by-step instructions, and offers questions for reflection. It provides possible variations for each game, examples, tips, and ideas for role plays. Each game contains references to appropriate follow-up games and is illustrated with charming drawings.

Award-winning comedian Leigh Anne Jasheway has written 101 Comedy Games for Children and Grown-Ups specifically to make readers laugh. Laughter provides great health benefits, reducing tension and improving overall mood. Jasheway's book connects readers of all ages with their inner five-year-old, providing 101 games and activities to increase their laugh quota and decrease the pressure in their stress-o-meters. With Jasheway's help, readers can improve their emotional health and have a great time doing it. 101 Comedy Games for Children and Grown-Ups includes eight different sections, each geared toward a different genre of comedy. The first section concentrates on introductory games for getting to know fellow participants and familiarizing oneself with the basic rules of comedy. Later chapters introduce games geared toward a specific type of comedy. Each section includes numerous games, which are presented with a general description of the activity, the purpose behind it, a list of supplies (if necessary), helpful hints, and rule variations. Jasheway also provides a key to indicate the target ages for each activity, making it easier to pick the best games for the participating group. Jasheway's book promises to provide fun times and lots of laughs for anyone that picks it up!

This ingenious book uses the postures and movements of zoo animals to teach yoga movements to children. The first part of the book covers theoretical and practical information for parents and teachers working with yoga. Part two takes readers to every part of the zoo, from the insect and reptile houses to the ape cage and the oceanarium. Here youngsters come face to face with a tiger, look in the eyes of a giraffe, do the monkey dance, and walk as gracefully as a flamingo. Part three introduces the rules of the yoga lifestyle through a number of animal fables. Part four contains background information about the animals described in the book.

The benefits of water exercise and play have been well documented, and it's never too early to begin. This practical guide for children 4 and above contains games and activities for every skill level. All 101 games, from variations on classics like Follow the Leader to new ones like Message in a Bottle, are simple, easy to learn, and enjoyable for youngsters to play over and over again. Best of all, they burn calories and improve a child's overall fitness level. A special section covers exercises, including water walking and jumping and balance activities.

Designed to help teachers and group leaders create dynamic and supportive play environments, this book features completely different games than the first one. These improvisational, noncompetitive games encourage involvement and cooperation--the participants gain as much as they contribute. By expressing themselves physically and emotionally and by exploring a range of possibilities, players gain self-confidence and a greater awareness of the feelings and experiences of others. 39 black-and-white illustrations are included.

Drama games are not staged plays but a dynamic form in which children explore their minds and the world around them. They can use their play-acting in sensory games, pantomimes, story games with puppets, in creating masks and costumes, and much more. Drama games allow children to get more in touch with themselves and what they want to be, and are a delightful way to discover the freedom, creativity, and expression of acting- and living. The Smart Fun Activity series encourage imagination, social interaction, and self-expression in children. To make the books easy to use, games are marked according to appropriate age levels, length of play time, and group size, using helpful icons. Most games are non-competitive and none require special skills or training. The series is widely used in homes, schools, daycare centers, clubs, and summer camp.

When the circus isn't in town, children can still enjoy it at a birthday party, summer camp, drama class, or elementary school thanks to this colorful collection of circus-based games and activities. Ideal for children ages four through 12, the book draws on popular circus elements such as acrobatics, clowns, animal numbers, and balancing acts. The games are presented in a clear, simple way, range from ten to 45 minutes in length, and vary in complexity. Each section includes a "circus program" children can use if they want to plan an actual performance. Readily available props are used for some of the games, and costumes are encouraged for all! Noncompetitive and playable without special skills training, the activities in 101 Circus Games for Children provide delightful entertainment for participants and spectators alike.

101 More Improv Games for Children and Adults: A Smart Fun Book for Ages 5 and Up is the follow-up to Bob Bedore's popular 101 Improv Games for Children and Adults. This sequel takes us even deeper into the craft of improv - the magical art of creating something out of nothing - with all new games! Author Bob Bedore emphasizes how you can use improvisation, creativity, and teamwork any time, any place, to get your imagination flowing, win over a crowd, or be a wittier conversationalist. Actors and improv students will appreciate the author's fun, down-to-earth approach to developing theater craft. And improv isn't only for serious thespians. Used as a classroom activity, it teaches kids how to have fun, relax, and work together without seeming like an educational tool at all. Great on its own or as a companion to Bedore's first book, 101 More Improv Games for Children and Adults is centered around entertaining an audience and creating memorable scenes. This sequel includes information on how to produce your own improv show. 101 More Improv Games for Children and Adults is full of wacky and brilliant activities for kids, teachers, actors, comedians, improv groups, or anyone else.

What is the big deal about improv? It's fun. It strengthens our imagination, promotes self-confidence, increases spontaneity, promotes teamwork, and it's magic: it creates something out of nothing. 101 IMPROV GAMES FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS contains the basics: what improv is all about and how to do it, special instructions for how to teach improv to children, plus more advanced training on how to use your voice and body in ways you haven't thought of before. It has helpful hints for creating scenes and environments out of thin air. All this plus 101 games with simple instructions, from easy warm-up games to over-the-top crowd pleasers such as Fairy Tales, Bizarre Games, On Your Toes and Narrative Games. This is the tenth in the Hunter House Smart Fun activity books series, and the first one for adults as well as children. The book is a great resource for educators as well as for the professional actor or the layperson working with improv for fun. The book contains lively illustrations and is easy to use. Improv is about creating something out of nothing, but a really good improviser can create something great out of nothing. This book shows you how.

This invaluable resource helps K-3 teachers deal with restless, energetic students including those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The book contains quick movement breaks that can be used between other classroom activities to minimize disruptions and maintain a positive learning environment for all students. The activities, labeled according to appropriate age levels, length of play time, and group size, include shape recognition, stretching and relaxing, pantomime and imagination movements, balancing, and team relays. None of the activities require special skills, and there are enough for every day of the school year.

303 Preschooler-Approved Exercises and Active Games is written specifically for children ages 2-5 years old. In the Building Blocks of Fitness section, each fitness and sport skill is taught in different stages. This allows teachers, counselors, or parents to teach their preschooler a skill that sets the foundation of a more difficult skill; the next level adds a new and more complex element. By doing this, the preschool child will be safe and will feel confident about themselves. Children will learn: • Sportsmanship • Socialization skills • Self-control • How to focus and follow rules • How to share • Reasoning and thinking skills The preschool years are filled with milestones and major physical changes; young children will develop physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially. During this time, lifestyle behaviors begin to emerge that can define a pattern of behaviors all the way through adulthood. It is vital to a child's health to instill healthy lifestyle habits, behaviors, and disciplines during these young years. Through creative physical activities and easy-to-follow guidelines, this book will teach families how to navigate their dynamic and hectic lifestyles into a healthy and active lifestyle. Being physically active is an invaluable gift for a child, a gift that keeps on giving even into adulthood. What motivates a five year old will be different than what motivates a twelve year old. It's not a "one size fits all" when it comes to fitness. Children have specific physiologic differences that make them unique; they grow, mature and develop skills at different ages, so what may be skill appropriate for one child could be harmful for another child, fitness programs, exercises and activities must be designed specific to each developmental stage. Think of fitness in terms of building a pyramid. In order to have a strong foundation, preschoolers must learn the basic building blocks of fitness. Each year, as kids grow older, they are building on the foundations that were created in the previous years and moving on to more complex movements and skills. Moving from hitting a stationary ball to one that is thrown, bouncing a ball with two hands to bouncing it with one, and progressing from a bike with training wheels to one without, are all milestones that are accomplished during childhood. Kids will play longer and harder than those at the earlier stage of development. They can actually follow multi-task directions (e.g., run to the cone, jump up and down three times, then run back to me) and enjoy playing in a group more. For quick access and easy to follow directions, the activities are organized into six sections of different games and exercises that can easily fit into a child's allotted playtime. Throughout these sections, children can become more aware of their bodily functions, develop sportsmanship and team-working skills, increase energy expenditure, help strengthen muscles and bones, and improve cardiovascular endurance. Preschoolers can decrease the risk of serious illnesses later in life while increasing their creative development. Play and exercise helps children to grow and learn about how the world works. 303 Preschooler-Approved Exercises and Active Games is a physically active way to bring fun and laughter into a child's life.

Language games allow children to stretch their communication abilities, enhancing vocabulary, conversation, and storytelling skills. A suggested age range accompanies each game in this book; some games may be adapted to different age groups. Language games for beginners focus on making children aware of the ways letters look, the presence of letters in their surroundings (on signs, for instance), and the different letter systems in different cultures. More advanced games include creating poems and haiku, making up stories, and joke-telling. 39 black-and-white illustrations are included in this wonderful resource for teachers, therapists, and social workers.

This book is not just for classrooms or families with overweight or unhealthy kids, every family that has children with televisions, computers, and/or video games under one roof should take care to exercise regularly. 'Tweens spend as much time sitting down watching TV, playing video games, or using computers as they spend in school each week. According to statistics from the U.S. Health and Human Resources Department, one third of American children are overweight or obese due to our lifestyle choices. The number one concern that parents bring up to pediatricians is keeping kids fit, and half of all children are not physically active enough for the development of a healthy cardiovascular system. In this age of electronic media, where we become watchers instead of doers, we are simply forgetting the many wonderful ways of playing and exercising together.

Yoga provides not only an excellent, low-impact workout, it also helps young people in key areas such as body awareness, flexibility, concentration, stress reduction, and self-expression. The exercises and games in this easy-to-follow guide are specifically designed to fit the needs of teenagers and to show teens how to work out and train their bodies in a relaxed way. It requires no advance knowledge or preparation and can be used by anyone working with teens between the ages of 10 and 20. The exercises are divided into static postures, dynamic postures, and exercises in pairs. There are also visualization and meditation exercises based on the four elements of nature as well as an introduction to the basics of yoga philosophy. The book can be used with large and small groups or as part of a parent-teen activity. Practicing yoga together is a perfect opportunity for parents and teens to exercise, talk, and spend time together in a healthy, positive manner.

Encourages children to develop their imaginations, social skills, self-expression, and coordination with a collection of 101 dance games that emphasize creativity, no-blame activities, working with a group, and more.

This lively and imaginative book is being used in homes and schools in over 13 countries to help children learn about music and sound while they develop the ability to listen, concentrate, be creative, improvise, and trust one another. Using audiocassettes or CDs, of popular songs and simple instruments children and adults get to play listening games, concentration games, musical quizzes, trust games, guessing games, and more. The games are not competitive-they encourage and reward children for participation, not for winning. The SmartFunActivity series encourage imagination, social interaction, and self-expression in children. To make the books easy to use, games are marked according to appropriate age levels, length of play time, and group size, using helpful icons. Most games are non-competitive and none require special skills or training. The series is widely used in homes, schools, daycare centers, clubs, and summer camps.

This book is filled with dance games that the whole classroom or family can play and learn from. These noncompetitive games reward children for their involvement, encourage them to use their imagination, and show them how to express how they feel without using words. Black-and-white illustrations add to these simple games that release a child's spontaneity and self-expression.

How do you teach tolerance, self-awareness, and responsibility? How can you help children deal with fear, mistrust, or aggression? Play a game with them! Games are an ideal way to help children develop social and emotional skills; they are exciting, relaxing, and fun. 101 LIFE SKILLS GAMES FOR CHILDREN: LEARNING, GROWING, GETTING ALONG (Ages 6-12) is a resource that can help children understand and deal with problems that arise in daily interactions with other children and adults. These games help children develop social and emotional skills and enhance self-awareness. The games address the following issues: dependence, aggression, fear, resentment, disability, accusations, boasting, honesty, flexibility, patience, secrets, conscience, inhibitions, stereotypes, noise, lying, performance, closeness, weaknesses, self-confidence, fun, reassurance, love, respect, integrating a new classmate, group conflict. Organized in three main chapters: (I-Games, You-Games and We-Games), the book is well structured and easily accessible. It specifies an objective for every game, gives step-by-step instructions, and offers questions for reflection. It provides possible variations for each game, examples, tips, and ideas for role plays. Each game contains references to appropriate follow-up games and is illustrated with charming drawings.

This action-packed compendium offers parents, teachers, and anyone else who works with kids a wide array of ingenious sound and dance activities from a variety of cultures to get kids singing, dancing, listening, interacting, and involved. 101 More Music Games for Children includes games that facilitate musical development, such as sound games, rhythm games, game projects, and card and board games. All of them have simple, clear rules, and they stress excitement, humor, challenge, surprise, and cooperation rather than competition. Whether or not kids are "musical" or play an instrument, these activities can help them: develop musical skills such as spontaneous singing; create, play, and recognize various rhythms; appreciate the structure of sounds; and learn how to play with all kinds of instruments. Like its best-selling predecessor, this book encourages and enhances creative expression, social interaction, family relationships, and kids' budding powers of listening, concentration, and discrimination.