8 Ways to Make Preschool Game Play Fun

From SimplyFun

1. Praise the behavior you're looking for. Watch for siblings to share, take turns with ease or cheer each other on and say, "I love when you play like that," or "I’m proud of you!"  Make sure to give lots of positive attention for good behavior.
2. Keep games short, 15 minutes or less. With preschoolers, the longer you play the more likely problem are to arise.
3. Be flexible with the rules. Read the rules in advance so when you open the game you can play right away. Then just dive in and give the game a try, your kids may surprise you and you'll learn what alterations you may need to make for the game to be fun for everyone. If they loose interest, just try again later or make up a new game with the pieces (sorting by color, etc).
4. Practice good gaming behavior. Rehearse the basic skills needed for your child to interact positively with others such as taking turns, sharing, rejection and losing. This may include asking a simple question like, "Can you pass the dice?" or telling the people you played with "Great job for winning." Talk to your child about good habits during game play such as no fighting, teamwork, etc.
5. Allow Space. Interaction among players is part of play, so don't jump in to correct conflict right away, instead make room for other players to come up with their own solutions. If a solution can't be reached and the conflict seems to be getting worse, step in and help determine a solution for everyone.
6. Ask questions. Stop the game when you're nearing the end to go over some hypotheticals: "Okay guys, who is having fun playing this game? Great! So what's going to happen if maybe Tyler wins the game? Is anyone going to give him a high five? Is anyone going to stomp around and be mad? Who is going to say they never want to play ever again? Who will want to play again because its fun just playing? Okay, now what if Gracie wins? What if Mommy wins?" Model the behaviors you want to see no matter who wins (high five the winner, winner does not rub-it-in, "That was fun, I wonder who will win next time!"). Continue the game and at the end if you start to see sore behavior, you can refer back to what you just talked about, "Uh oh! Wait a second! Didn't you say you were going to give a high five? I think I see you getting ready to stomp out of the room! We're all wondering what you are going to do?" Most of the time they crack up and remember to check themselves.
7. Choose a game where everyone wins. When a child is struggling with the whole winning and losing thing, it's usually just a stage. Choose games where winning is not necessary for a little while.
8. Make a game of clean-up when you're done. Have kids sort by color or design and count pieces: "Let's see how many reds there are. Can you get all the red in the same spot?" (This also secretly helps make sure all the pieces are there too!) Making clean-up into a game keeps the fun going and they are still learning.

Read one mom's confession of how she struggles with playing games with her two preschoolers - and other moms suggestions for how to make game play fun for the whole family! 

Thank you to SimplyFun for providing these great tips. SimplyFun makes learning fun and easy for children and keeps families connected through the simple concept of PLAY. Follow SimplyFun on Facebook at Facebook.com/SimplyFun for more great game play tips and ideas.