After learning and discussing respecting diversity the week before, we moved onto our next value of responsibility. We were lucky that the rain broke for us and gave us a wonderful warm, sunny afternoon to play a new game of tag. Better yet, we were able to include our grade twos, allowing us to have enough kids to run two separate games at the same time.

To start the game, we divide the kids into smaller groups of three. In each group the kids were assigned the task of either being a tree or a squirrel.  Each group would have two trees and one squirrel. One of the groups was chosen to be foxes. If there were any kids who could not be in a group of three, they were also assigned to be the foxes to start the game. The role for each character is as follows:

Foxes – Using a pinny to indicate who they are, the foxes must tag a squirrel when they are outside of a tree. If a fox successfully tags a squirrel, the two trade roles and the fox gives their pinny to the squirrel.

Squirrels – Must avoid being tagged by foxes. Squirrels cannot be tagged by foxes when they are standing in a “tree”, as they are safe. When squirrels hear the phrase, “Squirrels go for a walk,” they must leave their tree and run to another one.

Trees – Two kids stand together holding hands to create a circle, which a squirrel can stand in. Trees must protect the squirrels, and can move around the play area to do so.

Once the rules were explained the games begun. We played three rounds total, and each kid was able to be a tree twice, and a squirrel once.

After we had finished our rounds, the kids gathered up and we had a discussion about the games. In one group’s discussion we learned which kids liked or disliked the game and why. A lot of kids emphasized the fact that they liked that they were able to play all the roles of the game, and sometimes in tag they were not able to do that. As well, many of our children agreed that they enjoyed saving the squirrels and making them feel safe. We also discussed different areas where the kids felt safe in theirs lives; some kids mentioned their homes and families, others said their friends, and some mentioned their beds and under their blankets. We asked the kids to think about where they felt safe and the feeling that they had during the game or in those places. Then we asked them to think of ways in which they could help others feel safe. We were given answers such as asking someone who is feeling unsafe to play with him or her, or even just sitting next to them and comforting them.

The other group led their game down a slightly different path. They eventually eliminated all of their trees and discussed how without having that safe space to go, the world would likely become chaotic and extremely tiring for those living in it. This led one child to acknowledge that if everyone was more helpful, and we all felt responsible for each other, it would solve many of the world’s problems.

Not only did this activity lead to awesome discussions, it gave us a new game to play that many of the kids enjoyed!

Thanks,

Katie

Running with the idea of building a vehicle, the kids showed us a new side to their creativity on a recent professional day. After a quick round of playing games, and talking about inclusion versus exclusion,

we gave them a pile of cardboard, and the rest of the morning to create their masterpieces in small groups. They all managed to impress with the creativity of their creations, their understanding and application of inclusion, and the level of dedication and engagement to the project. 

We saw everything from a steering wheel that eventually turned a mat into a vehicle, to a spaceship with flames coming out of stacks on the roof.

The day went quickly, and was fun for both the leaders and kids.

Toby commented “ The best part of the day was building the cars, and the most challenging part was deciding how the car was going to be built because me and my sister never agree… but it ended up to be fair.”

Emilia commented on the inclusion games we played at the beginning “It was good to talk about inclusion because I knew about it already, but some things were new (to me). My favourite part of the day was baking berry crumble for everyone.”

Until next time,

Gemma

I can't believe it's the last week of February, Spring is right around the corner.

Last week for Play it Fair we tested our communication skills while playing a games called "Hello from Around the World." 

For this game we each received a piece of paper that had a translation of "hello."  We then walked around the room and tried to find others who were speaking the same language.

 Soon most of us were in small groups, however some of us were unable to find anyone else that was speaking the same language. As a large group we talked about how it felt to be unable to find anyone, as well as any challenges they had being able to only say the greeting they had been given.

We then broke into groups and discussed diversity, and how we all have the right to be respected for what may be different, or diverse about ourselves and others. 

Play it fair's theme for this week tied in nicely with Pink Shirt Day.  On Wednesday we had lots of friends come to programs wearing pink to show support. Some friends were also wearing pins that they made in art on Tuesday with Gemma.

We had a total of 34 pink shirts that day, and alongside our discussion of diversity, there was a great feeling of acceptance and openness in the room.

 

It was a new week with a new aspect of Play It Fair introduced to the Senior OSC group: Fairness!

Last week we focused on fairness by playing the 'bead game'. Each player was given an envelope with beads in it and was told to go about the room playing rock-paper-scissors with other players. The winner was given a bead from the other person and both players moved on to play again. However, if at any point someone had no beads they were asked to sit on the carpet and were considered out of the game. Simple enough right? Here's the twist - the envelopes had varying amount of beads in them, so some players found themselves out much sooner than others. For every 1 envelope that had 10 beads there were 10 envelopes with only 1 bead. Though some kids noticed right away (some even shared their beads with friends) most had no idea why they had less than others. 

As Play It Fair is not complete without a discussion, when there was a small amount of children left (each with quite a lot of beads) we sat everyone down and had a quick but enlightening conversation. We started with the basics (did you like the game? etc) but soon kids were starting to pick up on the real point of the game - fairness. Nathan raised his hand and when called upon he simply stated, "Life isn't always fair."  This opened up a discussion about how some children have a different number of beads in their envelope compared to others. Rory commented that even when we are upset because our xbox was taken away, we should realize that there are other children out there who have much less than us. As fun as it is to play weekly games, it's always great to see the kids really understand the purpose of Play It Fair. 

The following is a review gathered by our own Johanna containing her own thoughts and some opinions from other kids about last week’s Play It Fair game.

-Johanna (JoJo)

                 

-Angel                

-Annette              

That’s all for this week.

Until next time,

Brianna (and Johanna)