The Power of Play

I am getting to do something new this year with our 4th and 5th grade students during their related arts time. I see each class once every other week for an hour, and we spend the first ~15 minutes doing an activity like talking about how to solve problems, writing about something kind someone did to make a kindness chain to go in our front hallway, or taking a few minutes to do a breathing activity. Then, they spend the rest of the hour getting to practice their social skills in natural ways. Negotiating who is going to play with what, solving disputes over games, navigating joining in or inviting others to join. With that, I need games and activities they can use that will allow them to practice these skills and want to have items I can cycle through so things don’t get boring.