What these games build

The skills are stopping before reacting, saying what the problem is, thinking of several possible solutions and choosing one that is fair to both sides. A simple sequence many adults use is: stop, say the problem, list ideas, pick one, try it.

Practising with puppets or story characters lets children focus on the steps rather than on who was right.

Game 1: Solution Shop

Players: 3-6 per group, ages 6-12. Time: 15-20 minutes. Materials: problem cards with invented situations (two friends both want the last blue pencil; a team cannot agree on a game), and a pile of counters or buttons as 'money'.

A player reads a problem card. Each child 'sells' a solution in one sentence. The group then 'buys' the best two by placing counters, and explains why each is fair to both people. Rotate who reads.

• Easier (ages 5-6): offer three picture solutions (take turns, share, ask an adult) and children choose one.

• Harder (ages 10-12): add a rule that the chosen solution must work next time too, not just today.

• Adult role: keep a list of solutions on the board so children can reuse them.

Game 2: Puppet Rewind

Players: whole class or family, ages 5-10. Time: 10 minutes. Materials: two puppets or soft toys.

The adult acts out a short invented squabble between the puppets, stopping at the moment it starts to go wrong. Children call 'Rewind!' and suggest what one puppet could say or do instead. The adult replays the scene using the suggestion, and the group says whether it helped.

Easier: give children two choices to pick from. Harder: children take over the puppets and act the improved version themselves.

Keeping it practical

Afterwards, display the steps with simple icons where children play. When a real disagreement happens, an adult can point to the chart and support children through it calmly, but the games themselves should stay with invented situations.

A typical session for a class of seven- and eight-year-olds might run like this: five minutes of Puppet Rewind as a warm-up, fifteen minutes of Solution Shop in groups of four, then five minutes back together to add the best new solutions to the class chart. At home, parents can play Puppet Rewind with soft toys and let a younger sibling join as the audience. Children often enjoy finding solutions for the puppets more than for themselves, and the language they rehearse, such as 'Can we take turns?', tends to reappear later in their own play.

Key points

• Rehearse steps when everyone is calm, not in the middle of a row.

• Use invented problems and puppets, not real incidents.

• Look for solutions that are fair to both sides.

• Display the steps so children can use them later.

Ready-made resources

Printable session plans and materials for this topic are available from EduTrend Contents: G4C-130 Feelings & Friends Games.

Photos: National Cancer Institute, Andrey K / Unsplash