101 Relaxation Games for Children: Finding a Little Peace and Quiet In Between (SmartFun Activity Books)

Our children spend so much time entertaining themselves these days, that it can be difficult to get them to interact in a positive way with others. Even many classrooms have a difficult time creating opportunities for positive interaction. Electronic games and computers have taken their toll.

This book has 101 fun ways to play and have fun, while relaxing and shedding the tensions that even our little ones find building during the day. There are sit down games, and active games. One suggestion is even for a tea party with Chamomile tea!

Scouting expeditions, massage circles, campfire games (around a candle) and mental gymnastics are all included. I work in a school for special needs children and there are many games that our students show more will be able to play and enjoy. Of course this is not a book meant to be handed off to a child with instructions to "go and play." This is a book to give adults new ideas of how to interact with children and find new ways to enjoy some down time.

One of my favorite parts of this book are the little bits of wisdom tucked here and there among the games, Such as "Imagination is more important tan knowledge" Albert Einstein .

This is one of those books that moms, caregivers and teachers will find to be an invaluable resource for those times when everyone needs a break. show less

I was pleased to get this book as part of the Early Reviewers program. The book is an excellent collection of games to play with children with an eye towards relaxation and refocusing attention. The book is clearly written to be used in a school/camp/afterschool setting, but there are games for large groups, small groups, pairs, and a child alone. The games are well organized and the icons on each page make it easy to tell if a game is meant to be played in or outdoors, and by what sized group.

I played some of the games with my 6-year-old daughter over the winter vacation, and they met the challenge of helping a young child settle down during the holidays--a stimulating time of year for anyone!

The only thing I didn't like about the show more book was that at least one of the games involved the use of gummi bears. As the parent of a child with serious food allergies, including one to food coloring, I wish that the author had chosen not to use food in any of the games. Even without the issue of allergies I have never been a fan of candy in school. I believe that the game would work just as well with some other small treat,perhaps stickers or a small toy.

I thought the book was well-written, well-organized and useful. Despite the food issue, I decided to donate my copy to the resource room teacher at my daughter's school, as there were so many great games in there. show less

Early Reviewer

101 Relaxation Games for Children, by Allison Bartl is an easy to read book geared towards those who teach or otherwise interact with young children.

The book delivered more than I was expecting from a book of this type. The first great surprise was the excellent set up of the list of games table. This table lists all of the games by name and shows what size group each particular game is best suited for. Another great tool are the icons used throughout the book, these break down the games into even more detail so you can tell which would be best suited for your needs. For example, the Sunshine Icon indicates that the game involves going outdoors, so if you are in the middle of a New England winter and the outside temp is 2 show more degrees, you would know to skip the game with this icon.

The second pleasure of this book is the wonderful and imaginative games within. I found all of them to be easy to understand and fun for everyone involved. My personal favorites include Eagle Eyes (page 40) where the group must stand still and use their eyes to find an object hidden in plain view (the purpose being to calm rowdy children) and Mental Journeys (page 87) where the leader of the group describes a place everyone is familiar with and the others in the group quess where they are talking about, a great way to enhance a child's descriptive powers and listening skills.

There are even a few games here the I feel could be beneficial to myself, such as Angry Spaghetti (page 15), where you use imagery to pull negative thoughts out of your head. I know I could use some help getting rid of bad thoughts at the end of the day!

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to any care giver, teacher, and parent. I plan to show this to my son's second grade teacher, I know she will find many uses for this book when dealing with energetic 7 year olds! show less

Early Reviewer's Review:

I admit to being briefly disappointed with this book's focus on classroom activity and multiple children, as I was hoping for more games to relax and play with my only daughter. Being a classroom activity book is it's primary purpose though, and on further reading I found quite a few games that can be played alone with a single child; "African Back Drums" and "Feelers" come to mind. She'll have brothers and sisters eventually anyway, I suppose :)

101 RELAXATION GAMES is a good compilation of simple games to play inside with minimal equipment. Some of the games don't make a lot of sense to me, and some have been around for ages, but the book succeeds in its purpose of being a a rainy-day activity resource, if you show more need some help in entertaining and relaxing your kiddies on a budget. Three stars for a useful book, and another half-star for the interesting quotations scattered throughout. show less

This small book is an excellent resource for teachers and daycare workers (preK through about 2nd grade). While some of the activities are meant to be done alone, few are really good to use at home if you just have one child.

The activities in this book are excellent for transition times in a classroom of just about an size. All the games are original-some are based on games I'd seen before, but these games add something new. However, despite the title, many of these games will NOT help children relax. They are energy-building games. Despite that, the games are fun and even using a dozen of them through the school year can be fun for students and helpful for teachers. Excellent resource for teachers and to add to a school library show more collection. I do question the publisher's decision to classify this as Juvenile Nonfiction, though-it's not written for the kids. show less

Early Reviewer's Review:

Allison Bartl's 101 Relaxation Games for Children: Findinga Little Peace and Quiet In Between is intended to help caregivers and children do just that--short activities that can be done anywhere, anytime provide a base for a lasting sense of relaxation and well-being.

Her table of contents are structured so that one can easily tell whether games are for whole groups, any size group, small groups, and/or pairs. Following some of her game suggestions, Bartl also includes apt quotations from respected persons such as Mother Theresa and Albert Einstein. A couple of my favorite games were the Conveyor Belt where cares and grievances are unloaded and Look Around You a partner alphabet game variation. The latter game show more exemplifies the way that many of the games not only help children relax and enjoy themselves but also slip in some educational tidbits along the way.

Some of the games have been around quite awhile and kids have probably already either heard of them or played them, but some of the games seem fresh and new. At any rate, it's a nice compilation of relaxation games. Also, while most of the 101 games are brief to read and brief to implement, some of them may be used with lasting de-stressing effect. show less

This book is another in the “Smart Fun” series of game books for ages 4 and up. Other titles include 101 Music Games for Children, 101 Games for Children, 101 Improv Games for Children and Adults, and 101 More Life Skills Games for Children. This title in the series was written by former teacher Alison Bartl, and provides ideas and suggestions targeted toward easing the stresses faced by today’s school-aged children.

The introductory section of the book offers some brief insights as to why today’s student may be in need of some stress relief in his or her day. In addition to the brief introductory notes, the book’s beginning pages include the useful chart common to the Smart Fun Books identifying the appropriate group size for show more each game and a list of the icons used to describe key components of each game. The icons indicate the suitable age range, prop needs, and other features for each game. Thus identified, icons will appear at the top of each game’s page in the book to assist the reader in quickly locating a suitable activity. Each game suggestion takes approximately 1 page to describe; some are as brief as one short paragraph. Inspirational quotes are sprinkled throughout the book where space allows.

The games included in this title range from simple physical activities to ones in which the child is invited to express emotions such as anger or anxiety. Many of the games involve guessing or problem solving, teamwork and sharing. There are a few games specifically for outdoor use while others will require props such as a music player, paper, or candles.

Some of the games are familiar ones from my own childhood, while other ideas were new to me. Not all of the games will be appropriate for every setting or group of children. In particular, I would not select the games involving vampires or witches for game play with my own children. But, I could easily modify the suggestions to incorporate less menacing characters.

Overall, this book would be a useful addition to a new teacher’s library of reference materials but might not contain enough new material for a more experienced instructor. Though, anyone looking for new inspiration or a reminder of activities once known but forgotten will find something of use in the book. I tried out several of the activities with two of my own children, ages 7 and 4, with good results, albeit only temporary ones. After quickly performing a suggested activity, they both clamored for yet another one. I think that means they liked the book. In general I find the Smart Fun books to be easy to use with simple but effective ideas for entertaining children. There are other activities books that contain far more detail and complexity, but this book is quick and easy to use.

Note: I received my copy of this book free of charge and am publishing this review as an “early reviewer” of the book. show less