Teamwork for The Win
Humans are social beings. It is difficult and almost impossible for humans to work completely independently. Right from running households to running multinational companies, it is team work that makes the dream work. So, one must teach children from a young age the essence of teamwork. It is a quality that can be ingrained in children by both parents and teachers. With this article, we are going to explore both online and offline strategies to inculcate team spirit in our children.
Working in teams will help children to nurture their cognitive, social and emotional skills. It will sharpen their communication abilities, teach them empathy, help them bond and recognise the skills they are good at. Teamwork has the power to build confident and smart individuals which in turn can help them in their adult years. With abundant resources available in this day and age, children are picking up qualities faster than ever.
Developing teamwork at home
It starts with smaller activities like helping out in the kitchen or running menial household errands. Parents work as excellent idols for their children in their formative years. As they grow older, some of the following activities can be considered:
Host playdates with their friends
A school is somewhere students study together along with other activities. It is nit exactly a stress-free environment. There’s a lot going on at the same time. When you host playdates or go for them, children get a chance to interact with each other without any stress together. Organise different games for them like the human knot. This is a game where you make them hold their hands from behind and they have to untangle themselves as a team. Puzzles can be given to them to stimulate their minds and friendships. Even the three legged race/walk is a great way to enhance teamwork between two people.
Don’t compare kids, accept differences
Teaching kids about teamwork becomes much easier when you accept that there are differences between kids. That’s okay and completely normal. Once you accept that kids can be different, they will accept it too and cases of bullying and isolation will reduce. Never compare them and teach them to do the same.
Encourage sports
Different team sports are a great way to teach children how to work in groups and encourage each other. Relay races, football or basketball, cricket, etc. are great games for children to play together and work in teams. With this they can recognise their peers’ strengths and weaknesses. Identifying these qualities will help them with their work-life in future.
Give them lessons on inclusion
Today’s culture is very different than twenty years ago. There are many social and political issues that adults face and it will only become easier for our kids to understand those if their hearts are in the right place. Teach your kids inclusion. Their friends might be different in terms of race, gender, casts or financial standing and academic standing. But if everyone is treated with kindness, the world becomes a better place to live.
This can be done by watching movies on inclusion, reading stories with morals, and encouraging friendships with students of different backgrounds.
Teach them how to encourage other people
People’s qualities can be identified effortlessly in teams. This can help children to encourage each other and bring others up. There are negative sides to this as well and can lead to issues such as bullying but with the right kind of teaching, it can be prevented.
At Little Genius, we try to teach our kids to work in teams. We organize activities like debates during our English and Grammar classes, or ask them to solve hypothetical real life problems together during our Junior CEOs program. We encourage the shy ones to participate as well.
We hope this article will help you teach your kids how to work in teams better!
