If you are looking for a quick family activity that is totally free, fun, and beneficial, try this out. Putting on a show is obviously not my creation. I have just tested various ways to implement this timeless and simple activity and I felt compelled to share. I hope your family loves this activity as much as ours!
The benefits:
· Fosters creativity
· Builds self-esteem
· Fills their attention bucket
· Supports cognitive development of skills such as planning and rehearsal
· Allows your child to feel seen, to feel significant
· Gives child a sense of power and control by allowing them numerous choices
· Encourages independence and autonomy
· Teaches children to appreciate and respect others
How to play:
1. Select a spot. This could be inside, outside, in the pool, or wherever works. This is a chance to let your child choose, within the limits you set, where they want to put on their show. Ask them to think about where the audience can sit to have the best view (planning skills).
2. Select a prop or props. This is totally optional but another way to give kids choices and can be a lot of fun. Props can be specific to the show being performed or anything around the house (a wooden spoon, a scarf, a pool noodle etc.) Could also assign a random prop that they must incorporate into their show somehow for an extra creative challenge.
3. Set a time limit. Agree on how much time the child has to prepare the show. It could be 5 minutes, 20 minutes or until Mommy finishes folding the laundry. This totally depends on you and your family.
4. Prepare the show. This is the critical time when your child must work independently to practice their show using the prop(s) and space selected. Some children might need a few ideas of what to perform. They may sing a song, show off a skill, perform a trick, do a dance, put on a play, do something funny, anything they like! Encourage them to be creative and to have fun.
5. Perform. Time for the show! Everyone who is not performing must sit and watch the show. If you have other children, this is super important. This is a chance to teach children to appreciate and be respectful of others. Everyone will have to share something they liked about the performance at the end so make sure to pay attention. The goal is for your child to feel seen, to be the center of attention, to feel important.
6. The audience shares something they liked about the show. This is not a space for any negative feedback or even constructive criticism. This is only about finding something, anything, positive about the performance, something they liked about it. This is all about boosting self-esteem. No “buts” allowed!
Variations
1. Sibling Showtime
In this version siblings must follow all the same steps as above while working together to create a performance. I allow my kids to do their own performance first, so they have the chance to do what they want before having to compromise. I have found when they share something they liked about the others individual performance, they use that as a starting point to create their joint performance.
This variation is all about teamwork. If anyone calls for me during preparation, my response is always some version of “Work it out.” For example, “I can’t wait to see how you work this out for your show in 3 minutes!” or “I know you guys can work this out, you got this.” Or if it’s really bad I might offer “If this is something you can’t work out, we can cancel the show”. They may opt to cancel the show, and that is totally ok. Cancelling the show is not a punishment. This is meant to be fun. We can try again another time.
2. Family Showtime
This may be its own game, but I wanted to add it here. In this variation, the entire family gets in on the show. Granted, there won’t be an audience but still super fun. The show could be planned or improvised. We did one version where we each selected another family member, and we did an improvised skit acting as each other. Then at some point in the middle we all switched roles. It was absolutely hilarious and wildly therapeutic for our family. That being said, this is actually a therapy tool and may be best tested with a therapist present or at least with some serious ground rules.
3. Feelings Showtime
Feelings showtime is a great way to improve emotional awareness for older kids or to provide an outlet for children with really big feelings. This variation works best with a dance or movement-based performance or even a song.
After performing the show for the first time, ask the child to do the same show again with a different emotion. “Can we see what that show would look like sad?” “Can you show us excited?” “How would that show look scared?” I tried this with my, then, 8-year-old after she made up a dance and she totally blew me away.
The possibilities with this activity are endless! It can truly be tailored to create a meaningful and memorable experience for any family.
I would love to hear your ideas for variations to this activity or any experiences you've had with this or a similar activity.
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