Fancy being someone else for a change? Speaking games can allow everyone to escape their own lives for a short time…
Run out of things to talk about at dinner? Why not “invite” some interesting figures along to mix things up a bit…Try these fun games over dinner, on your daily walk or as a morning activity.
Hot seating works by getting one person in the family to imagine that they are a fictional, historical or contemporary figure and then getting everyone else to ask them questions (or put them in the “hot seat”). They have to answer the questions pretending that they are speaking as their character. Depending on how dramatic your family likes to be, they could dress up, carry props, use different voices and gestures to create their character or you could focus simply on the words and the content of the answers. Watched a film? Read a book? Or been getting through some set History work? Pick, say, James Bond, Artemis Fowl or Henry VIII and you’re ready to go. This activity requires children to think on their feet and put themselves in someone else’s shoes which build empathy and helps to understand different perspectives. The questioners are also testing their thinking, speaking and listening skills as they act as interviewers/interrogators.
If this works well with your family, you could try having multiple children in the hot seat at the same time and watch the conversations between them – haven’t you always wondered what would it would be like if Gandhi met Peppa Pig…??!!