At Learn From Play, we are advocates for immersive learning experiences that captivate young minds and ignite a lifelong love for exploration. Our latest National Simultaneous Storytime inspired game, Rob The Nest, epitomises this ethos, offering a captivating blend of fun and learning where children play the parts of bowerbirds pilfering from each other's nests.
Rob The Nest is a dynamic fusion of entertainment and education. As children immerse
themselves in the frenzy of snatching items and devising cunning strategies, they're not just enjoying themselves – they're honing their cognitive faculties. But it isn't merely about individual achievement; it's an opportunity to practice the skills of collaboration and sportsmanship while learning the virtues of teamwork, empathy, and fair play.
In case you have never played this before, or it was a long time ago, let’s delve into the intricacies of Rob The Nest. To play this game each team needs a collection of coloured balls or bean bags and a hula hoop, bucket, planter pot base or other large flat item able to hold their collection of items and stop them rolling away. With each round lasting three minutes, players use fundamental movement skills like running, hopping, skipping, or jumping to race between nests trying to steal items from the other teams. They are not allowed to protect their nest but rather must race as quickly as they can to keep it stocked.
To allow as many children as possible to be engaged in the game, children should play in teams where each player can only steal and return one item to their nest before they swap with the next member of their team. If there are 5 teams of 5 players every child will get multiple turns at robbing items within each three-minute round without getting bored waiting for another child to play the game or too tired to race at their maximum capacity.
But Rob The Nest isn't just about physical prowess; it can be a test of strategy and cunning. If varying values are assigned to different coloured balls players must strategise their moves. If, for this National Simultaneous Storytime version of the game, blue balls were given three times the score of other coloured balls players must weigh the allure of high-scoring blue balls against the risk of racing to a nest to find all the blue balls gone. This strategic dimension not only adds depth to the game but also cultivates critical thinking and decision-making skills.
Safety is paramount in Rob The Nest, so children must be briefed on the importance of vigilance and awareness to prevent collisions. By encouraging players to look up before darting away from nests, the game instils valuable lessons in risk assessment and spatial awareness, ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for all. If playing with children who are likely to collide with each other, jumping can be chosen as the first fundamental movement skill. This will slow players down and give them a chance to identify their immediate surroundings before moving away from a nest.
However, Rob The Nest is more than just a game - it's a holistic learning experience. As children tally their scores at the end of each round, they engage in basic arithmetic, reinforcing mathematical concepts in a practical and meaningful context. Additionally, the game fosters teamwork, camaraderie, and sportsmanship, laying the foundation for essential social skills that extend far beyond the confines of the playground.
By integrating active play into traditional learning frameworks, we can unlock the full potential of every child. By creating immersive and engaging experiences we can captivate children's interest and fuel their thirst for knowledge. In essence, Rob The Nest exemplifies the ethos of Learn From Play – where weaving active play into the fabric of learning, doesn’t just teach children – it inspires them to love learning, one robbed nest at a time.
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