Turtle And Dragon Game To Work Assertiveness
Today, it is very important to educate children to be assertive so that they can relate appropriately with others. The little ones have to express their emotions without threats or demands. The game of the turtle and the dragon can be of great help for children to learn to be assertive.
Assertive children are able to express their ideas and points of view to others without yelling or bad manners. They have the ability to value themselves and others. A good development of emotional intelligence in childhood will depend on whether they are emotionally and psychically strong adults in the future.
Therefore, parents and teachers must provide children with an education based on respect. How can we do it? The game of the turtle and the dragon can help us in this task.
Turtle and dragon game
This game is based on the three ways of expressing ourselves that people have. The dragon would represent the aggressive form, the turtle the passive and the person the assertive form.
Ways of communicating
- The dragon : this would be the person who speaks in an aggressive way, who does not take into account the opinion or feelings of others and, in addition, despises others. His tone of voice is high and sometimes aggressive. Always impose your point of view.
- The turtle : it is totally opposite to the dragon. He does not express his feelings or defend his positions. He hides in his shell accepting, thus, the opinion of others always, without taking into account his own.
- The person : this is the figure that interprets assertive communication. It is the person who expresses their emotions, ideas or thoughts in an appropriate way, always respecting and listening to the ideas of others.
Dragon and turtle game objectives
- Develop the ability to lose fear to express yourself in an appropriate way without being aggressive or passive.
- Teach the little ones that they must defend themselves and express themselves without hurting others.
- Encourage positive communication.
Materials
- 3 tiles or figures of a dragon, turtle and person.
We can make the 3 cards with our children. We can make the drawing ourselves or draw them already made and have the children paint it.
Number of children for the dragon and turtle game
If we do it at home, we can help the whole family (dad, mom, little brothers …). And, if it is to be done at school, a minimum of 6 children.
Age of children
This game can be played from the age of 6 and even earlier, depending on the child’s reasoning ability.
How to play
- If we are at home, we distribute the cards with the three figures between mother, father and the child, and we do not say which one we have.
- If it is at school, we can form 3 groups and distribute the cards, without the other teams knowing which card we have.
We raise a situation or problem.
For example:
You are at home playing with your toys in your room, you finish and leave it totally messy with the toys in the middle. Mom is upset that you haven’t cleaned the room, like she always tells you to do.
Choose how your reaction is depending on the card you have
- You tell Mom that there are a lot of toys on the floor and you have been overwhelmed, but that you are going to try to collect everything and, if you need her help, you will ask her.
- You stay without saying anything and you don’t respond, you just hang your head and you get sad.
- You answer that you do not feel like picking up that you are very tired. And that, furthermore, it seems unfair to you to have to pick up the toys yourself. You always get angry when it comes to picking up.
Like this example, you can look for other situations, whether it is to work at home, or if it is to work at school. It is simply adapting the situation to the place where the game will take place.
It is important for each one to play the role of the card they carry and then exchange cards so that the child can represent the three figures and, in this way, see how they feel acting assertively or lacking it.
As you can see, the game of the turtle and the dragon is a very fun method for children to learn communication styles. We can play at home, learning and having fun, and so we spend time with the family, or at school with the teacher.
Never forget that play is a very effective way for children to acquire new learning in a fun way. So, have fun learning!
