[noriko]

Karen, Mark,
Thank you so much for your replies and suggestions. They are a great help! I haven't taught pre-schoolers very long yet, 7 months still. So, I have a lot to learn, still. I have this one class of four five-year-olds which is divided into two periods (30 min. each) with two children in each. And there, losing is very painful and dramatic (tears and sulking and even tantrum, sometimes, or a brave withholding of any of them with trembling lips...). After reading your messages I thought maybe it was because they play games one-on-one. So, yesteray, I joined them and played bingo and concentration with them. I won a few times (like bingo, you can't avoid), to which they said, "You shouldn't be winning!" Maybe. But maybe not, because, I was able to neutralize the atmosphere and quickly move on to the next game and show that winning wasn't what I was looking for. But what I noticed most, being one of the competitors was that the little ones show their competitive spirit really straight forward. We, adults try to hide or moderate it, knowing what it can do. But they are too young for that. Having learned this, the hard way, I spoke to the one who was excessively competitive, that being kind and considerate was more important than being number one. Then, to my amazement, the little girl changed immediately, without any trace of how she was a moment ago. I hope she can keep it up. :-)

Thank you. I am learning a lot from you. Do you have any good idea for a class game or any games for two students?

Noriko