Today’s newspapers are all reporting a survey which says that, rather than spending hundreds of pounds on games and toys, parents need only invest £6.12 on eight items, which will keep kids entertained all summer.
The researchers name things such as cotton, crayons and building bricks – saying these will stimulate the imagination, boost creativity and get children working together to make up new games for themselves.
I believe the same is true for training toys and games. Over the years I have spent hundreds, if not thousands of pounds on fancy activities for the training room. And, just like a ten-year old, most of those gizmos are now broken forgotten or collecting dust at the back of a cupboard; whilst my learners get much more fun and creativity from the box they came in!!
My eight essential inexpensive ‘toys’ for the training room are:
- Balls of string
- Empty Pringles tubes
- Drinking straws
- A box of table tennis balls
- Paper from the recycling bin
- A bag of marker pens
- Post it notes
- Masking tape
I could, of course, now go on and explain how I use each of them – but, wouldn’t that miss the point? Your own imagination is much better than mine. You can already think of dozens of learning activities you could create using those simple and cheap ingredients!!
On the Trainerspace Retreat in September we are running a session called ‘Training on a Shoestring Budget’ which is all about ‘Blue Peter’ versions of great training games – and I bet our delegates will be even more creative and innovative than we are!!
To read the article about kids’ toys, look at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2191243/How-child-happy-6-worth-toys-Youngsters-better-odds-ends-expensive-gadgets.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
For more on the Trainerspace Retreat, look at www.trainerspace.co.uk
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