One of the best parts about being an auxiliar is getting the chance to bring fun and creativity into the classroom. Sometimes the simplest activities end up being the ones students love the most. Over time, I realized that kids don’t necessarily need something complicated to stay engaged. In fact, the easier the activity is to understand, the more fun they usually have with it.
Another thing worth mentioning is that students love playing in groups or teams. If you can turn an activity into something slightly competitive, they’ll usually get a lot more excited about it. Kids have a way of making almost anything fun, especially when they’re working together.
Here are a few activities that worked really well for me.
1. Bingo (An All-Time Favorite)
If there’s one activity that works almost every time, it’s bingo. Bingo works well with both primary and secondary students, and it’s a great way to reinforce vocabulary. You can easily customize it depending on the topic you’re teaching. For example, you can create bingo cards around:
- holidays
- food vocabulary
- animals
- school supplies
- seasonal words
Because the game is so simple to understand, students can jump right into it without needing long instructions. That’s probably why it keeps them entertained for so long. It’s also one of those games where students stay engaged because they’re always hoping their card will be the next one to win.
2. “Snowball Fight” (A Winter-Themed Activity)
This activity worked especially well during the winter months, even though I lived on the Mediterranean coast, where snow isn’t exactly common. The idea was simple. I had the students draw a snowman and cut it out. After they finished, they used the remaining paper to crumple it into a ball. And just like that, we had “snowballs.”
Once everyone had their paper snowballs ready, I let them have a snowball fight in the classroom. It might sound a little chaotic, but the kids absolutely loved it. For many of them, this was their version of experiencing a winter activity that they normally wouldn’t have. Kids enjoy doing things that feel a little unexpected, and this definitely fell into that category.
3. Valentine’s Compliment Activity
For Valentine’s Day, I wanted to focus less on romance and more on friendship and kindness, which is a big part of the holiday as well.
I had the students draw the name of a classmate out of a bowl. Once they picked a name, they had to say something kind about that person or mention something they appreciated about them. Many of the students chose to say their compliments in Spanish, which was perfectly fine. The goal of the activity was really about encouraging kindness and helping them understand that Valentine’s Day can also be about friendship and positive connections.
It ended up being a really sweet moment in the classroom.
4. Four Corners
Four Corners is another classic game that works really well in the classroom. I’m not sure if everyone remembers playing this in school, but I know I loved it growing up. When I played it with the younger students (1/2/3), they became completely obsessed with it. Honestly, the moment I walked into the classroom, they would start chanting, “Four corners! Four corners!” almost every day. I always felt a little bad if we didn’t have time to play it.
If you’re not familiar with the game, it’s very simple. One student stands in the middle of the room with their eyes closed, while the rest of the students quietly choose one of the four corners of the classroom to stand in.
Traditionally, the corners are numbered 1, 2, 3, and 4, but sometimes that can be a little too easy. A fun way to make it more educational is to replace the numbers with vocabulary words the students are learning. For example, you could use:
- Spring
- Summer
- Fall
- Winter
Or any other set of four vocabulary words.
The student in the middle then calls out one of the numbers or vocabulary words associated with a corner. Anyone standing in that corner is out and has to sit down. The game continues until there is one student left standing, who then becomes the next person in the middle. It’s a simple game, but the kids absolutely love it, especially because it gets them moving around while still reinforcing vocabulary.
5. Easter Egg Hunt
This is a great activity to do during the week leading up to Semana Santa. It’s also a fun way to introduce students to the Easter egg hunt tradition that’s common in the United States but not typically practiced in Spain.
To play, divide the class into teams. One team steps outside the classroom while you hide several plastic “Easter eggs” around the room. Inside each egg, write a word. Together, all of the words should form a complete sentence. When the team comes back in, their goal is to find all the eggs and then work together to rearrange the words so they form the correct sentence.
Make sure to time each team so you can see who completes the challenge the fastest. The team that finds all the eggs and correctly builds the sentence in the shortest amount of time wins. It’s a simple activity, but students usually love the excitement of searching around the classroom while also practicing vocabulary and sentence structure.
Why Simple Activities Work Best
One thing I’ve noticed while working with students is that they love games that are interactive and slightly competitive. Group activities, team challenges, and games where they can move around tend to work really well. Even something simple can become exciting if students are working together or competing against another group. You don’t always need elaborate lesson plans or complicated activities. Sometimes the best classroom moments come from the simplest ideas.
Being an auxiliar gives you the freedom to bring creativity into the classroom in ways that students may not be used to. Whether it’s a game of bingo, a spontaneous snowball fight, or a kindness activity for Valentine’s Day, these little moments often end up being the ones students remember the most.
And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: Kids have a way of turning almost anything into fun. You just have to give them the opportunity.
Love always,
American Girl Meets World
