The traditional way to play charades is to have slips of paper with all of the words or
items that need to be acted out written down. But to make things easier for the kids and
have them use their imaginations more have them decide what they are going to act out
without telling anyone. This is a great game for outside or indoors on a rainy day. If
some of the children are having a hard time thinking up ideas be prepared with a few
back-up ones to whisper in their ear.
If you have enough people to play, charades can be played in teams but it also works with
single players. One person stands up and has to act out a word, object or saying.
Depending on the ages of the children, objects are usually the easiest things for them to
act out. There is absolutely no talking done by the person who is doing the acting (also
called pantomiming).
As the child is trying to get the other kids to guess what they are acting out the kids yell
out their guesses. It is okay for the actor to give an indication if they are right, wrong, or
on the right track by hand and head gestures. If playing as individuals instead of teams,
the first person who correctly guesses the object gets to be the next person to pantomime
an object.
Some easy objects for kids to start with are helicopters, airplanes, rowboats, cars.
Emotions or actions can be fun too such as laughing, being silly, scared, or crying. For
older children they can act out a movie title. When a string of words is involved it is
easiest to tackle one word at a time. This is a classic game that is still around because it
is so much fun.