Bean Toast

Family Adventure

GOAL:  Help kids develop social emotional learning skills

THE ADVENTURE:  Play a social emotional learning game to help kids

TIPS:

Remember that the important purpose of these games is to help children develop social-emotional learning skills. Enjoy the experience with your kids, and take time to really get to know them.

See the end of the game in the PreK section for TIPS regarding the specific social emotional learning game in this Adventure.

Games have always helped children practice the life skills they need to thrive.

The right games can get kids moving while also reinforcing social-emotional skills like cooperation, self-management, and conflict resolution. Now more than ever, these skills are essential to helping kids combat stress and anxiety and successfully navigate the uncertainty and change that has came with the COVID-19 crisis.

The social-emotional learning (SEL) skills in the games we use are tested and endorsed by well-known SEL frameworks as well as from feedback from our Discovery parents regarding on-the-ground impact in the homes of our Discovery Families.

As with all of our Adventures, the games provide a kid-friendly way to breakdown a skill and the TIPS Section includes a prompt to debrief the game and skill after you play. These SEL games can be played anywhere, but we encourage you to use them in your homes as families. Feel free to encourage your kids to invite friends over so that they can learn these social emotional learning skills . In the home setting the challenge is not just to introduce games kids will love, but also to ensure children can share space safely and with respect whether in the living room or in the backyard.

Making family game time run smoothly often starts with game rules that prevent conflict and unsafe behaviors, while still keeping it fun. Be intentional in creating shared norms for

🎯how to play safely

🎯how to resolve small disagreements, and

🎯who can join in (everyone)

Many games

🎯require little to no equipment

🎯can be played with one child, siblings, or a group of kids in the neighborhood

🎯can be led by parents and caring adults, or even the kids and peers

For your safety and enjoyment, we have provided modifications for social distancing in each game, tips on how to set up your space before you play, and additional challenges and accommodations to try on.

Here are some key social emotional learning skills that the games included in the Discovery Family Adventures will teach:

📌 Decision-Making: The ability to make constructive and respectful choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on consideration of ethical standards, safety concerns, social norms, the realistic evaluation of consequences of various actions, and the well-being of self and others.

📌Positive Relationships: The ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. Includes communicating clearly, cooperating, negotiating conflict constructively, and seeking and offering help when needed.

📌Problem-Solving: The ability to plan, strategize, and implement complex tasks. Includes generating alternative solutions, anticipating consequences, overcoming roadblocks with ease and knowing when to ask for help.

📌Self-Management: The ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations.This includes managing stress, controlling impulses, motivating oneself, and setting and working toward achieving personal and academic goals.

📌Social Awareness/Empathy: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.

📌Teamwork: The ability to collaborate and coordinate actions with others. Includes building group cohesion and trust.

Check the Pre-K section for a game to get you going. Additional games will follow in a special SEL Discovery Hunt that will be available soon.

Pre-K Adventure

Let's start with the Bean Toast Game:

●SEL competencies it focuses on: Integrity and Resilience

Pre-Game

● Choose someone to lead the game and remind everyone to focus on playing safely

● Teach and practice bean movements, adding in new beans until you have 3-4 everyone knows.

Examples:

○ String Bean - STAND STRAIGHT and tall with hands together above your head

○ Chilly bean - SHIVER like you’re out in the cold

○ Dancing Bean - Show your BEST DANCE MOVE

○ Green Bean - RUN in place as fast as you can

○ Red Bean - FREEZE

● Play where there is room for everyone to have space to move

●Review the SEL competenc(ies:

○ Integrity: Be fair and honest and do the right thing, even when no one is watching you

○ Resilience: Shake off your mistake/loss, and get ready to try again!

How to Play

● The leader stands in front of the group so they are visible to everyone

● The leader calls out different types of beans mixing up the speed and order. Example: “String Bean, Green Bean, Red Bean, Red Bean, Chilly Bean”

● When a bean is called out the group does the action for that bean

● The goal is to follow directions as quickly as possible without making mistakes. If you are able to go the longest without making a mistake, you get to be the new leader. How many commands can you follow before making a mistake?

● If at any point someone does the wrong action they step out and sit next to the leader

● Aside from various beans, the leader can also call out “Beans on Toast” When you hear “Beans on Toast” fall to the ground as quickly and safely as you can

● The leader watches for the last person to fall to the ground. Last one on the ground steps out of the game and sits next to the leader

● New leaders add a new bean and action. What creative beans and actions can you come up with?

● Try to trick the group any way you can! Can you trick everyone all at once? Game Variations

● Instead of sitting out when a mistake is made, players perform an action such as 5 jumping jacks, to re-enter the game

DEBRIEF

●What did you do to “shake it off” and get yourself ready to try again when you were not successful in finding the item?

●What did you do to show self-control and keep the object’s location a secret?

●How can you show self-management at home? at school? in our community?

💡 TIPS Specific to this SEL game:

Use this game to help kids learn that:

🔸 making mistakes is part of life's experience. We all make mistakes but we can learn from them and get better with practice.

🔸Life is constantly changing. As we get good at something a new experience (bean) to learn from shows up, and that's a good thing!

🔸Have FUN with it!

Community Engagement Adventure

Invite a group of friends over and make it a 'Bean Toast' Party

Teen Adventure

Encourage your Teens to use their creativity to come up with alternative versions of the game. For example, different types of hairdos, different types of dance steps, etc.