10 Skill-Building Leadership Activities for Kids
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When you think of a leader, what are the first traits that come to mind?
For many, it’s things like being confident and assertive, taking charge of group members, taking big risks, and being a big action-taker.
While those are definitely some solid leadership qualities, being a great leader is about more than that.
Here are some other leadership qualities that may not immediately come to mind:
- Being an active listener
- Having empathy for others
- Effective communication skills
- Thinking about how their actions impact others
- Brainstorming solutions
- Resolving conflicts
- Motivating and encouraging others
- Having an open mind and a positive attitude
- Creative and critical thinking skills
- Reliability
- Receptive to feedback
As you can imagine, teaching kids leadership skills can benefit them in so many ways…both in their personal and professional lives.
But what’s the best way to do this? To help you on this mission, I’ve gathered some leadership activities for kids that I hope you and your family will love.
Teaching Kids About Qualities of a Good Leader
Teaching kids about the characteristics of a good leader is an important life lesson that you can incorporate into your homeschool curriculum.
Instilling leadership qualities in your kids can help them become confident and responsible individuals!
Here are some good places to start:
Start with Definitions: Begin by explaining what leadership is and why it’s important. Use simple language and relatable examples to help your kids understand the concept.
Lead by Example: Demonstrate leadership qualities in your own actions and decisions. Kids learn so much by observing, so model the behaviors you want them to emulate.
Storytelling: Share stories of famous leaders from history, literature, or current events. Highlight their qualities and actions that made them effective leaders. Discuss the challenges they faced and how they overcame them.
Discuss Qualities: Break down the qualities of a good leader. Some key qualities to focus on include:
- Communication: Teach kids the importance of clear and respectful communication. Encourage them to express their ideas and listen to others.
- Confidence: Help them build self-confidence by recognizing their strengths and achievements. Encourage them to take on challenges and believe in their abilities.
- Responsibility: Discuss the significance of being accountable for their actions. Show how responsible leaders make thoughtful decisions and take ownership of the outcomes.
- Empathy: Teach them to understand and care about the feelings of others. Discuss how leaders who empathize can build stronger teams and create a positive environment.
- Problem Solving: Encourage critical thinking by presenting problems or scenarios for them to analyze. Guide them in finding creative solutions and making informed choices.
- Decision Making: Explain the decision-making process and how leaders weigh pros and cons. Teach them about making informed choices and being open to learning from mistakes.
- Teamwork: Emphasize the value of working together. Engage them in group activities where they can practice collaboration, compromise, and supporting their peers.
Activities and Projects: Assign projects that require them to take leadership roles. It could be planning a family outing, organizing a small event, or leading a discussion. Another idea is to have them interview family members, friends, or community leaders about their experiences as leaders.
Discussion and Reflection: Engage in discussions about real-life examples of leadership they encounter in their daily lives, such as in movies, books, or community events. Encourage them to reflect on how different qualities were demonstrated.
Games and Simulations: Use board games, online simulations, or role-playing games that involve leadership scenarios. These leadership games make learning about leadership engaging and interactive.
Feedback and Positive Reinforcement: Provide constructive feedback when they demonstrate leadership qualities. Acknowledge their efforts and highlight specific instances where they exhibited leadership traits.
Projects and Presentations: Have them research and present on a leader or role model of their choice, discussing the qualities that person exhibited. This can help them delve deeper into understanding leadership.
Remember that teaching about leadership is an ongoing process. Consistently reinforcing these qualities through discussions, activities, and real-life examples will help your kids internalize and apply them as they grow and develop.
Teaching Kids Leadership Skills
Before we jump into the leadership activities for kids, let’s talk a bit about the basics of teaching kids leadership skills.
Leaderships skills are learned
Sure, some kids are naturally skilled at some things. But that’s the thing…they’re still skills. And skills are things people have to learn, practice, and master.
Kids develop skills at different rates and levels
The goal isn’t to mold your kids into CEOs or a future President of the United States. It’s simply to help them develop important skills at a young age that they can utilize throughout their lives to be happy, healthy, and productive human beings. So try to make comparisons or foster competition.
Model healthy leadership skills
Last, but not least, one of the best ways to teach and reinforce healthy leadership skills is to model them yourself.
As a parent, you’re a leader of your family. Practice good leadership skills by listening to your family, setting goals and helping your family reach them, showing empathy when your kids make mistakes, admitting when YOU make mistakes, being there to help them with their problems, being a safe space, and encouraging them to be the best they can be.
16 Best Leadership Activities for Kids
Here are some favorite activities for leadership development that you can try with your kids!
Remember that the goal is to make these activities enjoyable and educational. Adapt them to the interests and age levels of your children.
Creating a Vision Board
Have kids create a vision board for a project or goal they want to achieve. This activity encourages them to set goals, plan strategies, and visualize success.
Leadership Coat of Arms
When actively teaching your kids leadership skills, it can be helpful to get an idea of what THEY think a good leader is. A great way to do this is to have kids design a coat of arms that they believe represents what it means to be a good leader.
You can do this by simply presenting your kids with a printable coat of arms (or have them draw their own) and then ask them to decorate it with symbols, imagery, and words that they believe good leaders possess. They can then showcase their coat of arms. This can lead to some great conversations about leadership.
Host a Group Escape Room or Scavenger Hunt
A fun way to give kids the chance to practice leadership skills is by teaming them up in small groups for an activity like an escape room or scavenger hunt. In order for them to complete the challenge together, they have to listen to each other, brainstorm solutions, and work together toward a common goal.
After the activity, you can have a conversation about how the process went, what worked, what didn’t work, and how the team members could have done things differently.
Enroll them in Stoa (Christian Homeschool Speech and Debate)
Stoa’s vision is “to develop world-class communicators who speak boldly and change the world for Christ”. They are an organization that has been teaching people public speaking, social skills and leadership lessons and skills since 2009.
With chapters/clubs all over the United States (and online), they have helped many homeschoolers become more confident speakers, communicators, and effective leaders, as they grow in a Christ-focused community. Click here to learn more about what Stoa has to offer.
Team Building Challenges
Create activities that require teamwork and cooperation. For example, building a tower out of marshmallows and toothpicks or completing a puzzle together. These activities promote communication, collaboration, and problem-solving.
Gather together a variety of common household items such as books, blocks, uncooked pasta, toothpicks, string, tape, etc. Tell your kids that the goal is to work together to build the tallest tower they can without it falling over. This activity will encourage them to be creative, practice their problem-solving skills, and collaborate with each other to achieve their goal.
Play Cooperative Family Board Games
In our family, we’re big fans of board games. If your family is as well, find a fun game that requires you to work together to win. Some that come to mind are Pandemic and Codenames Duet, but a quick search on Google or Amazon is sure to yield some exciting results for you to check out!
Community Service Projects
Plan a service project in your local community as a family or with a small group of friends. Kids can take charge of different aspects of the project, such as organizing a food drive, cleaning up a park, or creating care packages for the elderly.
Volunteering helps kids and leaders alike develop empathy, serve from their heart, and also see the impact that their actions can have on other people’s lives. Talk to your kids about volunteer opportunities and give them the chance to choose type of activity they want to engage in.
Who You Admire and Why
Have your kids do a presentation on a leader they admire. They should not only talk about who the person is and what they’ve achieved, but why they are a good leader and the qualities the person possesses that your child would like to develop.
Host Family Meetings
Part of developing confidence in one’s leadership skills is feeling like their voice is being heard AND being able to make decisions. That’s why it’s good to host family meetings where your kids are given the opportunity to speak their mind, brainstorm solutions, and be part of the decision-making process.
Assign Tasks
Another thing you can do is assign your child responsibilities. This can be a daily or situational thing. For example, let your child be in charge of the meal plan for one day each week. On that day, it’s their job to do everything related to preparing the meals for the day, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. They will have to keep in mind things like what each family member likes, the resources you have, your budget, making good use of time, and maybe even delegating tasks.
Having daily chores is also another way to teach your children work ethic and show them how their actions impact others, both positively and negatively.
The PB+J Sandwich Challenge
Being a good leader means being able to communicate clearly and effectively. In this activity, kids are asked to give detailed instructions on how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to someone who has never made one before. They have to either write or orally provide the step-by-step instructions…while the other person (or you) follows the instructions EXACTLY as they have been provided. This can mean doing nonsensical things like using your hands to scoop and spread the peanut butter if your child forgets to mention using a knife.
After the first round, if the sandwich-making doesn’t quite pan out, your kids can have another attempt to provide even more detailed instructions. This can lead to a great discussion on communication, on making mistakes, and even on how to treat others when they struggle to do something.
Role-Playing Scenarios
Develop scenarios where kids take on different leadership roles. They can act as a team captain, project manager, or even a community leader. This helps them understand various leadership dynamics and practice decision-making.
Leadership Through Art
Encourage kids to create artwork that represents leadership qualities. This could be a drawing, painting, or sculpture that portrays characteristics like teamwork, determination, or empathy.
Mock Elections
This would especially great for high school students. Organize a mock election where kids campaign for different roles (class president, team captain, etc.). This activity teaches them about campaigning, public speaking, and the democratic process.
Outdoor Adventure Activities
Plan outdoor activities like hiking, camping, or team sports. These experiences provide opportunities for kids to take initiative, navigate challenges, and support their peers.
Design a Leadership Challenge Course
Work together to design a mini obstacle course that requires different leadership skills to complete. Kids can take turns leading the group through the course and facing the challenges.
Help Your Kids Develop Essential Leadership Skills
I hope that these 10 leadership activities for kids have helped you see ways you can make learning these essential skills fun and easy for your kids.
By incorporating these activities into your homeschool, you’ll provide practical opportunities for your kids to learn and practice essential leadership qualities.
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
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