Team Building Activities for Kids: Cheerleading

You can find all kinds of activities for kids, and these include team building activities for kids. Team work is a concept that human beings will use throughout their entire lives – at school, at work, in sports, and in their personal lives. Learning to work with others and to “pull your own” weight can be extremely important. It also teaches kids to trust and to be trustworthy. A good way to teach this is through team building activities for kids.

My daughters and grandchildren have been involved in numerous team building activities for kids. These include baseball, football, team gymnastics, cheerleading, and track. Just today, I was reminded that things like cheerleading are great outdoor activities for kids. Hubby and I went to watch two of our granddaughters cheer at a little league football game. We had an enjoyable time. The weather was beautiful, and there were hundreds of families in attendance, supporting kids of all ages.

My granddaughters who are in cheerleading are Lexi, who’s eight, and Audrie, who’s five. They’re on the same cheerleading squad, and Audrie is the youngest and smallest member of the cheerleading team. They look so cute in their cheerleading uniforms and cheerleading shoes! The cheerleading uniforms are nothing fancy, though. In fact, they’re more like cheerleading outfits, made up of matching tee shirts and shorts. Their cheerleading shoes are plain white Nikes. Of course, all the girls have matching pom poms, too.

Anyone can be part of the rec teams – there are no tryouts. Parents pay a nominal fee to cover uniforms. For cheerleading, you have to buy the cheerleading shoes yourself, but the cheerleading uniforms or cheerleading outfits, along with the pompoms, are covered by the fee. The girls learn cheerleading routines, cheerleading chants, and even a couple of cheerleading stunts. Of course, with the smaller girls, the cheerleading stunts are simple. Since Audrie is the smallest and lightest member of the cheerleading squad, she’s the “flier.” Lexi is one of the strongest members of the cheerleading squad, so when they perform cheerleading stunts, she’s one of the bases.

The cheerleading stunts – even simple ones – are great team building activities for kids. The flier has to put her trust into the four girls supporting her, being assured that they’ll catch her if she falls. The four girls who form the base have to work together, in unison, to achieve a correct pyramid or to perform other cheerleading stunts. Kids learn quickly about the importance of teamwork!

Our community has a very active recreation department that offers all sorts of team building activities for kids, largely through kids’ sports. They include team sports like football, baseball, softball, soccer, basketball, T-ball, and swim team. By joining these teams and participating in these sports, kids get a sense of accomplishment. They also learn a lot about working with others on a team toward a common goal. They also get lessons in following rules, self discipline, and punctuality. Team building activities for kids can also help children learn to be good losers and gracious winners. Learning to work well with others – through team work - is always a good thing!

Most kids today spend way too much time indoors. They can usually be found in front of a computer, television, or video game. When they’re not at home, they’re usually in a shopping mall, in school, in an arcade, or in a cinema. That’s not how it was when I was growing up! We spend every hour we could playing outdoors. I understand how much the world has changed since I was a kid, and I realize it’s not safe now to let your kids play outdoors unattended. But outdoor activities for kids are still important!

Kids need fresh air, exercise, and sunshine. They also need to interact with other kids, and not just at school. Children need to run, to play hard, and to use their muscles. Structured, monitored outdoor activities for kids supply all these things, in a safe environment with adult supervision. Being a part of such activities for kids will also provide a time for families to be together while attending practices and games or competitions.