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Ten Awesome Outdoor Games for Kids
10 Awesome Outdoor Games for Kids
Are you looking for some super fun outdoor games that your kids will have a ball playing over and over? We’ve come up with a list that’s sure to be super fun and will keep your kids occupied and having a great time!
Would you rather make your own DIY outdoor games for kids? Then see this post.
Ring Toss Game
Help kids improve their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills with this cool ring toss game that’ll bring them hours of play.
Rubber Horseshoe Game
Safe rubber horseshoe game also helps kids with coordination. This one is great for outdoor games or indoor fun!
Bocce Ball Set
Bocce ball is a fun outdoor game for both kids and grown-ups – perfect for family reunions and picnic days.
Croquet Game Set
Croquet can be another game that’s fun for family picnicking and get togethers where kids and grownups can play together.
Badminton Game Set
Who doesn’t love a good game of badminton? One of the family favorites for both kids and adults!
And if you find yourself losing birdies or want to play an adventurous game at night – take a look at these colorful LED light glow in the dark birdies.
Volleyball Game Set
Volleyball is also a super fun outdoor game that bigger kids especially love.
Let’s Go Fly a Kite!
Super awesome, huge and sturdy rainbow kite – this one is a bestseller for good reason!
Playground Ball Set of 6 – with Hand Pump
Rainbow ball set of huge playground balls for kids to play all sorts of outdoor games.
Scoop Ball Game Set of Six
Perfect for kids of all ages to learn hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills with these colorful scoop ball and catcher sets.
Premium No-Kink Hoops
When you want to get the kids a good set of hula hoops that’ll last for years, don’t settle for the cheap ones. These are super no-kink hoops that’ll last through lots of play!
Playing outdoor games are not only great for kids to burn off energy, but necessary for their development and growth. Skip the labeling and make sure they have plenty of good nutrition, sleep, and outdoor activity! See here about kids playing and development.
Play is the best way for kids to learn!
Amazing Themed Chess Piece Sets
Chess – The Ultimate Family Game
You Can Be a Winner if You Plan Ahead
You gain the advantage in any situation through one medium: time You can do things before they need to be done. You can position yourself ahead of time in the best place. Think ahead of any approaching action. Make a plan and you will always have the advantage. Let your advance worrying become advance thinking and planning. The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. In life, as in chess, forethought wins.
Chess could well be one of the best games for kids to learn to play. There have been hundreds, if not thousands, of studies showing the benefits of learning chess.
In this study, it states that kids who play chess regularly achieve greater academic success – not simply because of the game itself, but also because kids who play chess are thought to be smarter. So, in turn, just playing helps kids believe they are smarter, and therefore have better academic progress.
Not only that, but according to this article, chess is truly the ultimate game for kids of all ages, stating that kids as young as 4 can easily learn the game. The evidence is truly astounding and truly makes chess the ideal family game for kids to play with siblings, parents, and grandparents.
A quick glance at some benefits of chess:
- Spend quality time – one-on-one
- Opportunity for discussion
- Learn valuable skills – the list is practically endless
- Kids become smarter & more engaged
- Gives a chance for quiet moments during busy family parties
- Bridge generational gaps with a game for all
- Opportunity for conversational chess piece sets
Using chess pieces, like these shown, from various battles throughout history give parents and grandparents a great talking point on history lessons while spending valuable time together.
Some of these chess piece sets can be a lot of fun and stimulate lively conversation, like these with the Queen’s Navy verses the Pirates.
Then there are chess sets such as these with Greece verses Rome – who is going to win?
When having family get-togethers, what more fun could a small chess tournament be? This is a great way for family members to spend some quiet one-on-one time visiting together during the hustle and bustle. Playing chess bridges generations and gives everyone in the family a chance to spend quality time, actually getting to know each other, while kids learn valuable lessons they can’t get anywhere else.
10 Disney Board Games for Big Kids
Top Ten Disney Board Games for Big Kids
These enjoyable Disney board games offer kids a great way to learn through play and develop valuable social and developmental skills. What’s more fun is when they can play with their favorite Disney characters. Family time is especially important for kids to learn emotional intelligence and confidence that will significantly increase their success later in life. Playing board games as a family is a great way to naturally develop these skills.
Here are ten of the top favorite kids Disney Board Games for Kids 6 and up:
Cranium: Disney Family Edition Board Game
Cranium with custom Disney game board and 400 cards is super fun for the whole family. Kids and grown-ups can laugh along as they test their knowledge through drawing, sculpting and acting out of favorite Disney characters. 
Features classic Disney characters and new favorites such as Frozen and Big Hero Six.
Great for kids ages 8 and up!
Trivial Pursuit Ultimate Disney Edition
Trivial Pursuit has been a classic game of fun and knowledge for over 30 years and with Disney’s version you can have even more fun learning Disney facts. Choose from List questions, Take 2 Trivia or My Disney, where you get to find out how well your teammates know you.
This Disney board game is more than just trivia, there are also many personal questions where you can learn more about your family and friends, such as asking what your favorite Disney moments or characters have been.
Trivial Pursuit Ultimate Disney Edition is a great way for family members to work together as a team and compete to win at the same time, while learning about each other. Ages 8 and up, minimum of 4 players. Perfect for family game night!
Wonderful World of Disney Trivia Game in Collectible Tin
This collectible Disney board game of trivia is perfect for the whole family and includes two separate decks of cards, one for kids and one for adults. The card deck for grown-ups includes 1,600 questions and the kids’ deck has 800 questions. Includes beautiful metal film-reel tin with Disney throughout the years.
In The Wonderful World of Disney Trivia Game players gain tokens for correctly answering questions about Disney movies, characters, theme parks, music, and even movies from Touchstone Pictures, moving them along the board from start to finish.
For kids and adults ages 7 and up. Play as individuals or set up teams. And, when you’ve mastered all the questions in this game, you can also purchase additional trivia games to continue play. Super fun for the whole family of Disney fans!
Disney Apples to Apples Card Game
Have lots of fun goofing around with this fun Disney version of Apples to Apples! Includes new twists on the original game that make it even more fun. Red Apple cards come to life with everything Disney from theme parks to movies and TV.
Includes 360 cards and the Disney exclusive Poison Apple card that offers a major twist in play.
Lots of family fun with the Apples to Apples Disney Card Game, for ages 7 and up with 4-8 players recommended.
Pictopia-Family Trivia Game: Disney Edition
The ultimate Picture Trivia family game includes trivia from cartoon classics, hit movies, TV shows, and theme parks. Players test their knowledge of many well-known Disney characters through teamwork and competition. You’ll also have fun learning about other players with guess-my-answer questions.
Players get to take turns playing the host and getting to ask the questions while players answer questions individually or through teamwork based on the Disney pictures included on the cards.
Family and friends will have lots of fun with this strategic game that encourages both cooperative play and competition. Ages 7 and up recommended.
Disney Pictionary Game
Take the Classic game of Pictionary and add a Disney twist and you have a game that is super “Goofy” fun for the whole family. Players use charades, singing, drawing, and sound effects to give clues and get their team to draw the right card first with Mickey hands. Clues are easy enough for kids and fun enough for adults!
The Disney version of Pictionary includes 200 cards with 400 clues, an “all play” game mode, adorable Mickey slap hands, Mickey dry erase drawing boards, and of course, all of your favorite Disney characters.
Lots of family fun for everyone with this Disney version of Pictionary!
Disney Magic Kingdom Game
Take your family on a trip to the wonderful world of Disney at home with the Disney Magic Kingdom Game. Players travel their way through Pirates of the Caribbean, Frontierland, Space Mountain, Snow White’s castle, the Haunted Mansion, and many other favorite Disney attractions, all on a board game.
The first player to visit 5 attractions on their given cards and then make their way back to the park entrance wins. The Magic Kingdom Disney Board Game includes game board, cards, dice, 5 player pieces, and two zinc Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck pawns.
Recommended for bigger kids, with lots of grown up fun too! Younger kids can easily play along with help from grownups.
Sorry! Disney Version
The classic game of Sorry! takes on a whole new Disney twist that’s simply magical! Not only is the game enhanced with your favorite Disney heroes, villains, and friends, but also includes special cards that can give each player or team a chance to advance or be sent into retreat.
Tarzan, Captain Hook, Pooh, and Ariel players or teams race to be the first one to make it home.
Recommended for kids ages 6 and up.
Disney Monopoly Game
Who doesn’t love a good game of Monopoly? Pair the classic game with Disney and you’ll have many hours of magical fun for the whole family. Players purchase theme park properties with Disney money and build with Toontown houses and Disney castles to win.
The Disney version includes Disney theme park attractions, Sorcerer’s Hat and Magic Mirror cards, Mickey Toontown houses, Disney castles, Pop-up Disney castle, and 8 collectible Disney character game pieces.
Recommended for kids and adults ages 8 and up.
Disney Theme Park Edition Scrabble Game
Players use special Disney-themed word play to spell their way through the most popular word board game! Join Disney with Scrabble and what do you get? A bit Goofy and a lot of Magic for hours of family fun that’ll have your family playing over and over.
Includes Magic Cards and bonus points for Disney themed words, with Disney tote bag, Disney bonus word cards, and custom tile racks.
Recommended for kids and adults ages 8 and up, with 2-4 players.
Playing board games is a natural way to develop necessary skills when kids can play with friends, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents and grandparents. Having a challenging selection of games for children as they grow and develop helps them learn more easily while they have fun and gain skills for success. Many of the Disney board games give several classic games a fun twist that provides variations in play and some different challenges.
10 Disney Board Games for Little Kids
Top Ten Disney Board Games for Little Kids
Disney board games offer kids a great way to learn through play. When you have a child who loves Disney movies, board games are a great way to help them learn while having fun with their favorite Disney characters. Board games teach kids a variety of skills easily that they don’t even realize they’re learning and many of the classic favorites have fun Disney characters.
Here are ten of the top favorite kids Disney Board Games:
World of Disney Eye Found It Board Game
This game includes a 6 foot game board where you discover hidden treasures amongst Disney characters and scenes.
This fun family game promotes cooperation and teamwork while engaging little ones with observation skills, attention to detail, object identification, and matching skills with over 1,000 hidden treasures on the board.
All players must work together to get to Cinderella’s castle before the clock strikes midnight!
World of Disney Eye Found It Disney Board Game
Disney Junior Scrabble Board Game
Classic Scrabble Junior game for kids with Disney characters to make it extra fun!
Scrabble Junior is a great game to help little ones match letters and improve vocabulary and spelling skills. Kids will love building words with some of their favorite Disney characters.
Disney Junior Scrabble Board Game
Disney Guess Who? ~ The Original Guessing Game
Kids favorite Disney characters are included for the classic, super fun guessing game! Kids get to ask questions to find out what Disney character their opponent is before their identity is given away!
Disney Guess Who? ~ The Original Guessing Game
Disney Princess Pop-Up Magic Pop-Up Magic Castle Game
Your little princess will love this magical board game when she gets to play with one of her favorite Disney princesses!
The game board is a pop-up 3-D magic castle and she has to reach the enchanted stone first to win and avoid villains who send her back. Princess game pieces are Aurora, Snow White, Belle and Ariel. Game board can be connected to other Pop-Up Magic game boards to extend play.
Disney Princess Pop-Up Magic Pop-Up Magic Castle Game
Candy Land Disney Princess Edition
Kids enjoy the classic Candy Land game while being able to play their favorite Disney Princess!
Game includes Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty who compete to be the first princess to dance at the Candy Land Ball. Little girls will love this classic fun board game with the sparkling, magical Disney twist!
Candy Land Disney Princess Edition
HiHo! Cherry-O Game Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Edition
Classic HiHo! Cherry-O game with classic Disney characters Mickey, Donald, and Goofy!
Hi Ho! Cherry O helps kids with early numeracy skills that will give youngsters a super head start in math while having lots of fun. Kids compete through play and taking turns to pick all the fruit off their tree first to win.
HiHo! Cherry-O Game Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Edition
Candy Land Game Disney Minnie Mouse’s Sweet Treats Edition
One of kids favorite classic games with a Disney twist!
Players compete through play as either Minnie Mouse, Figaro or Daisy Duck to get to Minnie’s Sweet Shop. Kids have lots of fun traveling down the sweet and colorful Candy Land path as they have lots of fun learning valuable skills such as taking turns and counting.
Candy Land Game Disney Minnie Mouse’s Sweet Treats Edition
Disney Hedbanz Board Game
Super fun Hedbanz game where kids get to wear Mickey Mouse ears while they guess which of their favorite Disney character they are!
Hedbanz is a super silly game where each player wears a card on their headband that they don’t get to see and they have to ask “What am I?”. Taking turns while the timer runs out they get to ask the other players questions until they guess which Disney character they are. This is a game that will have kids laughing and giggling for hours with lots of silly fun, while still learning important social skills and problem solving.
Disney Hedbanz Board Game
Mickey’s Clubhouse Surprise Slides Board Game
Kids have lots of fun playing this Mickey Mouse Clubhouse game where they get to play a different game every time!
Players have to spin the spinner to see whether they get to move or change and flip around all the durable, silly slides to add a new twist on the game. Players get to choose from the classic Disney characters Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy while they have fun trying to get to the finish line, which isn’t as easy as you might think!
Mickey’s Clubhouse Surprise Slides Board Game
Disney Classic Characters Matching Game
The simple, yet highly educational, memory game with classic Disney characters will have your kids improving their matching and memory skills. This game features colorful and durable tiles that won’t easily bend or fold, which makes them great for younger children. Kids also learn social skills like taking turns when playing with others while learning alongside their favorite Disney characters.
Disney Classic Characters Matching Game
Family game time is important for children to learn to take turns, win and lose, along with math and reading skills. There are so many classic games that have been made even more fun for kids with their favorite Disney characters, all of which make great children’s gifts that will give them a lifetime of learning that they can receive from hours of fun.
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Hoppy Floppy’s Happy Hunt Color Game
Hoppy Floppy’s Happy Hunt Color Recognition Game
What a fun way for children to reinforce color recognition! Kids have to match colors and take turns with the Hoppy Floppy Squeezer while following the directives on the spinner.
Hoppy Floppy’s Happy Hunt Game is a cute game with both chance and strategy which is perfect for younger children to play together in a home or classroom setting, with other kids, parents, or grandparents.
Help Hoppy Floppy find colorful carrots that are scattered all over the forest and fill your basket with one of each color to win!
What skills will they learn?
- Colors
- Matching
- Fine Motor Skills
- Taking Turns
- Social Skills
- Winning and Losing
Click Here to Get It!
To start the game – scatter the carrots on the forest floor and give each child a basket. The first player gets to have the Hoppy Floppy Squeezer.
How to play:
- Spin the spinner.
- If the arrow points to a color – use Hoppy to grab the matching carrot.
- If you have that color, skip a turn.
- If the spinner lands on the Hoppy thief — you get to steal any color from another player.
- If the spinner lands on a tipped basket — you have to put all your carrots back.
- If it lands on the multi-color square – you can pick any color carrot you need!
- If you land on sad Hoppy, you lose a turn.
- If you land on a spiral — you get another spin.
- When you have one of each of the 4 carrot colors in your basket — you win!
This egg-citing game is lots of fun, with a cute egg-shaped box, for 2-4 players, and children ages 3 and up. (Parents and grandparents have lots of fun too!)
Get it Here!
This fun and engaging game uses the same type of strategy and chance as I Got it!
Click Here for More Details!
Grandma’s Trunk Alphabet Card Game
Grandma’s Trunk Preschooler’s Alphabet Card Game
Take learning the alphabet, phonics, and vocabulary to the next level with your kindergarteners and this super alphabet card game! Perfect for parents and teachers alike.
Learning the alphabet has never been so much fun than with Grandma’s Trunk Alphabet Card Game which is really 5-games-in-1, all of which are highly engaging and perfect for both home and classrooms.
Twenty-six beautiful alphabet picture cards and 26 alphabet riddle cards, designed by a professional Canadian artist, are all packed in an adorable trunk that is also the package.
What skills will they learn?
- Letter Names and Sounds
- Vocabulary
- Alphabetical Order
- Sequencing & Patterns
- Memory Skills
- Listening Skills
- Storytelling
- Riddles & Fun
- Taking Turns & Cooperative Team Skills
- Social Skills
This alphabet card game is sure to be hours of fun & learning with more than 5 different ways to play!
Get it Here!
Games to play and variations:
- What Comes Next? – Take turns putting cards in alphabetical order while packing Grandma’s trunk. Add a variation by identifying vocabulary words pictured on the cards. Kids learn phonetic letter sounds.
- Memory Time – Take turns repeating the sequence of the cards in the trunk orally while packing Grandma’s trunk. Fun for younger multiple players, or class, chant the list together as they’re packed. Add challenges for other players to remember them in order and build vocabulary and thinking skills by identifying the kind of item that gets packed next.
- Letter Sequence Memory – Everyone gets cards dealt to them. Then take turns packing Grandma’s trunk in alphabetical order, repeating what is already in the trunk. Add challenges to other players to remember them all – in alphabetical order.
- Grandma’s Riddles – Everyone gets cards dealt to them. Listen to the riddle and then race to see who has the card to answer it by using logical thinking skills. Add a variation by having all children stand who have a card that answers the clue, and narrow the answer down until one child is left standing, much like the game of Clue.
- Grandma’s Adventures – Put all the letter cards in the trunk. Then, taking turns, each child takes out a card to create a cooperative, cumulative story.
The ways this game can be played are numerous and are ideal for playing with a single child or an entire classroom in ways that are fun, engaging and educational. Grandma’s Trunk Alphabet Game is a wonderful way for kids to learn their ABC’s, sequencing, storytelling, logic, and lots more.
Get Grandma’s Trunk Alphabet Game Here!
This game has received the 2012 Parent’s Choice Recommended Award and is for a parent or teacher with one child or a whole classroom, children ages 5 and up.
Frida’s Fruit Fiesta Alphabet Game
Frida’s Fruit Fiesta Alphabet Game
When looking for engaging games for your little ones it’s hard to know where to find the best ones with so many choices!
Luckily for you, we’ve been looking too and we have found some great games that your toddlers are sure to love. Not only are these games highly engaging and entertaining, but they’re educational too! What parent could ask for more?
One of our first pics is Frida’s Fruit Fiesta Game. As you’ll see, the inventor of the game goes banana’s over fruit with this rainforest fruit themed game.
What skills will they learn?
- Letters and Alphabet
- Patterns and Matching
- Fine Motor Skills
- Strategic Thinking Skills
- And, of course, they learn turn-taking and social skills too.
Get it Here!
This game’s star is a toucan named Frida, who kids get to pass around and use to grab the fruit bowls. Each fruit bowl contains a letter and kids match the letters on their nest cards. The play and strategy is much like I Got It!, where kids learn alphabet skills instead of math. When they’ve gotten 4 in a row they win!
How to play:
- Each player spins 3 letter spinners – better watch out for the monkey!
- Scan the nest card for a letter that matches one that was spun.
- Search the rainforest fro a fruit bowl with the matching letter and use Frida to grab it.
- Place the fruit bowl on the matching letter on the nest card.
- Four in a row wins!
This game has received the 2014 Parent’s Choice Award and is lots of fun for 2-4 players, and children ages 4 and up. (Parents and grandparents have lots of fun too!)
Get Frida’s Fruit Fiesta Here!
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Free Counting and Addition Math Pages
Download Free Math Pages
Kids will love these free math pages to help them practice counting and addition with fun shapes. They’ll also have fun cutting and pasting the answers on the math pages, and writing number words on clear, uncluttered pages.
When it comes to math, kids need lots of practice to memorize the facts. These worksheets are a perfect addition for your preschool and primary grade students to help learn counting and addition up to facts of ten.
Almost 20 pages of free, fun math pages for kids to practice their early math skills!
With uncluttered, black-line handwriting math pages, kids can practice writing numbers and number words with copywork.
Then kids can count shapes and write the correct number in the answer box. Each shape that is counted has a corresponding shape to write the answer. Includes math pages with simple shapes such as circles, squares, and triangles.
Then there are pages where children can add the shapes together, then cut and glue the corresponding number in the right box. Included is a spot for a fun animal picture to cut and past as well.
For more practice, there are pages with three different shapes, including circles, squares, and triangles, to count and write the correct number, then add them together and write the answer in the corresponding shape.
To get these fun math practice sheets – just add your name and email below! You will receive your free math pages download upon confirmation of your email.
As a bonus – you’ll also receive our extensively researched free eBook on how and what kids learn with board games!
Download Free Math Pages!
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Our Top 10 Board Games Picks
Our Top 10 Board Games Picks
There are many different board games that are great for kids to learn and fun for family play, but the classic games are still at the top for good reason! Who doesn’t love a great game of Monopoly or Checkers? This is a brief overview of the popular classics.
1. Monopoly
No game is better suited to the budding capitalist than this classic real estate game! Monopoly is an American-originated board game published by Parker Brothers. Subtitled “The Fast-Dealing Property Trading Game”, the game is named after the economic concept of monopoly, the domination of a market by a single entity.
It is currently published by the United States game and toy company Hasbro. Players move around the game board buying or trading properties, developing their properties with houses and hotels, and collecting rent from their opponents. The ultimate goal is to drive the other players into bankruptcy.
Play the Classic Edition
– or check out the variety of themed versions – from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Edition
2. Clue
Was it Colonel Mustard in the conservatory with the candlestick? Junior detectives will love playing the challenging, ever-changing mystery game of Clue.
3-6 Players – Ages 8+
3. Chutes and Ladders
In the Chutes and Ladders game, children who break the rules (as in life) slide down long chutes, and kids who behave climb the ladder of success.
It’s a classic story of good and evil, with a little luck thrown in. No reading required and single digit numbers makes this a fun game for preschoolers. Ages 4+
4. Game of Life
If real life were only as simple as the Game!
Choosing a profession, spouse, and kids is as easy as spinning a dial. Series of choices and chance where you try to get to retirement wealthy. Ages 8+
5. Candy Land
This game is more than 50 years old!
Who doesn’t remember the colorful cards and tempting treats pictured along the path in Candy Land?
Candy Land is a simple racing board game. The game requires no reading and only minimal counting skills, making it suitable for young children.
Due to the design of the game, there is no strategy involved. Players are never required to make choices, just to follow the directions. The winner is predetermined by the shuffle of the cards. The classic first game for Ages 3-6.
6. Checkers
Whether it’s the marbles or the star-shaped board, kids love to play checkers. Checkers are a great first game for young children to learn strategy and problem solving. There are many varieties of checker games from oversized pieces to classic wood games. Ages 5+
7. Sorry
Who can resist those candy-kiss-shaped Sorry pieces? Your kids will love this perennial classic from 1934.
Sorry is a board game that is based on the ancient Cross and Circle game Pachisi. Players try to travel around the board with their pieces faster than any other player. Distributed by Parker Brothers, Sorry is marketed for two to four players, ages six through adult.
The game title comes from the many ways in which a player can negate the progress of another, while issuing an apologetic “Sorry!”
Ages 6+
8. Scrabble
Remember the feeling of sitting down with your mother or father for a leisurely game of Scrabble on a rainy Sunday afternoon? Family time may have shrunk over the years, but there’s no reason to keep it that way with this classic game in the updated version. Play it and e-x-p-a-n-d the afternoon. Ages 8+
9. Chess
Start the kids early on this classic strategy game and you just may find a prodigy on your hands!
While Chess may not be as popular as it once was, there is no doubting that it is the most complex strategy game available. Millions of people play chess on a daily basis, but how did chess originate, and why is the game so popular?
Chess is a strategy board game which comprises of 64 spaces on an 8×8 board. Each player begins each game with 16 pieces which can be moved in different ways. Your objective of each game is to checkmate your opponent’s king. To checkmate your opponent’s king you have to position your ‘attack’ so that their king is in check (a position where the king can be taken on the next move) and cannot move to defend itself in any way.
While variations of the game have been around for thousands of years, the game as we know it today has only been around since the 15th century. Originally, the game came from an Indian game known as Shatranj, an Indian game invented in the 3rd century.
Our favorite site for some good deals on beautiful themed chess sets and classic sets with elegant style is The Chess Store.
10. I Got It!
And finally, our board game I Got It! which is perfect for young children to get started learning numeracy, shapes and colors! It combines strategy and chance with the universal appeal of Bingo making it a fun game for kids to play and learn at the same time!
The enjoyment of classic board games is a timeless way to learn and grow that’s great for the whole family.
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Learning Numeracy Skills Through Play
Easily Teach Numeracy Skills Through Playing Board Games!
Numeracy skills are necessary, life-long skills that everyone needs and playing board games is a fun and easy way for children to learn. Parents can play an important role in helping their child develop these essential skills by giving them a head start in learning through play. One of the best ways is through board games. Almost every board game has some form of numeric skill to be learned – such as counting spaces in a move and spots on a die.
In a study conducted by Geetha Ramani and Robert Siegler, they found that the mathematical ability of young children is attributed to their informal learning activities such as playing board games in their pre-school years. This means that young children who play board games early in life gain the numeracy skills that they need for the rest of their life. Children can begin to participate with board games, on average, as early as 3 years and parents can tailor the game to suit individual needs. Playing a board game with a young child may seem like just a fun and simple activity where you spend time together, but really, you’ll be giving them a lifetime of important and valuable developmental skills.
Numeracy Skills Learned through Board Games:
- understanding that numbers represent amounts
- understanding numerical order
- recognizing numbers and amounts
- counting skills
- adding skills – such as if using 2 die
- subtraction skills – such as having to go back a space
Additionally the child’s skills will only improve, continually, as they play board games more and more, and as they get older and are playing more challenging games, their skills will increase even further. It’s amazing how much children learn just through playing!
The Struggling Learner
In playing board games, struggling children can gain new confidence learning through play. Often a struggling child essentially “shuts down” when presented with overwhelming homework or tasks. Often parents and educators see this as “daydreaming” or “not paying attention”, when it’s really that the child is having anxiety problems because they haven’t grasped the concept at hand. Instead of labeling them with a learning disability to carry with them for their lives, a better idea might be to get a variety of board and card games to play regularly with the child. In doing so, not only are you building important communication skills and bonding with your child, (which may actually be the root of the problem), but they’ll be learning valuable skills and logic that will help them with their schoolwork. Children will often approach the playing of games with much more enthusiasm and zest which will greatly reduce their anxiety level and increase their motivation in learning.
The endless number of studies on child learning all points to one simple fact – young children learn best through play, so as parents and educators it’s our job to equip them.
