And a question about good games to not miss out on. I’ve heard some CM moms say to play lots and lots of games (board games, etc) when they are little. But I’ve wondered, what games do you consider great ones to own? I’ve heard that games that teach math concepts, in particular, without anyone realizing it are great ones to play on a regular basis.
We love the “10 Days In …” games for geography fun. We have Asia, Europe and the Americas. They are great for family fun and you can play in teams to include little ones.
Math on the Level has a great book that shares ideas for using games you already have to teach even more, like even adding in math cards while playing a game of Candyland! We use this idea as well for drilling except the kids don’t really think of it as drilling. If they get the right answer, they keep the card. If not, Mommy keeps it and asks it again on another turn.
For math, we mostly use Rightstart Games for Math. We also play popular board games by Milton Bradley, Hasbro, etc. Any games with two dice to add or cards with numbers or dominoes, etc. for math.
Leslie, I checked your blog. Thanks for sharing. I think I will plan on more “game days” like that. I have games scheduled everyday after our other schoolwork is done, but most of the time something else comes up. I know they learn a lot from games. It is important for us to make more effort to play them. I need to do family game night once a week and include dad.
I am always recommending this game to people – Wildcraft. It is a great boon for nature study. It teaches common native plants that have medicinal qualities. It is a cooperative game, beautifully made, and truly fun to play.
My kids love it – and we have played it with both our girl scout and boy scout groups.
Thought I’d bring this back up – Anyone else have some good game suggestions? I’m thinking of great classic games (like marbles) as well as some games that help with math skills. I’ve heard more than a few people now talk about playing lots of good game that help children learn math.
Reading these is a little convicting…all of my children are pretty little yet – oldest turns 6 tomorrow, then a 3 yo, 1yo, and newborn…it’s hard to play games with my oldest, for me, at least, with the little ones in tow. I should really try to work on that more.
Anyway, I was public schooled, but my dad and I always played cribbage together. I can’t tell you how much that helped me in my math! I think I will always remember what makes 15! =)
We enjoy Phase 10, Yatzee, Monopoly, Sorry, Upwords, Rummicube. Uno, Scrabble, Life (the old version, ‘cuz thats what I have), ect… we also love to listen to our audio books while doing nature puzzles. HTH
Tukata – I have little ones too (5 yo, 3.5 yo & 17 mths). For me this is something to aspire to. It is definitely hard to play the games with littles around. We tried to do a floor puzzle today that we had to put away because the baby was very sad unless he was able to kick & push the pieces around.
I’m trying to remember that game playing is so important for little one’s growing minds so I’m choosing to “schedule” it in to our day. I want to make sure that things like nature study and games are focused on in these early years as I’ve heard it’s easy for these things to be neglected as they grow!