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Using Board Games to Teach Kids Life Skills

8/27/2020

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I'm a huge advocate for teaching real-life skills to kids through games and education. In our house, we play a lot of games and Monopoly is one of the most popular. And thank goodness -- I can only play Chutes and Ladders so many times in my life.

Monopoly does more than just teach kids patience, good sportsmanship, and how to count. It teaches four other invaluable skills.

Budgeting Money
Since each player is given a certain amount of money, kids are forced to learn how to spend money wisely. When we first started playing this game, the kids would just buy up all the property without ever thinking of what would happen when they landed on other player's property. Pretty quickly, they learned that they needed to keep some money to pay rent, to build onto their investments, and well, save some for a rainy day.

This skill pours over into life -- allowances can be spent or saved. A kid who has learned how to save money can get something more valuable than the kid who consistently wastes their weekly $5 on one of those "surprise pack" toys that are worth absolutely nothing.

 Real-life Applications
This goes without saying, but I am gonna say it anyway. Monopoly teaches kids that it costs money to live. Living in a house requires rent or a mortgage (or a lot of cash!). It teaches kids how to calculate property taxes and the idea of supply and demand.  

Probability
Probability is math and critical thinking skill taught in the game of Monopoly. It's all about the likelihood of landing on a space owned by another player, which then determines if you have to spend some of your money.  These factors help children think about when to buy more properties or turn the properties owned into larger investments.

Reading
Kids can practice their reading skills when they land on spaces and pick up cards.

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My Top Five Favorite Educational Puzzles

3/6/2015

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Homeschool can get a little boring, but I find the best way to make learning fun is through puzzles. Puzzles encourage a child to think physically, logically, and creatively. I have dozens of wonderful puzzles that we have used for a long time to teach math, history, geography, and other subjects, but these five puzzles are my absolute favorite for kids between kindergarten and third grade.
Melissa & Doug USA Puzzle
This is my number one favorite puzzle for several reasons. It's huge-- around 3 feet wide. Not only that, it really challenges a child's spatial abilities. Before we even started geography lessons, I asked my child to complete this puzzle. She loved it so much, I started timing her to see how long it would take her to fit the pieces together. 

From an educator's POV, this puzzle is the perfect complement to teach the states of America to children. When I first introduced the states to my child, I used this puzzle. One-by-one, we went over each state and it's capital. Once we dove deep into state geography, she was able to put this puzzle together and understand the layout of America.
Easy Addition Math Puzzle
Math isn't easy for every student and many math educators say that young kids need to see math physically before they can perform the operations mentally.

And I completely agree! My daughter didn't "get" mental math until she fully comprehended that math was tangible. We worked with tools such as blocks or marbles to show small addition and subtraction problems. When we began doing addition facts by rote, I bought this game. She could see the facts and she could also turn the pieces over for the addends and see if she knew the sum. I credit a lot of my child's early arithmetic knowledge tothis game.
Match It! Spelling
Another wonderful tool for your kids -- this spelling game is great because your kids learn how to spell three letter words and they think that they are playing a game. You can use this game to teach kids about word families and many other words.

I like to use this game to see how many words my child can spell in under a minute.
Periodic Table of Elements Puzzle
This is for older kids or for a parent who is really dedicated to teaching their children about two things: chemistry and how to put together a larger jigsaw puzzle.

This is was the first "grown-up" puzzle my daughter put together, with my help of course. The puzzle provides all of the information to teach kid about the elements, making it a really amazing tool. And when you are done, you could totally frame it!
The Solar System Puzzle
Last but definitely not least, my child's personal favorite is the Melissa & Doug solar system puzzle. The puzzle isn't to scale, but it sure is beautiful.

When it's put together, the puzzle is 2-feet by 3-feet.  After it is put together, you can use it to teach your kids about the planets, the Milky Way and anything else about space that you can come up with.
Scholastic Teacher Store Paperback Specials ends 2/28/17
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Teaching Kids How to Play Chess

1/11/2015

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Teach you kids to play chess. Why? Chess is about strategy and logic. Not only that, it requires a great deal of patience. All of those are wonderful qualities in adults, but they are MAGNIFICENT qualities in children. A child who can play chess is more likely to perform better in the academics. 

And if that isn't enough to convince you to get started, here are some more great reason:

#1 Increases IQ
Yep, kids who know how to play chess are smarter. And not just book smarter -- all around smarter! Studies show that just after four months of learning and playing chess, kids can boost their IQs.

#2 Provides an Opportunity to Bond
Many families do not get enough time together due to work, school, and parents allowing smartphones to rule their lives (you should only use your phone for talking on and you really should spend no more than an hour reading blog/news each day. Even if that means you don't read my blog.). Turn learning chess together and playing it during the week an integral part of your routine and you will develop a stronger relationship with your family. Kids want to play with you; they don't really want to watch TV -- they just aren't given any other options. Wow, did you see that? I almost started ranting.

#3 Chess Helps Kids Get Creative
When playing chess, the right hemisphere of the brain works really hard, and that is the side of the brain the rules creativity. By playing chess just once or twice a week, kids can vastly improve their ability to thing outside the box.

#4 Better Problem-Solving Skills
Chess turns kids into brilliant problem solvers.  In terms of academics, this translates to kids understanding math. In the real world, this means a kid can figure out how to solve something like build a lego model without help.​

#5 Chess Makes Better Readers
Studies show that children who play chess test well above kids who do not play chess. The reasoning isn't completely understood, but researchers think it may have something to do with chess being able to improve a person's comprehension skills.
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Let's Play Trivia

1/4/2015

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Let's play trivia guys! January 4th is National Trivia Day, so it is imperative that we play trivia all day! I've added this youtube video, but I highly recommend playing a few trivia board games tonight with the family. Below the video you will find my absolute favorite trivia board games!

My Favorite Trivia Board Games to Play with the Family

  • Matter of Fact: I actually love to play this game while we eat dinner because it makes dinner fun and the kids are more likely to finish their dinner knowing that they get to play the game at the same time.
    • The game contains thousands of questions and it when you don't know the answer, it turns into an educational lesson because you get to learn something new.
    • You don't have to follow the rules of the game! I use it how I want to use it.
  • Trivial Pursuit for the Family: This may be the best and most kid-friendly trivia game on the market. We play it every Friday Night after dinner. The game is great for younger kids even if they don't know how to read.
    • The best part about this game is that you can play in teams. If you have two and two parents, you can play with your favorite kid and kick your spouse's butt (just kidding...I don't have a favorite...cue the cough).
    • The game has 1,200 questions.
  • Beat the Parents: We own this game and the kids like it because it is truly geared toward kids.  My six-year-old loves this game because it helps her prove me wrong on a number of issues, which is her goal in life. The only gripe I would have about this game is that it isreally geared toward families who watch a ton of television. So, if you watch tv and cartoons and movies, you will like this game. But if you are like our family and don't see a lot of TV/Movies, then not all of the cards will be usable. Whatever though because the kids just love to watch you be wrong.
  • Professor Noggin's Wonders of Science: Are you a nerd like me? Are your kids total nerds? Then buy this game today! We play this game several times a month and it is wonderful for teaching and for having fun. It is also a great way to see what your kids do and do not know (Hello Interactive Super Sneaky Assessment!). 
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  • Home
  • Educate
    • Oregon Homeschool Laws
    • The Schedule
    • Early Years
    • Year One
    • Year Two
    • Year Three
    • Year Four
    • Year Five
    • Year Six
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    • Grammar
    • Writing
    • Spelling
    • Reading
    • Science
    • Geography
    • History
    • Math
    • Art
  • Homeschooler Meals