Playing games is a wonderful way to get kids thinking and learning. Little brains get tired when they think they are being taught something complex. However, make it into a game and you might just end up with a bunch of super enthusiastic little learners. To help you get going, here’s a list of our top 5 educational games to play with your kids.
1. Nature Identification Game
The younger ones will love this one. This is a simple game but it will help your kids to learn about the environment they live in. They will find that there is a lot more to the garden they love so well than meets the eye.
Go around the garden and locate any natural specimen you can put a name to. Earthworms, ladybugs, sycamore leaves and daisies all fit the bill. Write this list down multiple times (one for each of your young biologists) and send them off to identify each item!
2. Name the song
All children big and small have something in common: they adore music. From teens to tiny tots, your kids will love this educational, musical game. You can play this game in groups or as individuals.
First, you make a playlist of music from as many genres as you can. Either you or one of the older kiddos should be the moderator. The moderator plays a short clip from the songs on your playlist and the players should scribble down their guess as to what the song is and who the artist is. If you and your family are up for it, you could even get them guessing further like what instruments they can here or what genre of music the song is (classical, rock, country etc.). For the older ones, you could add more complicated questions like when they think the song or piece of music was written. Put your own spin on this one as you spin the decks- you know best what will challenge and entertain your kids!
3. Hangman
This is a fantastic game for those on the brink of literacy… and for those who have been reading and writing for years. Even for the little-er ones, have them team up with someone older so they can enjoy the game too. A whiteboard is ideal for Hangman, but not necessary. Any large sheet of paper can be hung up like a whiteboard and used to draw on.
Again, you must rack your brain to form a list of words; movies, books, sports, food – anything they can spell. Cut out each word and throw the strips of paper into a bowl. Pick a word from the bowl, count the letters in the word and draw a blank space for each letter. The players must guess the letters to fill in the blanks, and every time they guess incorrectly, you (or whoever is the moderator) must draw one part of the stick figure of a hanged man. The players must keep guessing letters- or the word if they can, before the entire stick-figure is drawn. There are only so many chances to guess, so your kids will have their thinking caps on for this one!
4. Educational Twenty Questions
No specific time or location is needed for this educational guessing game- that’s what makes it so great! All you need is a paper and pen to keep score. Make a list of influential people throughout history that your kids have learned about at school. These can be anyone from national leaders, famous authors, to scientists or activists. You can simply Google these if you can’t think on the spot! Cut out the names and throw the strips of paper into your trusty bowl.
Divide your players into two teams. Each player must take their turn to select a strip. Their team members must guess who the influential personality is, using up to 20 questions to ask before their time runs out. If the team fails to guess, the other team gets one chance to guess who the person is to win the point, based on the previous questions that have been asked. This game will teach your children both deductive reasoning and historical and cultural knowledge… and it's fun. What a win for us mums!
