Play Games Together

 

We have a three day weekend coming up - how will your children spend this extra time at home?  I hope you open up the game cupboard, dust off those old board games and challenge each other to some fun competition.  

Board and card games create great opportunities for learning:  Children practice taking turns, counting and doing math (Monopoly, Uno, Go Fish), using dexterity (think of the game "Operation") and following rules.  These are all skills that are useful for their growth academically and personally.  

Some games like Ticket to Ride, Clue or Checkers require children to think ahead and use strategy to solve a problem.  Playing games such as Sequence, Pictionary, or Charades can develop teamwork and language skills along with plenty of laughter.  All of these games build stamina for your child to have extended focus and problem solving skills too.

In general, playing games can create great family bonding time, make fun memories and help your child grow some valuable skills.  Pop some popcorn, clear off the table, and circle up for great fun this weekend. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Summer!

 At our family engagement activity, kids were able to create a bucket list of things to do over the summer.  There are only two more weeks until summer, so it's a good idea to think about how your kids will spend this time productively.  They need to rest, relax and enjoy summer but there are some things you can do to make it go smoothly.  Many children find too much open ended time to cause anxiety and will turn to excessive use of technology to handle the extra space in their day.   Plan activities to get out of the house and explore a bit each week.  It could be a regular play group, or friend time, a library visit or a day at the beach.  Sleep schedules can get a bit off during the summer too with extra daylight and warm evenings that are conducive to outside play.  It's a good idea to still have some reasonable parameters around bedtime and morning routines even in the summer.  Here are some fun things you could add to your to do list this summer: Make S'mores, go fish
Read more

Responsibility

 Getting your kids (whether they are kindergarteners or teenagers) out of the door in the morning and on their way to school can sometimes be the hardest time of day!  Tired kids can't find anything to wear, get grumpy with everyone, and seem to lose their lunchbox or backpack every day.  Those maddening mornings can be a great opportunity to teach responsibility if you back up just a little bit.   If children know it is their responsibility to do certain tasks every night and every morning, they can rise to the challenge of being more organized and taking more ownership for their behavior.  A simple evening routine chart can really help them get prepared for the next day.  You can include everything they need to do such as: brushing their teeth, washing their face or taking a bath, laying out clothes for tomorrow (this eliminates stressful decisions), putting their bag on a hook with their homework and lunchbox, and getting to bed at a reasonable time.  At school we are training s
Read more