Playing Is Educational

Parents and teachers are constantly on the lookout for ways to make learning fun, and one of the easiest ways is to integrate learning into upbeat, lively, and interactive activities.

With that in mind, the following is a short list of board games for kids that will be so much fun they won’t even realize they are learning.

-Scrabble: The classic word game is an obvious choice. Watch spelling and vocabulary improve as your kid works with the tiles and is introduced to new words. Keep score if you want to introduce even more strategy and competition into the game.

-Connect Four: This is a simple game with a simple objective—connect four pieces in a line. But within that simple framework, there is a lot of room for strategy and fun. Your kid will thrive on and benefit from both.

-Clue: The game of murder and intrigue will have your kids delighted. And it will have you delighted because they are learning all about reasoning, process of elimination, and strategy.

-Twister: While this board game is not as immediately obvious as the other choices, there is a definite educational benefit to the game of contortion and chaos. Just like mental dexterity, motor skills and balance are very important, and this game can help hone those skills.

It can be a tricky endeavor, teaching kids how to tell time. Part of the problem is that the activity is often relegated by teachers. But it is such a basic, everyday skill. As such, every student should know how to read an analog clock.

So how do you make something like learning to tell time a fun and interactive activity? One solution is transforming the activity into a game of BINGO (complete with prizes, of course).

Make up basic BINGO cards for all the students. Place one time of day per box—12:00, 10:45, etc. Project a transparency of a clock with the numbers but no hands. With an erasable pen, fill in the hour hand and minute hand.

If anyone has the time you’ve written, that student can cover the square with a piece of paper. (Keep a running log of the times you’ve written for the end.)

As with any game of BINGO, the first person to make a straight line vertically, horizontally, or diagonally yells out “BINGO.”

Check the student’s card to ensure every time was given. If so, that student is the winner.

While there are many ways for kids to learn how to tell time, this is just one simple, interactive, and high energy example.