Not all children respond to paper and pencil learning and, even if they do, they may need a change of pace. According to the Connected Learning Alliance, "Game-based learning can promote a desire to learn outside the classroom." Educational board games to the rescue!
I like educational board games because children can:
Learn new facts
Look at subjects differently, especially if they seemed boring initially
Maintain, reinforce, and practice skills already learned
Experience subjects in a simulated real-world situation such as playing a money game
Possibly fill learning gaps
Build social skills, sportsmanship, and cooperation
Best of all, have fun with family and friends
Because you, as parents or educators, are beyond busy with so much on your plate, I have done the research for you. After looking at many reviews, websites, YouTubes, and games, I have narrowed down a workable list of FUN, EDUCATIONAL BOARD GAMES IN SEVERAL SUBJECT AREAS AND AGE GROUPS.
MATH:
Count Your Chickens by Peaceable Kingdom. This game is great for little ones, ages 3 & 4 to practice one on one counting skills. The directions are clear and concise, and it promotes cooperative learning versus competitive. Check out other Peaceable Kingdom games. A great choice for early learners.
eeBoo Time Telling and other eeBoo educational games which include puzzles, math skills, memory, matching, Bingo, storytelling, literacy, and life on earth. These are beautifully designed and easy to play.
4 Way Countdown for practice in basic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). Very nice wooden pieces and box with clear concise directions that can be modified for different ages. Highly recommended and great fun for kids.
Prime Climb for ages 7 to adult. If you are interested in getting away from number drills, this is a great game for actually visualizing the concepts of prime numbers and factors. There are also many YouTubes which discuss the game and help with instructions (Edo's Prime Climb review) and others.
Blobby's Pizza for 7 to 10 yrs. A fun and easy to play game. Win the monster eating contest and learn fractions, decimals, and percentages.
SCIENCE:
Some Body for 6 yrs. and up. A collection of 5 human anatomy games at different levels. Initially, children can place different body parts and organs like a puzzle. Fun game for those kids who are interested in learning all about the body.
Science Ninjas: Valence card game for 9 yrs. and up. Help a team of Science Ninjas to build molecules out of elements. A fun way for kids and adults to memorize atomic numbers, look at common reactions with other elements, explain molecules and other concepts. There is a helpful video called "How to Play Valence" Nathan Schreiber-Science Ninjas.
Ecosystem card game for 10 yrs. and above. With environmental concerns, this game is great for helping kids learn about animal habitats and biodiversity.
Qurious Space family card game. Spark curiosity about space and the universe. Compact size cards in a tin container which includes many facts and images from Nasa about planets, constellations, and more.
GEOGRAPHY:
Geo Puzzles are are great way to make learning geography fun. With pieces shaped like the various countries around the world, including the regions of Latin America, Europe, U.S. and Canada, Africa and Middle East, and more. Plus, Geo Toys has a website with additional resources and activities.
Quick Pix Geography game for 7 yrs. to high school. Kids will learn about the regions of the world with this fast moving, easy to play, QUICK game.
LANGUAGE:
ABC Picture Boards by Melissa and Doug. Always known for their great quality products, this is a must have for kids learning upper and lower case letters, letter sound recognition and more.
Alphabet Go Fish. If kids love the card game Go Fish, they will love this game and learn along the way.
Zingo sight word game is for PreK through 2nd. A fun, fast paced way to learn sight words.
Treehouse Town Parts of Speech game for 6 yrs. +. I just love the sturdy cards with lovely images. Along with cards that represent parts of speech, it includes a spinner with proper noun, pronoun, verb, and adjective. kids spin and see if they have a card that matches each parts of speech. It also comes with a set of two books that can be ordered. Plus, there are many other games made by goodandbeautiful.com. Highly recommend.
Tall Tales Story Telling Boards are a wonderful and imaginative way for kids to put together stories by drawing all kinds of small figures and objects from a bag to work together as a group to complete a story. Perfect for home and classroom. It won both the Prestigious Toy Award and 2016 Scholastic Parent and Child Award.
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