Games can be used to teach and reinforce social skills, as well as increase knowledge and skills. Card games and board games can teach math and reasoning skills, while online learning games are available for all ages. Self-contained learning systems, like LeapFrog®, also offer educational games.
Learning games are opportunities for academic enrichment built into a fun activity. In addition to teaching or reinforcing social activities like sharing, taking turns, and choosing teams, games can actually increase skills and knowledge.
Did you think that kids playing cards are just for fun? Many card games are learning games as they involve general math skills, such as matching, counting, and sequencing. Memory games like concentration focus on the ability to match, identify things that are similar. The card games War, Old Maid and Go Fish also require players to visually or acoustically match the same objects and distinguish different objects. Counting is practiced in any card game where each player is dealt a hand. And sequence is often a factor in solitaire games, when cards often need to be stacked in numerical order.
There are also decks of cards and games that are learning games with specific content area information included. There are many decks constructed like the Authors game with card books that share information about a particular author and his or her work or another subject in the arts, history, or other field. Other card games teach the alphabet, colors, and other topics.
Board games are another source of math learning. Games like Candy Land®, Chutes and Ladders® focus on counting, with Candy Land® also providing matching practice. Connect Four®, Chess, Checkers, and Chinese Checkers all teach reasoning skills. But board games can also be more explicitly learning games with content area information. General knowledge is covered in Trivial Pursuit® and other trivia board games; geographic insights in Risk®, the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?® series, and a variety of National Geographic games.
Online learning games are available on several sites. There are games of this type suitable for preschoolers, as well as games with an older focus and specialized content. Word games, such as hangman and word searches are popular.
There are a number of sites with online learning games. While many focus on older students and specialized content areas, there are some for preschoolers, for example, Fisher-Price®. Online learning games featuring TV characters are available from Nick Jr. For older children, look for Sheppard Software, National Geographic Kids, and Scholastic Kids.
Self-contained learning systems built like laptops but with a limited range of features come with learning games and may even offer add-ons. One popular system is from LeapFrog®, makers of things like the Leapster® Learning Game System. Other examples are V.Smile Nitro Notebook Interactive Learning System® and Winnie the Pooh Interactive Computer® by VTech®.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
