From Bored to Board

We have been doing some home improvements this week and needed to clear out a book shelf and a big storage trunk before we could begin...what I uncovered was an absolute treasure trove!

A massive pile of board games, puzzles and card decks.

It's not like I didn't know they were there; I mean the trunk is their home, and I was the one who decided to keep them there. It's a nice neat place where they can live in peace without causing clutter or having their game pieces lost. It makes a great central spot in our home where we can go looking for something to do on a cold winter's night, or some funny entertainment when we have friends over. But what I was reminded of while I was pulling all these games out was how valuable they can be to our families and our children.

Do you remember being a kid spending a night in with your brothers and sisters sitting around playing a round of monopoly? Or trying to join in with your parents and answer the questions in Trivial Pursuit? When I was a kid one of the most popular titles in our house was "Beetle", it's the most simple game of spinning a wheel and adding the eyes, legs, body, antennas to your beetle and the first one to complete wins! So simple, but we spent hours playing it. When we eventually lost most of our beetle body parts one of us got a new version of the game for a gift, and on we went. I believe some of this game may still be in my Nanna's toy box.

So where am I leading with all of this?

The educational value of playing board games!

Beetle seems like quite a simple game, but it helped us learn some really valuable lessons about competition, fine motor skills, sharing and taking turns, even colours and shapes for the younger kids, and more importantly for Mum, it taught us to pack up when we were done and keep things neatly so we didn't lose the pieces. It seems sometimes that the old board game gets forgotten in among all the techno gadgets we have today. So many people overlook the humble board game and head straight to the i-section, the game consoles, the dvds and portable entertainment systems, the computerised toys, everything that needs batteries...and what do we always forget to do when purchasing electronics??? Get the batteries! But board games don't need batteries! They are simple, cheap, easy to use, no power cords, no special add-ons for your computer, no software to download. And most of all they can make learning fun for your kids without even realising that they are being educated!

Lets think about some of the old games we used to play and how they can educate?

Monoply - teaches mathematics, handling money, investing, increases the vocabularly to learn words like mortgage and develop.

Scrabble - is an obvious one, spelling, reading, vocabulary, but it also has some mathematics in adding up the scores and learning to use a dictionary.

Cranium - this might be one you haven't heard of, but trust me, it is a HOOT! Your kids and your family & friends will love it! It is a blend of all the old games you used to play, it combines charades, pictionary, acting, humming tunes, making plasticine figures, trivia and has the most outrageous looking game pieces and is an all round fun game!

Trivial Pursuit - so maybe when you were 10 you couldn't answer your parents questions, but now that you're older you can get the millenium editions and actually get the answers right! Or you can get the kids edition and play with the whole family. General knowledge, reading, problem solving and elimination are all skills you can learn from this game. And patience....it can take a while this one!

Deck of Cards - how basic is a deck of cards? You can pick one up for $1. But they are so versatile, play SNAP with the kids and help them learn to recognise numbers, shapes and colours and improve their quick response skills. Play SOLITAIRE, play GO FISH, PAIRS or MATCH or the good old trick...PICK UP 52...kids love that. Again, simple, but effective.

You don't have to spend alot of money on board games to get value out of them. You can often pick them up in a second store, or find them in your relatives cupboards to borrow. They also make a fantastic gift idea. So next time you're out shopping for birthdays, Christmas, Christenings etc be sure to stop into the board game section of your local department store, or even visit a specialist game store. Perhaps if you have a lot of friends with kids you could all purchase one per family and share them around to save on the cost.

Hours of fun in one box, a cheapy from our local discount store!

It's not just the value of learning new skills that kids get from board games, it's the time you take as a family to sit down and spend time together and do something enjoyable as a group. These are the memories your children will grow up to treasure. I know I do.

All a-board!!!! TOOT TOOT!!!

Find more ideas like this here to make learning fun for your kids!

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Welcome

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to my blog; where we take boring old education, shake it upside down, get back to basics and put the fun back in to learning for your little blossoms!

I'm Louise, but you can call me Aunty Lou if you like; I'm the owner of Blossom - Learning that's fun. I'm an IT professional, an author, a student, a tutor, a wife and an Aquarian, a big sister, and last but certainly not least, I'm an Aunt to my 21 gorgeous nieces and nephews.

This is me!

Now that you know me, I'd like to ask you some questions:

Are you a Mum, a Dad, Nan, Grandpa, Aunty, Uncle, Cousin, Big Brother, Close Friend, Scout Leader, Baby Sitter or any other grown up who has young kids in their life outside of their profession?

Do you ever have trouble helping your little blossoms with their homework?

Do you find yourself nagging them to read or finish off that maths worksheet?

Do you have younger children and you're just not sure how early to start preparing them for school?

If you answered yes to any of those questions you've come to the right place!

Follow my blog for ideas and suggestions on how you can make homework enjoyable for you and your children, tips on activities you can do with your kids to encourage their learning and not even realise they are "getting educated", ways to bring your family closer through shared experiences and discussions and tid bits from other parents and role models just like you!

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See my latest publication Learning That's Fun - Cheap and Easy tips for parents to help their kids with homework and make learning fun!