Bored children this summer? The answer is simple - try a board game! That's right - adults may remember the tired but true games of Operation, Candy Land, or Chutes and Ladders, but these are all new to children. And the best part? These games not only encourage family time, lessons about taking turns, and gracefully winning or losing, but they also help with important school readiness skills.
Think about Candy Land - children match the colors on cards to squares on the board. Sometimes children see that pulling a specific color will help them along. This encourages critical thinking.
Chutes and Ladders, Trouble, or Sorry can support this, too. Matching one-to-one correspondence between spaces on a board and a game piece is important. Of course, you can help children stay calm when they have to "chute" backwards. Knowing how to accept a setback and even possibly see that despite a possible loss, odds can be overcome.
Operation can be a silly game but wow - the fine motor skills it encourages are helpful! Think about pinching the tweezers and removing, ever so carefully, small game pieces. This helps with the pincer grasp and with eye-hand coordination.
Good ol' Checkers helps children learn rules, take turns, and keep a game board organized. Teachers appreciate when children come to school with these skills.
And remember card games, too. Go Fish helps with expressive language and proper sentence structure. This would be a wonderful game if you are working with English Language Learners.
Anytime a child can roll the dice is helpful as the dots can first be counted and then recognized by pattern without the need to count each dot. This is subitizing in an authentic way. So, games with dice are always beneficial. I have even seen preschoolers who are Monopoly masters!
With the 4th of July upon us, engage family members in playing these games with children. What a fantastic way to spent a rainy afternoon with grandparents...making memories.