We do a fair bit of gameschooling (learning through games). One Rae really likes is Sushi Go – it’s fairly quick and easy to play but my favorite part is the different kinds of math that go into calculating the score. Sneaky (and fun!) learning at it’s finest. If you’re interested I have a list of most of the games we own/play here.
The Need for Speed via Dutch Blitz
If you didn’t grow up playing Dutch Blitz you missed out and I highly recommend you grab a deck of cards to play with your kids. This is one of those games that has so many educational benefits and kids don’t even notice! The game is a simple concept, you are basically building piles of cards from 1 through to 10 but there is a speed factor and a few piles you are grabbing cards from plus if you keep score (which we don’t do when the kids are just learning) concepts like multiplication, addition and negative numbers come into play. So much learning while having a “vonderful goot” time.
Learning Cat’s Cradle
With the end of winter we’ve come out of hibernation and have drastically reduced our screen time. One of the things I want to do with the kids this summer is teach them all kinds of old school games – hopscotch, jacks, skipping games, etc. Yesterday morning I set out to teach the kids cat’s cradle, it’s amazing how something you haven’t done for 20 years can come back so quickly. I was surprised to find that Ephraim was the child that was the most interested in it and we ended up playing for about 20 minutes. I did need to use a video to refresh my memory on the…
DIY Robinson Crusoe Jr. – DITL
There are so many bits to our day that I was unable to share today but’s it’s been a good practice for me to stop and pay attention to what we are doing. Some days we take a more unschooling approach than other days, today was one of those days. One thing Raeca started working on yesterday is her own junior version of the Robinson Crusoe game that we have so she can play it on her own. 🙂 I love that. Other bits I didn’t get to show: playing Old Maid and Guess Who, lots of basketball – including a little bit with some friends, a few other books…
Putting a Creative Spin on Things – DITL
Rae is one of those kids that runs out of time each day for all the ideas she has. She may get this trait from me . . . Today she is leading them in a twist on some games. We have a number of games we like to play together as a family and today she is leading Ephraim on an adventure of a new game – they are combing Tsuro of the Seas and Rush Hour Shift. I really have no idea what the rules all are to the game but they are having a lot of fun. I especially like to see the creativity because we are…