Does your family love games as much as we do?
When it comes to games, my family is obsessive! My 5-year-old can now beat me at Chess and Settlers of Catan and my 2-year-old will sit and play games all day by herself (she plays everyone’s turns for them). We even have a full day every week devoted solely to games in our preschool! That is because we feel that games are not only fun, but they also make excellent teaching tools.
If you are looking for a great gift for your children, here are some educational games that the whole family will enjoy. *Game links below are affiliate links. I was not compensated to write this post. All opinions are my own. Read my full disclosure.
Reading Skills
This game is like scrabble, minus all of the annoying rules. You simply pass out tiles and start building your own individual crossword. The game ends when all the tiles are gone. It can be a really fast game (5-10min). The best part is that you can use the tiles to make up your own learning games. I like to use them as a puzzle and help my children use all of the pieces to make one big crossword. If you have the time you could also make your own.
Roll and Play
This is a simple game for toddlers that helps build vocabulary and gross motor skills. You just roll the die and pick a card. Then you help your child do whatever silly activity that is on the card. Actions range from animals sounds to touching your nose. I like this game because it helps children learn to follow directions and cooperate. You could also go the frugal route and check out this DIY version of the game.
Flash Cards
Strategy Games
Ticket to Ride
Building train tracks to complete secret routes is the object of this game. It is simple to play and yet it allows players to make a lot of strategic choices. A fun aspect of the game is the ability to block other player’s routes, which, if your family is overly competitive like mine, can really spice up the game. It takes 30 mins to an hour to play. I love this game for older children because it introduces them to strategy building – forcing them to think ahead and plan their moves.
Blokus Jr
5+
This set is a Children’s version of the Classic Blokus Puzzle Game. Players take turns putting their own colored pieces on the board by connecting them corner to corner. The player who gets the most pieces on the board wins. I like this game because it comes with puzzles to help teach children how to play. More importantly, parents will want to break this quick game out when the kids go to bed!
Kid-cala
Mancala is a very simple and addictive African strategy game for 2 players. Children will be excited about counting and planning their next move. Game play consists of moving the pieces around the board and collecting them in your Mancala, (big cup at each end of the board). Although, this version says it is for 6-yrs+, my 4-year-old begs to play. Kid-cala has 3 different levels of play and a colored coated board that helps children remember which side is theirs.
Math
9-yrs+
If your child likes Sudoku he will love this game. To play, roll the die for a target number. Then lay out number tiles in a row or column that are multiples of the target number. However, you may not lay down tiles of the same color. The multiple is also the points for your turn. The player with the most points wins. There are 5 different variations of the game, including solo-play. This game helps sharpen addition and multiplication skills and has a component of strategy that makes it one of the best math games for older children.
Speed!
Speed is another multiplication game, but it is fast paced and highly competitive. To play a regular game, two players split one deck and try to be the first to get rid of their cards. To get rid of cards you must match your card with another that is one step higher or one step lower than two target cards. Get a better idea of how to play Speed by watching the video. The best thing about these cards is that you can use them to teach. For ways to teach skip counting, multiplication, and more go to Highhill Homeschooling.
Yahtzee Jr.
Matching, counting, and luck is the basis of this game. Just like in regular Yahtzee, the object of the game is to roll as many of one character as possible. Play is very quick (10-15min). My 2-yr-old loves to play this game. My 4 and 5-yr-old can play it by themselves.
Memory/Concentration
Spot It Jr.
This is a competitive I spy game. The Jr. version has kid friendly cards and pictures. Be the first to find the matching pictures between two cards to win a card. The person with the most cards wins. There are 5 different play variations and you could also play cooperatively. My preschoolers love the I spy books so this game is perfect for them.
Find even more unique educational games in my store!
What are your favorite Education Games for kids?
I LOVE THIS SITE! Not only does it offer excellent educational ideas for the whole family to get involved in but it offers activities that help build kids’ confidence. Keep up the wonderful, wonderful work! 🙂
Thank you Anon! The feedback really motivates and inspires me.
Great list. My kids (4 & 6) love Spot It and Yahtzee Jr (Mickey Mouse edition). My older one enjoys Blokus.
I’m glad your family agrees with my choices! I could have added so many more. They are such a great way for kids to learn.
OUr family favorite right now is Uno!
Uno is classic! Do you make up your own rules like we do?
Love these games! We just discovered Bananagrams!
Some great ideas here, which I needed 🙂 Thanks so much.
I haven’t bought my grands game yet. This is a big help–love knowing the age groups, too. Thank you!
Have a restful Sabbath,
Pamela
I just started a brand new blog linky today- Share It Saturday- and I would love to have you stop by to share some of your great ideas!
http://www.teachbesideme.com/2012/12/share-it-saturday-numero-uno.html
thanks!
I love this list – and the linky. I’m always at a loss as to what games would be right for my girls ages and that would hold their interest for a few years. Yahtzee Jr. might be a winner for us! Thank you!
Love this list. Now, I need to add to my Christmas list for the boys! Thanks for the ideas.
This is so cool! We love Bananagrams. I am the creator of Speed! and I’ve never heard of Sumoko. It looks like a perfect gift for my 11 year old. Now I’m going to check out the linked up gift guides.
We love your game! I hope many people find it through my gift guide. Thanks for stopping by and checking out the other lists!
I love educational toys and games.
thanks for the idea/link for making letters for Bananagrams. I love the tile idea. And I love word games.
I have bookmarked your site in my browser to check back whenever you update your blog with another useful post. Keep up the good work.
Thomas Kinkade puzzles
Hi Tulip! Thank you so much for featuring my French Chocolate Truffles! This week I posted a French Apple `Tart, that’s sure to impress, but is super easy to make!
Thanks for sharing this to our 12 Days of Christmas {Goodies} link-up. 🙂
GREAT ideas here! This will make holiday shopping a lot easier (and lots of ideas for our homeschooling, too!!). Thanks!
Tulip I love this list; thanks! Big Brother is just starting to get into playing games. You are a featured favorite this week on Saturday Show & Tell on Cheerios and Lattes! Thanks for sharing your great ideas with us each week; we love having you! Can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to this week!
Mackenzie 🙂
cheeriosandlattes.com
My brother & I used to play Mancala for hours! Hubby and I love playing Bananagrams too 🙂
I love all the ideas plus the links. I shared your post on my facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/HighhillHomeschool
Awesome suggestions. Have you ever considered looking in to Discovery Toys for more educational and fun family games?
Excellent post! Really,educational games will help us and kid in particle life.I will use these games from now.Thank You.
This list is such a gem—thank you for putting it together! We’re a game-loving family too, and I love how you connected each game to learning goals. Ticket to Ride and Spot It Jr. are already favorites, but now I’m excited to try Sumoku and Roll and Play with my kiddos. So helpful and fun!