How can I get my kids to study? How can I reinforce what they learned in class? The answer is: make it fun. And you can do this by finding games they’ll play on their own. Here’s how to motivate kids to study with 9 fun games.
Flashcards
Flashcards are a simple way to reinforce fast facts. They’re probably the best way to teach math facts like one-digit addition and multiplication. You can use it to teach even simpler concepts such as identifying shapes. Praise the children when they get it right, educate them when they get it wrong, and reward them for the time they put in.
Crosswords
Your kids won’t win at crossword if they leave out an E or include an extra L. That’s why crosswords can reinforce spelling lessons, though it will be incredibly frustrating if they don’t know how to spell the words correctly. Crosswords are a great way to reinforce vocabulary. Use the definition of the word as the hint and have them write the word in the crossword.
Word Unscrambler
A word unscrambler game will teach your children how to spell the word as they play it. It will also reinforce proper spelling since they’ll know they spelled it wrong when there are extra spaces left over. You can use the unscramble to tie to vocabulary lessons such as telling them the jumble of letters is a state capitol or a famous President’s name.
Word Search
Word searches improve pattern recognition and spelling. They’re something any child can do, assuming they can read the word. You can teach them to look for the word at different angles. You can use the word search as a conversation topic, discussing what the word means or why it is spelled that way. Fortunately, the child doesn’t need to understand what the word means or memorize the proper spelling to find it. Word searches can teach kids to memorize sight words and help them learn the patterns words follow such as “Ing” or “ly”.
Rhyming Games
Rhyming games can be used to teach phonics or reinforce vocabulary. For example, asking them to identify plants, animals, and other scientific terms that rhyme with a given word will reinforce the word itself as well as its proper pronunciation.
Role-Playing Games
There’s a reason “Oregon Trail” remains a classic. It teaches kids history while giving them challenges to overcome. More complex games like “Civilization” teach them history and politics while immersing them in a virtual world.
Label Mapping
Label mapping is one of the best ways to teach your kids geography, whether you’re learning the 50 states or the names of the roughly 200 countries in the world. You could also use it to teach world cultures, letting kids label what parts of the world speak a given language or where a certain cuisine comes from.
Pairing Games
Pairing games can be used to teach vocabulary or concepts. For example, matching the picture of the eye to the word in English or Spanish teaches the children the written version of the word. Just don’t have too many pairs or the kids will be too frustrated.
Math Video Games
Quick, here comes the monster, type the number of arrows I need to shoot! This makes it important for your child to figure out 3×4 rather quickly. If you’re taking it to the next level, they may need to figure out how much change to give to a customer to continue role-playing as a restaurant owner. More advanced games ask your child to estimate fuel economy and balance a business budget to earn a profit on their truck route.
