Welcome to Game School – Spring Break Edition. Playing board games with the family is one of my favorite ways to connect. Our world is so hectic and has so much going on that sometimes we need to take moments to simply sit and connect. If we can include some learning during the connecting time then this mama counts it as a WIN. These five games will have you winning even if your littles beat you!
Rack-O Jr. – This game is for the younger littles but JustaBXgirl and I adore it. It’s visually appealing with its rainbow design. It is also something that we can do with HOPS. This game teaches colors, number recognition, and numerical order. And it’s really fun and quick.
Monopoly Scrabble – Okay, I don’t have to explain how this works for homeschooling. It is Monopoly and Scrabble. I love this mashup even though I don’t think it will take the place of either of the originals. It’s like with our kids. We don’t stop loving one when we have a new one. This makes both games feel brand new again. It will quickly become a favorite in your home. Also, the littles will forget that they’re learning when they’re fighting with each other over stolen properties.
Scattegories Stackegories – This is such a fun twist on the original game. It’s rapid-fire fun. Rather than writing down answers you say them out loud and claim a letter. You hope that nobody stacks on top of you. It also feels a bit like Scattegories Tic-Tac-Toe because you can earn bonus points by getting three in a row. This game is great for working on vocabulary. There’s math in adding the scores. And there is even some critical thinking about what letters to use to get the best score and to take over an opponent’s stack.
Yahtzee Words – Yahtzee is a game near and dear to me. See, I don’t have many memories of spending time with my paternal grandmother because we had trouble communicating. She only spoke Spanish and I only speak English. Yahtzee didn’t require language. I remember her and my aunts sitting around her dining table playing. I don’t remember specifics but I remember the feeling. It was love. It was light. There was laughter. And sometimes, she would let me roll for her. When I saw that Yahtzee had a word edition it made me super happy because I love word games. I hope that when JustaBXgirl grows up and thinks back to all of the games we play she remembers the same feelings Yahtzee brings back for me. Again, you can figure out the way to homeschool with this one BUT I will say an out-the-box way is to take what is traditionally a two or more player game and turn it into a single-play game (don’t worry, they even suggest a solitaire version in the instructions). Challenge your littles to work on their spelling and vocabulary by playing this alone and checking their spelling with a dictionary.
Risk 1980’s Edition – What else would homeschoolers teach other than World Domination? This game is great to pair with social studies, and history (what makes the 1980s editions different from a more modern-day map). You can work on strategy and math (how many armies do you have, how many countries until victory). If you’re playing in a larger group it can be a lesson on alliances. And as always it is a lesson in sportsmanship. Remember when you’re planning world domination to still be nice to each other when the game ends!
