Educational Games (Must have)

Games to Purchase

One of the takeaways from other book club founder websites is games. I decided to share the cost among families. They all are very supportive(bear with me, but this word will become the most frequently used word in my blog, and you'll know why). I bought five educational games from Amazon, and they turned out to be the greatest ice breaker and energy booster ever, let alone their academic functions each game specializes in. There are Synonyms, Blurt, Speed Grammar, Reading Comprehension Card Games, and You Have Been Sentenced! We have played three of them so far. Kids love getting points for making up meaningful sentences, guessing what a word is from the description, and calling out synonyms. Synonym game is the most difficult one of all. Even for a simplest word "open", it's hard to think within a minute what words could replace it.

Use Words Given to Come up with Sentences



Guess Words from Description

Grammar

Reading comprehension is recommended for kids from 8 to 10 years old. The level seems very basic though. I wouldn't suggest kids that are in gifted class play it. It's just not challenging enough. Be aware, it needs a bit of ground work also. It comes in a handbook! You would need to cut pages out. Cutting and organizing paper and game board takes time so if you were like me, who has ten things in mind or hands simultaneously, the book is not for you. Highly recommend Blurt, Synonyms, and You've been Sentenced. Here is the seller's blurb from "You've been Sentenced!":"This is the first game in history to really turn making sentences into a very funny, playable and challenging game." Blurt is also difficult and you really have to invest interest in everything to win. A child who knows what weapon to use at war may not know what a pendant is. 

When to play games?

It seems like a silly question. But designing your instructions and working at a optimal pace has been very crucial to me. To keep the club casual, we all sit on living room's floor. It then created this free to move, roll, jump on and off couch type of tendency among kids. I don't blame them. I would do the same if I were a kid. When you talk about half an hour of intense vocabulary and discussions, the enthusiasm wears off very soon. So I usually start a game when kids' minds are exhausted from talking about books, and learning new words, etc. Sometimes we don't get to play games because we have quizzes on an article as a way to compete, and that actually keeps kids occupied and interested throughout, especially the boys. 

Roles in playing games

Kids continue to surprise and inspire me. When a child would always prefer either not to participate or to play as a narrator, it's because she doesn't like to be humiliated by the "smart" ones. Some tend to get more competitive then others. The winners tend to think more for themselves and are less considerate for others. Personality traits play a big role in these interactions and we, as facilitators, need to be careful and wise while organizing these sessions. Balancing the level of kids and keeping everyone challenged and engaged has always been my pursuit.