Nowadays, not all kids learn the best through pencil and paper instructions. As per a research outcome, game-based learning can create an engaging environment that inspires students to develop competencies and skills while focusing on the activities of the game. Regardless of the subject and whether your kid loves or hates it, educational games can help parents instil a love of learning in their children.
Being one of the best early childhood education programs, Kumon has organised a list of fun educational games for children to practice basic Maths and language skills.
● Finger Phonics
This is a fun game to teach the English alphabet to your kid while being in the comfort of your home. Form a letter with your fingers and ask your kid to guess what it is. Further, encourage them to think of a word beginning with that letter.
● Silly Speak
Use goofy and initial rhymes throughout the day. You might describe your kid’s sandwich as “Lunch, lunch, lovely little lunch” or make a glum request such as, “Please put on your moos, I mean your boos, no, your shoes.”
● Cartoon Balloon
Use pictures from old magazines or newspapers, draw cartoon speech balloons for people in the ads and allow your child think of the script. Depending on your kid’s age, either they or you can write in the words.
● Simon Says
Playing Simon Says helps in developing listening comprehension skills among kids as they translate commands to various movements. They are required to actively listen for the speaker to deliver the command correctly before deciding to move. After that, they strengthen their balance, coordination and muscles by holding different poses. Kids can put their creativity to use by introducing various commands for their friends and classmates to try.
● Visualise This
Describe any alphabet visually and see whether your kid can guess the letter. You might say, “It looks like two mountains are pulled together,” or “It’s round like a wheel.”
● Word Detective
Before dictating to your child, find a common word, such as “the” or “you”, in the book. Point and spell it out loud. While turning the pages, ask if they can find the word. You can also give them hints.
Importance of educational games
Educational games reform the regular education patterns and prepare students effectively for an integrated, interconnected and technology-driven world. These games serve as a value addition for children as they ensure higher involvement and participation. This is more effective as the students can relate to the situations of the game and hence, dedicate themselves to it. While these games proceed, kids learn and discover new topics in an interesting manner, which they can remember for a longer period. The major benefits of educational games are discussed below.
- Develops basic skills such as reading, language, math and social skills.
- It lets students discover new approaches and methods and encourages thinking abilities.
- Attracts the participation of individuals irrespective of demographic traits like age, gender, status, etc.
- Helps students set up and achieve goals through proper evaluation.
- Examines individual characteristics such as self-conceptualisation, self-esteem, goal-setting, etc.
- Maintains the student’s attention undividedly for a longer period of time.
- Stimulates curiosity among students along with fun and entertainment.
- Increases creativity by putting up new challenges to be faced.
- Useful for acquiring IT skills that have become a requirement in present scenarios.
Wrapping It Up
Concluding the article, we can see that there are a lot of reasons why fun educational games can be beneficial for children to instil a love for learning. In game-based learning, the content of the course is mapped into the game to provide a scenario environment of learning. Self-learning, ongoing interaction and feedback can increase learning interest and motivation among students. Hence, fun educational games could reach the goal of learning effectively.
Kumon is a kids learning program based in India, that challenges students to practice their Maths skills by adding Math games into their free time. Through different dice and card games such as Pig, 101 and out, Block Out, Multiplication War, Fraction War, etc., kids are able to practice problem-solving in a creative way. To know more about the Kumon Method of Learning, visit our website.
