Games are a great way to get kids involved and interested in their learning. We’ve made a list of educational games, websites and activities for your kids to play over the school holidays.
Educational Websites
Funbrain
Funbrain has a great collection of reading materials, educational videos, games and a pre-kinder playground. The site makes it easy for parents to find the right level of material through the “browse by grade” function. The games and videos encourage the use of maths, grammar and spelling for children in pre-kinder to year 8. Visit the site here
PBS Kids
PBS kids offers counting and sorting games, videos and singalongs and playbacks of your kids’ favourite TV shows. The colourful website features characters such as Cat in the Hat, Curious George, Arthur and WordGirl to help your kids build their writing, maths and creativity skills. Visit the site here to check out the great collection of games and videos
StarFall
StarFall is a great site built in 2002 that helps younger children with reading maths and music skills. The site features colourful cartoons that help kids with learning the alphabet, and basic reading skills. There are also higher level read-alongs available once children have developed basic skills. The easy maths games are a great way to ensure that your kids have practiced their skills over the holidays and are ready for the new school year ahead. Check out the site here
National Geographic Kids
The national geographic kids’ website is great for older children learning science, history and geography. With daily quizzes, games and hundreds of great informative articles, the National Geographic Kids’ webpage is a great way to keep your child reading regularly and interested in relevant topics. Visit the site here
BrainPop
BrainPop is a site with animated videos on science, history, maths, English, arts, music and technology. The site is used by teachers as an addition to course material, however BrainPop does offer some free features for individuals. BrainPop uses Tim and Moby, a robot and his human friend, to teach older students interesting and relevant topics such as digital citizenship, graphing, solving equations and cell biology. Recommended for students in years 5-9, visit the site here
Educational Board and Card Games
Uno
This game keeps you on your toes and can be played with two or more people. Shuffle the deck and deal seven cards to each player. Put one card in the middle of your group and each person must take turns to put down a card that’s either the same number or colour as the card on the middle discard pile. Be careful though, there are wild cards, skip turn cards and reverse order cards which can be tricky! The first player with no cards wins! This is a great game because it teaches kids to pay attention and to focus on the cards and the game. It also helps kids to recognise numbers, colours, patterns and the relationship between objects. Older kids who play will learn logic, reasoning and strategy. You can buy the game at your local Target, Kmart or game store.
Pictionary
Pictionary requires teams to select an artist to draw a secret word and to have other team members guess the word by looking at the drawing only. This fast-paced game allows children to practice creativity and reading skills as well as develop strategy and reasoning skills. You can buy the game at your local Target, Kmart or game store.
Cranium
Cranium is a game for older children and adults to challenge creativity and knowledge skills. The game is similar to Pictionary and requires players to complete different tasks with their team including tricky word problems, acting or humming games, sketching and sculpting games and general knowledge questions. This game can be difficult and challenging at times and is designed for older children and adults. You can buy the game at your local Target, Kmart or game store.
Monopoly
The classic game of monopoly is a great way to teach math skills by having your child act as the game’s banker. In addition to this, concepts of risk and reward, long term and short term investing, negotiation and learning from mistakes can be picked up through the game. Most importantly, it helps your child to practice concentration and perseverance through the game. You can buy the game at your local Target, Kmart or game store.
Games that don’t require equipment
Name game
To play this game, the starting person names an animal and then each player takes turns to name another animal that starts with the last letter on the pre Mikaylavious animal named. The game can also be played with other categories such as cities and countries. This game is suitable for younger and older players and helps kids with spelling and concentration.
20 questions
20 questions is a great game for practicing creativity and thinking outside the box. One person, the creator, secretly thinks of an item, person or animal. The other players then have to take turns guessing yes or no questions such as “are you thinking of a person?” or “do they appear in a book?”. Once the other players have asked 20 questions, each player can take turns to guess what the creator was thinking of.
Memory Test
The first person in the group says “A is for …” filling in the blank with any word beginning with A. For example, “A is for apple.” The next player then has to say “A is for apple and B is for…” filling in the blank with a word that begins with B. Each player must take turns to complete the alphabet so that by the time you reach Z the whole alphabet is recited with their corresponding words. This game is a great way for kids to practice memory and spelling with friends and family.
