I need to let you in on a little secret… Homeschooling allows you to focus on education in all its forms! So, that means you are not limited to a book or curriculum as part of the study plan. There is another aspect of Homeschooling which will broaden your children’s education. It is a whole world on to itself and with its own language…
I have been learning so much from it for the last few years and yet, I am still learning new terms and techniques.
So, what is this other aspect of Homeschooling… GAMESCHOOLING!
If you’re like me, you are new to this process. I have been gathering some information to get you started.
Today, I want to share some basic information to get you started.
3 basic questions to learn more “Game On!”:
- What is Gameschooling?
- Why do families choose to Gameschool?
- Our favorite games to play
WHAT IS GAMESCHOOLING?
By definition, Gameschooling is a term when referring to playing boardgames (manipulative type no screen time) for educational purposes.
It is rapidly gaining popularity in the Homeschool community, but relatively new to us. It caught my attention a few years ago, not until last Fall did, I started to implement it. Gameschooling is now in our weekly routine and family time.
Learning in books and throughout our curriculum is good, but like anything else we need a break at one point or another. I use these breaks as an opportunity to gauge how my children apply their education to a real-world environment. These games allow me to see how my girls are progressing outside of our standard educational routine.
The best part of it, no matter where you shop, you can easily find a board, card, or dice game that will fit your family’s needs. The market has hundreds if not thousands of board games out there and they cover any subjects from strategy to history and geography and much much more.
Why I chose to incorporate Gameschooling
Who doesn’t like to play board games?
NEWS FLASH.
We are not always in our books learning, reading and memorizing our daily subjects. You need to apply those skills to an actual event or activity in the real world. We like to have fun with this! Learning beyond the books.
Gameschooling only takes a bit of time, 30 to 45 minutes, and it has given us:
- Exceptional Family Time
- A concrete demonstration of my children’s ability to apply their schoolwork and thinking beyond the books.
I am no expert in Gameschooling, we are still relatively new. The outcome and the “results” we have seen by incorporating time to play board games in our routine is far more than I could have ever imagined. My daughters’ critical thinking in strategy, planning to do an event, or just what they need to get done that day has a new laser focus.
Why adding games to your Homeschool?
There is a reason for our Gameschooling during school hours. We just don’t play any games, anywhere.
We have a few strict rules
- All games are board games (manipulative type no screen time), nothing digital
- Everyone plays and we play on the kitchen table.
These games demonstrate to me and more importantly to my girls that their schoolwork can be used somewhere other than school. And it gives us great family time.
Through the games we have increased our learning in:
- Thinking ability
- Critical thinking
- Strategic thinking
- Each other during this awesome family time
So far, the games we love to play as a family are:
- Mastermind
- Monopoly
- Ticket to Ride
- Tock Game Board
- Rummikub
These are games we already had or gifted to the kids. We also love playing TENZI dice games and card games.
Gameschooling is one of those simple teaching/learning techniques which has been pushed to the side yet is still so important for our children. Yes, it is simple, but so is learning cursive writing, Math facts, and even singing. Cursive writing is a simple activity that activates both sides of your brain, one of only a few. Always keep in mind that whichever game you want to play with your children, it can develop skills they can use for the rest of their lives. Most important, it gives you time as a family and you get to see how they improve with every game…before long they will be beating you😊.
NOTE
Let’s note here, we are not turning worksheets into a game. We are using actual board games that you physically put on the table and must move around, use cards, or roll dice.
Let’s the game begin!
