Fun Reading Games for Road Trips

Going on a holiday is always great fun, but getting there is another story altogether. Being stuck in a vehicle for many long hours is enough to get anyone cranky, and it’s even worse when there are restless kids on board. How does one keep everybody happily engaged and enjoying the time together? Many parents talk of using the opportunity to play fun travel games and have interesting conversations as a family. Some of the favorite travel games, like Road Sign Bingo, are just pure fun while others like Odd or Even have an educational element to it. Here are five fun reading games that you can play on your next road trip to have a blast with the family.

By Florida Memory [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons

1. Category ABCs – Category ABCs is a fun travel game that is suitable for all ages, and provides phonics practice for young kids. To begin, players agree on a category, like animals, places or food. Then, the first player calls out an item from that category that begins with the letter ‘A’. The second player continues by repeating that item, and adding an item from the same category that begins with the letter ‘B’. Each player repeats the list of items called out so far and adds one more item starting with the next letter of the alphabet. Players who mess up the order or forget items are out of the game. This reading game is also great for improving memory.

2. Billboard Alphabet Hunt– The object of this travel game is to find the letters of the alphabet in order on the billboards or signboards that you pass. Sounds easy? Not so quick. Each board can only be used for a single letter. The game can be played in several ways to adjust the difficulty level. Everyone can play together, working on finishing the alphabets once, or you can play as individuals to see who can get through the entire alphabet the quickest. This reading game is great for kids who are practicing letter recognition.

3. Roadside Alphabets – A variation of ‘Billboard Alphabet Hunt’, ‘Roadside Alphabet’ is about finding objects that begin with the different letters of the alphabet. Starting with the letter ‘A’, players try to find objects that begin with the different letters of the alphabet, in order. This reading game can be played as a group or as individuals racing to see who can get through the entire alphabet the quickest. The game helps with practicing letter sounds.

4. License Plate Words –This is a great reading game for older kids, and helps practice spellings. One person in the car calls out the letters from passing license plates, and the others take turns thinking of words that contain those letters in the same order. For example, the caller might say ‘CSN’ and the player can respond with the word ‘cushion’ or ‘cruising’.

5. Backwords – This reading game may sound like spelling practice, but it’s a lot of fun! One person in the car calls out words and the others take turns spelling the words backward. It’s a lot more difficult than it sounds, and gets everyone racking their brains sounding out words and revising their spellings.

These travel games may not sound like reading games at first, but they get players practicing letter recognition, phonics and spellings all of which are crucial to reading fluency. They’re also a lot of fun, and are pretty effective in keeping young travelers thinking about something other than how much longer it’s going to take to get to their destination.

Reposted from http://funkidsgames.beep.com

4 Types of Educational Games which Kids Have to Play

Games are a fun way of introducing kids to new concepts and practicing already known concepts. With the revolution in educational technology around the world, it’s desired that we should adopt innovative teaching methods to make classroom learning as interesting as possible. Also, children learn the best when they are taught with mediums other than books in the classroom, like activities, games, projects, presentations, infographics, charts, etc. Presuming that these tools are incorporated in lesson plans, which subjects should be given the most preference while adopting these new methods? The four basic subjects or topics that must lead the avant-garde method of teaching are unarguably math, reading, critical thinking and conversational skills. They encompass most of the other topics and skills like writing, problem solving, communication, and science.

Studying by Scott Akerman

Reading games

Reading can only be fun when one can read! Otherwise, letters on a paper are as useless as a blackboard without a chalk. It’s a good idea to introduce kids to reading with small and simple reading games and activities.

·         Start reading early to your child. Supplement your reading with animated hand and face gestures.

·         Wait patiently for your child to participate, smiling and nodding at her at regular intervals.

·         Allow your child to interrupt. That will encourage her to participate and eventually grow a desire to read.  In other words, help them with their concerns.

·         Read frequently. If you’re reading a frequently-read piece of literature to your child, she will join you in no time and start narrating it with you.

·         Read simple and lucid literature that sounds melodious or is rhythmic.

Math activities

Math is the foundation of many an important subject: physics, chemistry, geography, biology, etc. Besides, it’s a subject that comes into use in our daily lives right from waking up in the morning (checking the time) to going to sleep (setting an alarm). Here are a few math activities that can be practiced with the kids to sharpen their counting skills!

·         Read a recipe and have your child measure the amounts for the ingredients. Use different measures such as teaspoons, cups, and pints.

·         Plan a meal and prepare the shopping list together.

·         If you’re getting vegetables from the store, have your child count and sort them out.

·         Have your child measure her height with the help of a paper that’s already been scaled and marked.     

·         Count pennies with your child. Hide a certain number of them from the stack. Ask your child to guess how many you’ve hidden.

Remember, games like Chinese checkers, Mancala, Yahtzee, and Dominoes also go a long way in improving math skills.

Critical thinking activities and tips

We are confronted daily with opportunities to solve problems and exercise our own judgment to explore the world around us. Not always do these challenges involve physical challenges. The skill to solve these problems and accept the challenges head on is critical thinking. Here’s how you can help children develop their critical thinking skills.

·         Provide opportunities to play.

·         Help children to solve their problems independently.

·         Don’t offer to solve children’s problems.

·         Help children develop hypotheses.

·         Urge children to be accurate.

·         Encourage them to be relevant, logical, and fair 

     

Games and activities to develop conversational skills

It’s important for children to develop great conversational skills as half of the battle is won if an interview goes well! Here are a few activities that will help children better their conversational and public speaking skills.

·         Address the child while you talk to her. That will later help her build self-confidence while speaking.

·         Keep it brief and simple every time you instruct the child. Help the child to comprehend the instruction and respond.

·         Ask the child to repeat the instruction back to you. That’s a great way of striking a conversation.

·         Begin any directive with “I want”. In case they refuse your directive, they can reply saying “I don’t want to…”

·         Give choices to your child while you instruct her to do something and have her choose from the choices and convey it to you in complete sentences.

·         Try rhyming your instructions, like “Do not gawk, please talk”.