Educational Games: Preschool

This is a 4-part blog series on games. It includes games for preschoolers, early elementary, later elementary, middle school and high school.  This post contains affiliate links that will help you find the game easily.

We’ve found ourselves needing a little more family interaction lately in place of all our separate screen time during this crisis.  Games are the perfect remedy.  Here are some of our favorite games for Preschoolers and Kindergartners.

Hiss

20200421112541_IMG_2009.jpgThis game is perfect for a preschooler. It’s simple, encourages matching colors and counting.  The essence of the game is to pick a card from a pile and match the color to  form snakes.  If you complete a snake, you get to keep the cards.  When no more matches can be made, you count the cards. The person with the most cards wins. This could easily be made into a cooperative game as well, which might be more suited for preschoolers.

 

Orchard

20200421113054_IMG_2016.jpgThis is a delightful cooperative game where you try to collect the fruit before the crow gets it.  It encourages color recognition and cooperation, as well as some counting. A favorite activity for us was to make physical bar graphs with the fruit after the game, and then compare them for each player. Sometime we even put these on paper.

 

Harvest Time

20200421112652_IMG_2012.jpgThis is another cooperative game where you try to collect the harvest before winter comes.  It often requires a little strategy and cooperation to bring all the veggies in.  Educational value includes reasoning, some counting, and color matching. It’s also just fun.

 

Spot It!

20200421113003_IMG_2015.jpgThis is a matching game. Every card has six pictures on it. Each card has exactly one match for every other card. You can play this competitively to see who get the most cards, or cooperatively working to find the matches together. They have an Frozen theme alphabet set as well, though it’s much more pricey.

 

Leap Frog Dominoes

20200421113340_IMG_2019-1.jpgThis is a spin off the typical domino game, but with a preschool flare.  You can switch up the cards in the dominoes to play with numbers, shapes, or words. Many of the word cards rhyme, so it could be matched by rhyme as well. Counting, shape recognition, and reading skills are strengthened with this game.

 

 

 

20200421121036_IMG_2034.jpgGet Up and Go

Stuck in the house and need the kids to get out some energy. This is the perfect game for them. It has a stack of action cards, some animal, some people, to act out and then your opponents give you points for your performance.  We don’t even both with the points, and if I’m feeling lazy, I don’t even bother playing. I just flip the card one by one while my daugher acts them out.  It’s a fun and entertaining to get moving on days you are stuck inside or need a change a pace before or after “school.”

 

Candy-land

20200421112808_IMG_2014.jpgLast but definitely not least is the old favorite, Candy-land. We wore this game out.  There of course is the color recognition skills and counting that are practiced.  But in addition to those, I’d encourage you to make your own rules up. It’s hilarious when you do.  One of our rules included any color drawn was double the amount until you got to the snowcone. We also put many more ups and downs on the board.  This one has lasted so long for a reason. It’s great fun.

 

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