Fun & Free Learning Games for Kids Ideas

One of my dear friends who is an elementary school teacher is always talking about finding what works for each student. Today, this article will discuss different genre learning games for kids that will help nurture your kids.

Spelling Games for Kids

What are good spelling games for kids? Obviously, games that require spelling, but besides that, games shouldn’t make you feel the panic of a spelling test.

Some kids enjoy crossword puzzles and wordsearches like my son and I do. Both of those games are excellent exercises in spelling. However, I have other kids that are not interested in word searches and crossword puzzles, probably because it looks too much like homework, which they are morally opposed to. For those kids that need a little something else to get them interested in spelling, this page is for you.

Play spelling games on your next Family Game Night – Scrabble, Scrabble Jr, Bananagrams or Upwords are all excellent ways to incorporate spelling into a fun game. When the whole family gets together and plays, your kids will have so much fun, they won’t even care their using their brains.

Play Spelling Jeopardy – This is a spelling game for kids like the classic Jeopardy game, where you answer in the form of a question. However, you must spell the answer. For example, if you say “to make a series of quick sounds with the voice that show amusement.” Then the correct answer would be “What is L-A-U-G-H?” If it is answered correctly, the player gets the amount on the card and if incorrect it gets deducted from the amount the player has. This game is best played if you have a “game show host” and two to three players or teams. At the end of the game, the player or team with the most money, wins. This concept can be done with whatever spelling lists or sight words your child is working on at the time. I used Webster’s New World Children’s Dictionary, for my definitions

Art Games for Kids

Art games for kids are so much fun. The options are endless and are only limited by your imagination. From painting to sculpting to drawing and photography everyone can find a niche to get interested in. And I am not even getting into music, dance and theatre.

According to Critical Evidence, How the Arts Benefit student achievement, “research has shown that what students learn in the arts may help them to master other subjects, such as reading, math or social studies.” The article went on to say, “In a well-documented national study using a federal database of over 25,000 middle and high school students, researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles found students with high arts involvement performed better on standardized achievement tests than students with low arts involvement. Moreover, the high arts-involved students also watched fewer hours of TV, participated in more community service and reported less boredom in school.” I didn’t need much convincing before, but after I read that I was even more convinced of the need to include art in a well rounded education.

Try the Copycat Art Game – To introduce art, I decided to show the kid’s famous works of art and have them imitate one of their choosing. I was very impressed with what they came up with. My preschool art certainly didn’t look anything like theirs did.

Explain to your child that different types of paints have different looks. For instance, you can show them a water color painting and then an oil-based painting. Then ask your child what differences they see in the look of the painting.

You can also experiment with different methods of painting. Give your child a paint brush, a popsicle stick, a q-tip, an old toothbrush and whatever else you like and use them to see how you can use them to create unique works of art.

Preschool Games for Kids

Preschool games and activities are a way for a child to interact, explore, play and manipulate the world around them. Playtime is actually the best way for a preschooler to learn. Nothing will stop a young child from learning more than sitting them down at a desk and “teaching” them. By “playing” dress up or exploring bugs in the backyard or building with blocks, children use skills that cannot be taught at a desk. That doesn’t mean you should throw out all the Pre-K workbooks you just bought. It just means that you need to incorporate learning games and free play every day as part of your preschoolers’ routine.

Count everything. Ask your little one how many steps it takes to get from the car to the front door, and then count each step together. How many crackers are on his plate? How many cars will you pass on the way to Grandma’s? Look for ways to reinforce counting skills everyday as part of your normal routine and make preschool math activities fun. Not to mention the fact that making a game out of your normal schedule will draw on your child’s cooperation skills which in turn will make your life easier. That is definitely a good thing.

At the pre-reading level, the number one thing you can do to get your child to want to read is to read to them. Read to your child everyday as much as possible. Get animated in your reading, use different accents and change your tone. This is a wonderful time for a preschooler to learn how the change in your volume and the tone of your voice shows different emotions.

Play ABC kids games on a regular basis and read signs, cereal boxes and everything else to help them to make the connection that the words have meaning.

Play the Shape Stomp Preschool Game and point out shapes as you find them. The Yield sign is a triangle, the stoplights are circles and so on. Preschool is about discovering and understanding the world they are in. Anything can be a game!

For a change and of course, in limited amounts we can use preschool online games to keep them entertained while still learning.

Conclusion

There are so many learning game options available that will help your kid nurture their learning skills while keeping it fun.