Wednesday, August 4, 2010

“Classic board games teach kids school-readiness skills” plus 3 more

“Classic board games teach kids school-readiness skills” plus 3 more

Classic board games teach kids school-readiness skills

Posted: 04 Aug 2010 12:25 AM PDT

Flashcards are a tough sell when sprinklers, squirt guns and swimming pools beckon.

Classic board games, on the other hand, go down like ice cream and -- Psst! Don't tell! -- your kids learn everything from basic math skills to strategy and spatial reasoning.

"Games are a great way for kids to extend their thinking and do different kinds of thinking than they would in school in a very positive, pro-social way," says Janine Remillard, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania's graduate school of education. "This is a great thing to encourage."

We asked Remillard to match classic games with age-appropriate skills.

Pre-counting skills

• Ages 3 to 5: Candy Land is a tad slow for adults, but preschoolers can't get enough of this rainbow-bright board game. No numbers required so even very young children can tackle ideas about sequences (one thing comes after another) and work on matching colors and pictures.

Counting skills

• Ages 5 to 12: Counting is one of the most important skills your kids can learn, and Trouble is here to help. Five-year-olds (and precocious younger siblings) love the retro dice-popper and the mad race to the finish. Sorry!, with similar thrills but a tad more strategy, is a hit with ages 6 and up. (Chutes and Ladders is another top pick.) These games teach kids that numbers correspond with values (1 equals one space, 2 equals two spaces) and do basic addition.

Strategy

• Ages 5 and up: Many kids can enjoy the higher pleasures of checkers and chess by kindergarten or first grade. Both games are more complex than counting games and great for teaching pattern recognition, thinking ahead and cause-and-effect. Another big favorite is Clue Jr., which encourages ages 5-8 to use their powers of deduction to solve a mystery. Kids graduate to Clue, recommended for ages 9 and up.

Spatial reasoning

• Ages 2 and up: Very simple puzzles help toddlers with basic geometric concepts. Connect Four is a fun, fast-moving introduction to graphing points on a grid for kids age 4 or 5 and up. (Caution: This game may be addictive for adults as well as children.) At about age 7, many kids are ready for Battleship, which encourages them to visualize shapes they can't actually see and imagine possible patterns on a grid. Another great pick in this category is Blokus (recommended for ages 7 and up).

Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Games, contests and softball part of Vail Fun Days

Posted: 03 Aug 2010 10:49 AM PDT

Kids' games, a strongman contest, "Golf Around Vail", a slowpitch softball tournament and a performance by The King and His Court softball team are among a full slate of activities planned for Vail Fun Days scheduled for Saturday, August 7.

Following is the schedule of events:

Saturday, August 7

9 a.m. – slowpitch softball games begin

9 a.m. – car show starts

11 a.m. to 1 p.m. – lunch served (hot dogs and burgers)

11 a.m. – kids' games begin

Noon – strongman registration (3 p.m. contest start), $20 entry fee

 2 p.m. – greased pig contest

2 p.m. – "Golf Around Vail ($5 entry fee)

fire department water activities (afternoon time to be set)

3 p.m. – pool races

4 p.m. – third annual duck race (ducks can be purchased until start time for $5 each)

5 p.m. – pulled pork supper

9 p.m. – Fishheads concert ($5 admission)

Sunday, August 8

9 a.m.-1 p.m. – breakfast at the community building before the ball games

The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of southwestiowanews.com.

Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Police, kids share fun, games of 27th National Night Out

Posted: 04 Aug 2010 04:11 AM PDT

[fivefilters.org: unable to retrieve full-text content]

NASHUA – In one corner, there was face painting. In another, there was a foosball tournament next to a billiards tournament. Outside, a pitched battle was taking place between the PAL and Boys & Girls Club kickball teams. All of it was part of the 27th annual National Night Out, a crime- and drug-prevention celebration put on Tuesday by the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua, the Nashua Police ...

Kids just want to have fun

Posted: 03 Aug 2010 11:27 PM PDT

Posted By Photos by Brandi Cramer

Updated 29 minutes ago
Tuesdays and Thursdays are always fun at the Powassan and District Library as staff hosts Destination Jungle, a summer-long kids program. The program runs from 1 to 2:30 p.m. both days for kids between the ages of 6 and 12. Activities include reading, games, crafts and more.

On Tuesday, participants were read a book, played a game of snakes and ladders and tried their hand at origami. The program continues through Aug. 27 when it will close out with Critters and Kids, a unique and educational experience allowing children to learn about different insects, amphibians, mammals and reptiles. There is no cost to participate and everyone is welcome.

Five Filters featured article: "Peace Envoy" Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
Posted by at

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)