subject: Classic Board Game As a Learning Tool For Children [print this page] Classic Board Game As a Learning Tool For Children
Parents and teachers place a good deal of emphasis on basic skill early on in a child's life. Have you ever sat across from your parent at a table while they held up flash cards with mathematical questions starting with addition, then subtraction, then multiplication for you to respond to? Like reading and writing these math skills are critical in life. We use them every day and the sooner we grasp them, the further we can go with more complex problems and additional learning.
Along with the text books and flash cards you can use other ways to demonstrate and practice these basic skills. Counting out change when you go shopping with your kids will reinforce simple math. A fun way to focus on these as well as some higher level abilities can be achieved with the use of the classic board games too. Consider the game Shut the Box where each and every roll you have to attempt to add up numbers on your side of the board to total the amount rolled. Again and again with many different combinations coming up so children will have to think of all the sets of numbers.
Cribbage involves a higher level of addition and counting as well. Being able to total your scores each turn and adding onto what sits in the pile so you can achieve a higher score. To tally up the points remaining in your hand requires the player to have the fundamentals of mathematics down pat. Even in the simple game of checkers and Chinese checkers there is counting and numbers and memory involved and the easier these tasks are the more of an expert the child will become. Once these basic skills have been master it's time to move onto the big league, the game of chess! With each player having unique movements and guidelines there is a great deal of memory work involved here. To be a clever player, you need to be able to develop strategy skills and try and out think your opponent.
Simple board games to the more complex board games, they offer some fun some and work at reinforcing those basic, as well as the more complex skill for children of all ages. This will also give them that taste of competition, learning to be a good winner as well as a good loser, because as the old saying goes...you can't win them all!
