There are a lot of educational activities for young children, but what about learning games for kids 8 and older? Children this age are in their prime educational years. They still learn a great deal through play, which means that games can be a good source of formal and informal learning opportunities for kids moving into their "tween" years.
Fun Learning Games for Kids 8 and Older
Games can help to keep kids stimulated and actively engaged in learning. As children get older, games are an even more effective way of teaching. With the effective use of fun learning games for kids 8 and older, your child might just learn without realizing they are doing so. Here are some fun learning games for "tween" aged children.
Online Games
It's become a fact of life that kids love video and computer games. Such games have gotten a bad rap as a waste of time and brain power. Fortunately, there are a whole host of online games that combine your kids' preferences for video games with your desire for educational opportunities. Here are a few online educational gaming resources.
- LearningPlanet.com has a number of free online games for students of all ages. The games are classified by grade level and cover a variety of subjects like math, geography and language arts. There are a limited number of free games, and many more available through the site's subscription service, which is under $40 a year. The site also offers a 10-day free trial so that you can try before you buy.
- BBC School Games is a free site from the UK that has a number of educational online games. The games are searchable by age level and subject. Subjects include things like math, art, music, geography and study skills, just to name a few.
- The kids' center at FunBrain.com features a bevy of free arcade-style games about numbers, reading, science, words and more. The site also has resources for parents who want to become interactively involved in their children's learning.
Board Games
Educational board games are a great way to spend interactive family time with your kids. Such games teach a number of different skills including critical thinking and strategy skills. Some great educational board games that you can play with your kids include:
- Totally Gross - The Game of Science is designed for kids ages eight and up. It teaches the principles of science through something that kids in this age group really seem to love: gross stuff. Scientific subjects covered in the game include biology, zoology and chemistry, along with other scientific subjects.
- The classic word game Scrabble is a terrific learning game for kids. Not only does it help kids build vocabulary and spelling skills, but the scoring also helps build math skills.
- Learning the names and locations of the states is part of the standard school curriculum that often is difficult for kids because it requires rote memorization. Fortunately, there's a fun way for kids to learn the geography of the United States in the Great States Game.
Activity Games
There are also a number of fun family games that seem more like play than like learning. These games teach many valuable skills like creative thinking and strategy. Here are some activity games that will help your kids learn as they play.
- Charades is a fun role-playing game for kids of all ages. Acting out and guessing the titles of books, movies and television shows encourages kids to think outside of the box. It also promotes the development of effective non-verbal communication skills.
- Twenty questions is not only the perfect game for long car trips, but it is also an excellent learning game. Kids learn valuable logic and deductive reasoning skills when playing this game, and they may even learn a few facts they didn't know before.
These are just a few of the many learning games for your older elementary children. Playing such games will help your kids stay active and engaged while learning.
