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 There are more ways to win during family game night than passing GO and collecting $200. Aside from teaching children about patience, taking turns and teamwork, lessons are waiting to be learned with each toss of the dice. Board games can serve as a subtle learning tool. Problem solving, projecting and memory are all cognitive skills that are developed through the activity. For instance, Clue is good for learning deductive reasoning. Monopoly is ideal for teaching beginning budget skills, and Yahtzee provides a fun way to teach simple addition and multiplication. Memory and Battleship are games that require strategic thinking, and children develop information-processing skills without even knowing it! Kids can strengthen their spelling and vocabulary skills with time-honored Scrabble tiles. And, of course, geography knowledge is developed with games such as Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Even autistic children benefit from playing board games, learning motor and social skills. Autistic children enjoy following a set of rules, so this teaching technique is especially helpful. Beyond cognitive skills, board games teach kids life skills such as patience, concentration and perseverance. By taking turns, following rules and even losing a game, kids learn skills that they can apply at school and in the home. Even with all of the worries about today’s economy, families can still enjoy fun, entertaining evenings together and stay on budget by playing board games, all the while offering an “edutainment” experience for their children. According to a recent survey conducted by Hasbro, 48 percent of Americans believe that a family game night is the most enjoyable form of family bonding, ranking higher than watching movies, cooking and playing sports together. Three in four Americans would rather play board games than video games at a family reunion or gathering. “Family game night invites everyone to turn off the outside world for a short time and reconnect with each other,” says Matt Collins, vice president of marketing for Hasbro Games. “A new game generally costs less than other family entertainment options, such as dining out or attending a sporting event, making adding a new game to your game night repertoire an economical choice.” Source: Family Features  It's your moveSchedule your own family game night! Hasbro has a few tips to maximize your family game night so that it is something the whole brood will look forward to: > Schedule it!: Decide which day will be your family game night. Any night will do! Parents should make it a priority to keep the appointment. > Involve everyone: Allow the kids to pick the games or choose the snacks. For variety, rotate responsibilities each time you have a family game night. > Create a tradition: Whether it’s a family-favorite dinner before game night, the way that teams are chosen or a 30-minute extension on bedtime, establish an activity on family game night that becomes a fun tradition. Games for all ages  While the game you select isn’t as important as the time spent together as a family, you may want to consider the age of the players and the amount of time available for family game night when selecting a game. To get you started, here are some all-time favorites, and a few new games, to consider: > Families with kids ages 6 to 8: Pictureka!, Sorry! Sliders, Operation, Monopoly Jr. > Families with kids ages 8 to 10: Clue, Monopoly, Cranium Family Edition, The Game Of Life > Families with kids ages 10 to 12: Monopoly, Yahtzee, Clue > Families with teenagers: Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition, Scrabble, Cranium Wow, Jenga, Catch Phrase, Trivial Pursuit For more game ideas, visit familygamenight.com. Did you know? > More than five billion little green Monopoly houses have been “built” since 1935. > Cavity Sam, the long-suffering patient on the Operation table, recently received a face-lift. He now suffers from such modern-day ailments as phone finger and bad plumbing. > The highest sum of money that a player can earn in The Game of Life is $3,115,000, which is taking into account that the player lands on all of the spaces that give money and that the player has the highest salary amount. > Tokens from the United States Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition were flown into space aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2007. |
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Games are wonderul learning and socialization tools as well as fun! For research and ideas for using games, visit www.gamesforeducators.com - almost every game is educational in some way.
| Comment at 4/15/2009 |
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