Summertime and the living is easy, so the song goes. As a teacher, I often see children who over the summer have lost some of their academic skills. With outdoor sports and various activities, children got a great physical workout. Yet when it came to a mental workout, children’s brains probably were not used to the maximum. Now it is back to school time and parents are wondering how they can help remedy this situation. One successful strategy would be to encourage their children to play educational board games.

Educational board games are nonviolent. They involve cooperative playing. One Web site, Aristoplay.com, says: “When children play board games, they’re developing important social skills: taking turns, sharing, developing patience, practicing diplomacy, and understanding sportsmanship, whether it’s learning to be a gracious winner or a stoic loser… Board games are great communication tools to help families stay in touch.” Board games involve thinking since there are rules to learn and strategies to develop. Best of all, board games reinforce skills learned at school in a way that holds children’s attention.

Here is a sampling of some math and logic board games that I discovered for elementary school youngsters. I have used several of these games with my class. They love them…

Source: Epoch Times, NY
http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-8-26/59063.html