International Games Week
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Happy International Games Week! Libraries all around the world are getting in on the fun by offering fun events, so visit your local library to see if they are hosting an event, to see if they have games you can borrow, to see if they have games you can play while at the library.
Board and card games, in particular, are activities I love as a mom and as a speech-language pathologist because they teach colors, turn-taking, strategy, patterns, numbers, and reading.
Monopoly Junior and Monopoly – This classic game teaches numbers, counting, and planning (Did you spend too much money on buying properties and now don’t have enough to pay rent?)
Bananagrams – This portable game teaches letters, spelling, and words.
Candy Land – Great for pre-readers. This colorful classic game teaches colors, picture matching, and basic counting skills.
Chutes and Ladders – It’s super satisfying to flick the spinner and a game for those just learning their numbers and counting. As you move your way to 100, you are sometimes moving left to right and sometimes you are moving right to left. This game also teaches consequences, both good and bad.
Uno, Uno Harry Potter, Uno Avengers, and Uno Frozen – The variations of this portable game provide fun twists to the original, but they all teach matching by color, number, directions, and counting.
Qwirkle – This tile game, geared for those 6 years and older, has players match shapes and colors. It helps children recognize colors and patterns. You’ll need a large table to play this domino-like game.
Hedbanz – This wearable card game has players 7 and older asking questions to figure out the card on their headbanz. Deductibe reasoning skills will be nurtured while players try to figure out what they are wearing.
Clue – Players 8 years and older refine their logic skills by trying to determine who committed the crime, where it happened, and what weapon was used. Some versions are Alexa compatible, allowing a mix of board game and technology.
Agricola – This board game for those 8 years on up gets us back to the land as you build farms and feed your family. Grow and care for livestock, vegetables, and the bread (that you have to make from ingredients you’ve grown). Strategy and planning make this game fun for older kids.
Cozy up this week with your family for time together and for skill building with various board games.
Jann Fujimoto, MS CCC-SLP loves to be iron in Monopoly. As a kid, she used to like iron her Monopoly money in between turns. She’s also a speech-language pathologist and owner of SpeechWorks. SpeechWorks helps toddlers to teens in Oconomowoc, Dousman, Delafield, Ixonia, Watertown, Hartland, Pewaukee, and Waukesha become confident communicators. If you have concerns about your child’s speech-language development, contact SpeechWorks at 262-490-5653.