Last week I shared about our new game plan we've implemented in our homeschool, and now I'm going to start sharing some resources with you! This time I just want to talk about getting started, and later on I'll move into some specific games and activities we've enjoyed.
For me, one of the keys to making this plan work for me is for things to be easy to prepare or set up. If I have to spend tons of time just to get the games ready, I'm not going to be consistent. The first thing I did was to go through our game closet to see what games we already owned. Between six years in the classroom and 10 years of parenting, I've accumulated tons of games of all kinds. The problem I've had is remembering what I've got and actually using it! If you're looking for more ready-made games, remember to keep an eye out at upcoming consignment sales. I've found many good ones at sales in the past for a fraction of the retail price.
Unless you have unlimited shelf space, you will probably not want to have a board game for every week. There are plenty of games and activities that don't require anything big at all like card games, file folder games, games that can be played orally, etc. These are easy to find at the library and online, many times for free. Here are some of the resources I've used over the years:
Games for Learning: I'll talk about some of the more subject-specific Peggy Kaye books later, but Games for Learning is a great book to start with. You can check your library, but in my opinion, all of the Peggy Kaye books were well worth the money to have my own copy.
Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational: I love this blog so, so much! If you're looking for new and fun ideas for just about any topic you can think of, just search the site and you're likely to come up with something your kids will enjoy.
File Folder Fun: There are lots of free file folder games out there, but this is one site I've used a lot over the years!
Scholastic Books: Scholastic publishes books for almost every topic you can imagine. They have fun games and activities that don't require much prep work on your part, which is always a plus. If you watch their website, they periodically have dollar sales where you can get pdf copies of many of their books for just one dollar!
Teachers Pay Teachers You don't have to be a classroom teacher to find some wonderful ideas on this site, and often they are very cheap or even free. It's definitely worth your time to check it out.
Usborne Books: Sometimes we don't always play an actual game; instead we may do a short fun activity. Usborne has sticker books and activity cards that are a great way to review concepts without any extra work on your part!
Hopefully these ideas will get you started on your way to adding some play time into your school day. Happy learning!
