Games for education- clipped from Dr. Laura/kidfocused.com

Here are some of games that have great teaching tools for kids:
Play Cards
1. Go Fish- this card game helps kids sort and it helps them think ahead, or strategize. This kind of critical thinking is what many schools sorely lack.  Schools often ask kids rote memorization questions, but critical thinking is the muscle that when flexed causes big learning.
2. Uno- I started with my son when he was 3.  We had an actual Uno deck of cards with the color coordinated cards.  You can also play Crazy Eights with a deck of cards.  Just like Uno but eights are wild cards.  Kids learn card suits with this game, which is a good skill to have.
3. Kings in the Corner- this game spreads across the table, showing kids the order of cards.  It is pattern practice as well.  The cards must be laid out black, red, black, red, and from Kings down to Aces.  Even young children 3 and over can grasp this. Their later teachers will be impressed they are already familiar with pattern formations too.
4. Old Maid- deal all of the cards.  Each person picks a card from the opponent to their left and discards pairs until one person is left with the Old Maid. With the set we have, Ursula from the little mermaid is the old maid.  Young children may have a hard time holding all their cards so have them place them on a table with something to block them from view. The rest of the game is easy enough and it will excite kids about cards, strategy, and help practice good sportsmanship.
Other Games:
5. Work on a puzzle together- some families I know always have a puzzle out on the coffee table.

6. Blow bubbles
7. Invest in a magnetic erase board like the Magna Doodle- tons of fun and you aren't using any paper.  I used this toy with the kids so often I even wrote an article- Ode to the Magna Doodle.  Starting about 18 months you can play one of baby's first games with it- I call the game day/night. Black out the screen and say "Night." With one swipe erase and say "Daytime!" Kids even that little will chuckle- it's so cute.  Soon thereafter kids understood light and dark- as soon as they're old enough to walk, they can help sort laundry after this game. We have the daytime (lights) pile and the nighttime (darks) pile to this day.
8. Hangman- another great game on a magnetic erase board like a Magna Doodle. Very young children can play hangman with 2 and 3 letter words. Older children can play for longer words and phrases. Turn the table and let your child make up the word. When they're young, they may misspell the word, "but there has to be a vowel!" It's great practice and they'll get it soon enough
9. Yahtzee- Today you don't have to buy the full game. You can print the score sheet off the Internet and grab 5 dice.  Bunco is also very close to, and less complicated, than Yahtzee.  Dice games like these help with early Math.
10. Scrabble- great about 5 or 6 on. Encourage one app for your older child- Words With Friends and play with them.
11. Memory- Starting at 3 years old, this is sure to be a favorite. There are inexpensive memory games targeted to boys, girls, or gender neutral.
12. Play Monkey in the Middle with a third person- throw the ball over one person's head. If she catches it, she doesn't have to be the monkey anymore.

13. Dots and Boxes- my 4-year-old loves this game. The person to close the square gets to put his or her initials, which claims the square once it's time to tally up the boxes. You can play with older kids too by adding more squares.  It's great for teaching kids to think strategically. (show image)
14. Pictionary- write simple 3 letter words like "pig" "lip" for 3 year olds to read and then draw.  For older kids write out more complicated words and phrases.
15. Play Sorry. At four years old my kids have been able to play this game. With the four pieces having to make it around the board before someone wins, it's helped them learn to problem solve as well as early reading.  The Sorry cards are straight forward "move forward 3 places."  They see the number and then start to recognize words like "forward."
16. Say patterns out loud. A, B, A, B, See if your child knows A to be next in the pattern.  You may also do with numbers. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, _.  As they get older try, banana, apple, orange, banana, apple, ___?  My daughter begs to play this game whenever we're in the car.

Education- at home and at school- a few links

Education takes place both at home and school!  Parents are their children's first teachers!  We can learn a lot from people who choose to homeschool, and it's a topic I'm interested in, so here is the info I have to share for now.  This used to be the "Education" page on this blog but I'm trimming down the blog to mostly posts, and not many pages.

ARTICLES

Fourth Annual Torah Home Schooling Conference Draws Participants from Far and Near (Photo Essay & Video) By BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Margie Pensak
This article is about an incredible conference that I attended, and I am quoted within.

Great article on homeschooling

18 Reasons Why Doctors and Lawyers Homeschool Their Children

Why I don't need to feel guilty about not homeschooling

Assuaging my Mommy Guilt!

Homeschooling is not a good option for our family here and now. We are embracing the option of enrolling Adira in an early-childhood play/education program.

It has been impossible lately to meet both Adira’s social needs and relieve Mommy’s pressures to keep up with her responsibilities.  If our city/neighborhood had more stay-at-home moms and homeschooled kids, we would have company. If times were different, maybe Mommy wouldn’t feel so much stress in trying to complete her household tasks. There will be many good things about this choice.

We will still take primary responsibility for Adira’s education in general and Judaic studies.  We still take primary responsibility for the molding of her character. Sending her to nursery school (or later years of formal schooling) does not replace our primacy as her teachers.

Mommy will use Adira’s time in nursery school to make phone calls, do computer work, advance the major household projects/renovations, and exercise.  It will also allow Nesya to nap and have some Mommy-time. It is very important for Mommy to reduce "to-dos" during this time.

Afternoons will be a time of fun and child- and family-focused activity!  Mommy has hundreds of ideas for wonderful activities.  This will also be a time for dinner prep and some light housework as that is good for the development of character in kids.

Homeschooling is not only a real thing but it is also a state of mind.  We can always embrace the spirit of home education and offer it as an option if school is too problematic/not ideal.  These early years when our kids are pre-reading and not getting any form of electronic “babysitting”, as well as the reasons stated in paragraph 1a and 1b, make it clear that the best option for us now is nursery school, and carrying on the spirit  of homeschooling.

Great parenting blog recommendation- go subscribe to it right away! :)

Somewhere I found this amazing blog, The Parenting Passageway.  The articles are SO good and cover a lot of amazing emotional topics in parenting and also some very insightful and inspirational articles on home education (the Waldorf way).  I have learned so much and been inspired to be balanced and healthy as a mom and homemaker.  The author gives a lot of significance to the art of spiritual homemaking and caring for your family.  She brings down a lot of deep ideas for families and especially regarding education.  She keeps you in tune with the seasons and psychology.

Homeschool blog links

Homeschool resources and bloggers
Just a short start on a long list:

Sustainable Jewish Schooling
Breathing Space
Oceans of Joy

Orthodox Jewish Homeschooling Conference- a must see link!

Fourth Annual Torah Home Schooling Conference Draws Participants from Far and Near (Photo Essay & Video) By BaltimoreJewishLife.com/Margie Pensak

This article is about an incredible conference that I attended, and I am quoted within.