Many times, we go to dinner as family and receive crayons and activity sheets to keep the pint-sized people occupied. If that doesn't work, we often resort to phones to restore the peace when there's times that patience need apply. Boredom can be old news and you can continuously stimulate their brains and keep them engaged while having fun, even at home. This buys time while cooking dinner, completing an urgent task or simply needing a few “sanity seconds“, ha, ha! The games/activities work for most ages, can be customized according to age range/grade level, and encourage family interaction when desired.
Word scramble & words within a word
Print sheets with scrambled letters (or one word/ phrase). Ask the kids to come up with as many words as they can using the letters on the sheet. If you chose to give one large word, the task would be to then find the definition of the word and write it down also. Whoever gets the most words and completes the steps gets to choose dessert! If your kids are competitive like mine, they’ll definitely be game!
Alphabet vocabulary x math facts
Because I’m an 80’s baby, this one is truly Soul Train and Jeopardy inspired. Use your number and letter fridge magnets to reveal phrases (quick game) or list math facts to keep them sharp with reciting what they know. Repetition is key in mastery. Knowing their math facts will give them a strong foundation in math for several years as most courses are based on math facts and fact families.
21 questions & "Starts with"
We always enjoy these two! "Starts with" is a fun icebreaker that combines vocabulary and speed while testing how extensive each players word knowledge is! You start by choosing a letter. Taking turns, you come up with a word that starts with the letter until someone becomes stumped. This one usually ends in laughter and whipping out the dictionary for us as we have a couple clever folks that love to make up words, lol.
21 questions is great for the start of amazing conversations on topics of black history, inventions, national landmarks, etc. In this game, you state a fact and give everyone an opportunity to guess what you're referencing. The goal is to guess the correct answer BEFORE all the facts have been read. You will be amazed how much is retained from this game!
Never waste a moment to sprinkle a little learning. It goes a long way!
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