Now more than ever, we find ourselves and our children at home. Online learning still has many bugs to work out and issues that continue to plague our children’s learning process – many parents are turning to homeschooling as an effective alternative. Whether you’re a new homeschool parent or a veteran looking for a fun way to get your kids interested in the subjects you’re teaching, implementing games into the homeschool curriculum is the best way to keep both your kids and yourself engaged.
There are plenty of amazing ways to make the lessons fun and engaging for everyone, from board games to online game collections. The best part of these homeschool games is that the whole family is sure to love them! You can play them throughout the semester or bring them along for the family game night. These family board games are a great way to ensure that your kids learn in a healthy and active manner. Board games and online devices are great at getting the info to stick.
Which games are the best for your kids when it comes to learning? With so many options available, finding the best one for your youngsters can be a challenge. We’ve compiled some of the best learning games available in one place so that you don’t have to waste time searching for them – the best are here, ready to help you homeschool your kids. Here are our picks for the best family learning games for your homeschooling experience!
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Our Favorite Educational Games for Homeschooling and Family Evenings
From classics like Scrabble and Jenga to subject-specifics like Math Dice or AC/DC, we’ve seen them all. Of the hundreds of family games available, these are some of the best and most effective board games available right now. They’ve been designed specifically for learning purposes and have proven their worth over the years. These are some of our favorite games and are sure to be the perfect fit for any homeschool or family game night.
Many Different Family Board Games and Subjects
We’ve separated our list of educational games for use in your homeschool into the different subjects your kids learn throughout primary school. If you’re looking for an amazing geology game for your kids, you can check out our selection of science games. If spelling is where your kids need assistance, then our language arts category will have some great options to look through.
Math
Most children struggle when it comes to math. Fun Math lessons may help, but they can be difficult for students to grasp and difficult to have fun with. Luckily, there are some games available that boost critical thinking and logical analysis, making the concept of math easier to grasp. These fun games make learning math easy and fun.
Math Dice
Math Dice includes addition, subtraction, multiplication, and decision. All of this is combined in one turn, making it the ultimate way to learn math basics. You’ll find this is a fun dice game that helps bring out the mathematician in any student! It’s perfect for early learners but can be used for all ages. In this video, you will see how to play this game.
Sequence Numbers
Kids playing this game are given a card with a simple math problem listed. They have to solve the equation and place their piece on the corresponding number. Sequence Numbers takes the classic Sequence structure and makes it accessible for children. The family will have just as much fun playing as your children will learn.
Here is a short video review of this game.
Rummikub
While it can be complex to learn, you won’t be able to stop once you’re playing it. Kids love playing Rummikub and are often unaware of the logical learning they’re experiencing. This is a fantastic family game that enables your children to learn math while having fun. It’s a great addition to any homeschooling collection. Watch this video to see how to play.
Language Arts
Reader interactions can be difficult for students to pick up. Playing games in this category might be the most effective use of homeschool games as they typically best implement the skills necessary to effectively learn the subject. Here are some of the best board games for teaching this subject.
Scrabble
Spelling is the name of the game for Scrabble. This classic board game has been a staple of family games for years and is one of the best devices for teaching spelling and language comprehension to students. It’s a fun way to broaden a student’s vocabulary. By building the words and competing for points, you’ll find that students are developing the skills while having fun.
Scattergories
Staying on your feet while thinking of the best words for a certain category is a great method of learning for students. They’ll love playing this board game just as much as you’ll enjoy teaching with Scattergories. Get kids thinking about new words and help expand their vocabulary like no other game.
And here is how to play this game:
Apples to Apples
Connect cards and develop funny phrases with this family-friendly card game. Apples to Apples is the perfect game for the family to play – the family will love it, and your children will learn while playing it. This is a surprisingly educational card game that everyone will love to play. Develop skills related to language comprehension while having a blast playing card games. We recommend two or more players along with the judge.
Watch this clip to see how to play:
Geography
Building an understanding of the world is a fantastic method for children to scale their learning. Many kids don’t have a full understanding of the international scale, and thus, their knowledge is limited to the space around them. By teaching them at an early ages about the world, you can curate cultural knowledge they might not receive otherwise by using these popular games.
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
This is one of the most popular geography-based board games available. It helps foster a safe environment that allows students to boost their knowledge of the geography of the world. Fun questions about the cultures and locations worldwide will enable your kids to learn while they play.
Flags of the World
Knowing about the flags from around the world might be one of the best ways for children to develop an understanding of the world around them. This is a popular card game that makes flags educational and helps develop a quick understanding of the international scale that students might not necessarily comprehend before playing this game. Here is a video review of this game:
Scrambled States of America
The Scrambled States of America games offer a fantastic view of the United States. The days when other states are foreign to young learners are gone. The days of knowing about each and every state and the culture they possess are here! The Scrambled States of America games allow students to grasp the cultures and landmarks of the regions they cover in a fun and fresh board game.
Social Studies
One subject that needed to be included on our list and might have the most options to choose from is certainly social studies. This broad category features countless family board games that are simply fun to play and that your children are sure to love. Homeschooling social studies is now simple with these fun games.
Settlers of Catan
When it comes to educational games that are fun to play and foster a fantastic environment, few others can compare to Settlers of Catan. This classic game has been played for decades, quickly becoming an all-time favorite to many. It offers trading skills and an understanding of early civilization and is fun for all ages. The whole family will love this great game.
BrainBox World History
For any parents with an 8-year-old in their classroom, this is the perfect method for you to teach them about history and the world. Your 8-year-old can play this great game and learn fun facts about the world and what nations did throughout history. BrainBox World History helps develop memory skills and an understanding of historical analysis at such young ages. Watch this fun explainer video. It reviews the USA game and not the World History Game, but it will give you a good idea of what is inside the box and how to play the game.
Professor Noggin’s Card Games
Much like BrainBox, Professor Noggin’s games offer a fantastic method of developing skills in young players. This collection of family games is our favorite collection for young readers just starting to grasp the world. By using fun facts and interesting anecdotes, students can develop a love for the history of humanity.
Science
What would homeschooling be without parents struggling to teach their children about science? It’s a tricky subject that covers a ton of niches, so chances are, you’ll be struggling to understand the information just as much as your kids will. Here are some fantastic games that your children will love to play that enable them to understand the confusing world of science.
Somebody Board Game
Teaching children about the body is one of the most important skills we can foster at such young ages. Somebody is the game that can make that process fun for everyone. The Somebody Board Game allows parents to teach students about the body with ease in a safe and healthy environment by using fun cards and interesting facts.
Into the Forest
Knowing about nature can be a major help for children as they grow up. The ability to play games and grasp knowledge about the importance of nature could directly impact how this next generation views the environment. Children love this game, and it enables them to understand the items they encounter in the woods around them.
Playz Electric Circuit Engineering Kit
One of the most important things a board game can do is teach about real-world situations and safety tips. Playz does just that! It’s a game for ages 10 and up that helps foster an understanding of electricity and currents but also offers tips about safety and shock protection for days of gameplay paired with years of understanding.
Critical Thinking
This might be the skill that students need to use like no other on our list. Having the ability to think about a situation critically to develop the best solution is invaluable and something that should be understood even at young ages. Teaching this ability through homeschool can be difficult, but these great games allow children to think critically while they play.
Castle Panic
For ages 10 and up, Castle Panic is a game the family can play. It’s a thrilling game about defense and strategy that gets kids thinking critically and using the tools they have available. Work together and plan how to defend your castle from the oncoming monsters. Homeschooling has never been so fun, as your children will love this interactive game.
Forbidden Island
Teamwork is one of the most important skills children get from this game. Whereas many other games offer the goal of winning, Forbidden Island promotes teamwork and can get kids to work together to solve an issue. This is one of the best family games around and one that you can play on almost any occasion. Perfect for two or more players.
And here is how to play:
Jenga
A thorough analysis of your surroundings and the environment presented to you is something that many homeschool curriculums tend to forgo. Jenga does a fantastic job at fostering those skills so that new players can easily find out from the start how to make complicated decisions that either lead to success or failure.
On Board or Online?
One amazing feature of homeschooling is the ability to select how you teach the curriculum. Many parents discover that even online sources like gaming websites will be beneficial to their children’s academics. Homeschool enables students to play games that wouldn’t necessarily be accessible while in the typical institutions.
So, which is better for homeschool curriculums: board games or online games? Well, both certainly have their benefits; both offer fantastic games for children to play while homeschooling. As to which one benefits your children most? Well, that depends on how you plan on using them. Our list of educational games would be remiss to exclude online gaming resources.
Our Favorite Online Games For Homeschooling
Here are some of our all-time favorite online resources for homeschool gaming. Children love these websites. The games they offer are like no others. We’ve even spent hours playing some of these fantastic games as they’re simply fun to play. Online games certainly offer different benefits to board games, but there are plenty of reasons to check these great resources out.
LearningGamesForKids
This website does a fantastic job at offering different subjects for children to play with and understand. They cover topics like math, sciences, and history while curating some of our favorite online games. They’re on our list because of the quality they ensure and the fun offered by their games. We’ve played through most of their collection, and each game brings something different to the list.
Funbrain
The games are great for anyone pre-K-8 as they help establish critical thinking and curate a safe space to understand all sorts of subjects. You can play your favorite games from the main subjects that students participate in school.
ChessKid
There’s nothing as stimulating to the mind as chess, and offering access to the classic mind-working game for children is something that we need to see even more of. ChessKid does just that by opening an online space where children can understand and play this favorite all-time classic.
How to Use Educational Games For Homeschooling
So, you’ve built your teaching style around implementing educational game time and curated lesson plans that enable you to teach your children via fun board games and great online libraries. But, there is such thing as too much of a good thing. Homeschool gaming must be matched with the more conventional teaching methods to experience the best results. Many experts have developed tactics on how to implement educational gaming without over-doing it.
The first recommendation is to limit the time you spend utilizing the games played, but don’t restrict it to the point of necessity. Keep their use within the optimal range, which could be – depending on the curriculum and your students – two to three games per week. This keeps them interested in the topics via the use of these board games but doesn’t lessen this device’s impact or excitement.
Another recommendation is to use the games on our list as both an incentive and a lesson point. We mean by this not to withhold the games until Friday as an end-of-the-week deal but to offer them throughout the week. You should always be looking for new great games to add to your list.
A final recommendation for educational games in homeschooling is that it’s important to keep away from repetition. If you’ve played cards in the week, the impact will not be as great when you offer them as part of the lesson. Pick and choose games from our list to keep the event fun and fresh – cards and board games can be swapped out every time, maybe even turn to the online databases of games.
What to Look For in Your Board Game
A final word about the use of games for teaching at home: have fun. Board games are, first and foremost, games. They’re designed for you to play and enjoy with your family or within the classroom, so ensure that the games you add to your list are fun for everyone. We believe the best method of teaching is by having fun in the classroom.
New board games and cards are being designed specifically for the classroom and are being built with the idea of both enjoyment and education in mind. Children can play board games or access an online list of games while in school and can still develop the skills necessary to succeed. Plus, you get to play and enjoy the cards along with them! With educational games, everybody wins in the classroom.
