Well for most of us summer is underway. I hope that you are working toward your goals. For most of us you may find some gaps of time that you may not want to fill with TV. My suggestion is board games. Now they don’t have any graphics or cool sounds but they still do a great job of teaching basic skills that kids need for future success. This week I will be talking about games that would be appropriate for the younger crowd (ages 3-6).

1. Memory-This is a classic! This game has many versions. They have a princess version, spongebob, etc. but I recommend the classic version because it has great pictures of common objects. For the younger kids I recommend only using a few pair. For the really young ones I recommend putting the cards face up and having them find the matching pictures that way.

2. Don’t Break the Ice– I never knew about this one until I started as a speech therapist. Basically you fill the space with cubes that look like ice, put the bear on top and then you take turns hitting the ice until the bear falls through. Kids love this because they get to beat the ice and kids love hitting things. If you want to incorporate some academics or speech into it ask your child to say word with the target sound or concept before they take their turn. With my clients I actually make them say the sound in order to “earn” a piece of ice to put in the box.

3. Hi-Ho-Cherry-O– This is a great game for learning counting skills. The child spins the wheel and if it lands on cherry-that’s the number of cherries they put in their basket. If it lands on the tree or bird-then they have to put the cherries back on the tree. This game teaches skills like number recognition, on and off and empty. If you want to work on a sound or concept-try having them say the word with the target sound or concept before taking a turn or have them say the word in order to earn a cherry. When all the cherries are on the tree then you start playing the game.

4. Candy Land -this is a great game for teaching basic colors. It makes learning them fun. The game goes pretty fast so the kids don’t get bored. If I am working on a speech sound or skill then I will have them say one of the words before they pick a card.

5. Ants In Your Pants: While this is technically not a board game-it is a fun game for kids that involves no reading. The object of the game is to flick the ants into the pants of the dog. You can have your son or daughter identify the colors of the ants and then flick them into the pants. You could have a race or just like the other games with pieces-you can have them say a sound before they shoot them in. Today I played this game with a boy that uses only 1 or 2 word phrases so I asked him to tell me what color ant he wanted. I did not give it to him until he used 2 words “red ant” or “green ant.” Then he shot the ant into the pants. It is important to note that with this game: if your little one has difficulty with fine motor skills then it may be a bit frustrating for them. Try to give them time to practice getting the ants into the pants before your play a real round.

All of these games can be found at your local big box store (Target, Walmart, etc), thrift stores and even garage sales. I hope these games get your creative juices flowing or just give you ideas of fun ways to practice skills or just have some fun one afternoon. Enjoy![/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]