Sportsmanship. Communication. Turn taking. Problem solving. Rule following. Maintaining focus. All of these life skills can be taught to children through the use of board games. Whether you are a parent that wants to reduce screen time and increase family collaboration or you are a teacher trying to integrate more partner work and games into your daily routine- board games are an excellent resource. Board games teach far more than the social skills already discussed through. Take a look at these popular children’s board games and discover the wonderful academic skills that are linked to each game.

Hi Ho Cherry Oh- Counting, Subtraction

Guess Who? – Inferences, Comprehension, Problem Solving

Operation- Fine motor

Chutes & Ladders- Counting, number lines

Zingo- Matching, Memory

Twister- Gross Motor, Following Directions, Color Awareness, Body Awareness

Candy Land- Shape Recognition

Connect Four- Strategy, Sequencing, Counting

Hedbanz- Comprehension, Communication

Monopoly- Money Concepts, Logic, Reasoning

Boggle Junior- Letter Recognition, Spelling, Matching

Scrabble Junior- Vocabulary, Language, Logic

Hit or Miss- Categorizing, Creative Thinking

Super WHY ABC Letter Game- Letter Awareness, Rhyming, Sentence Structure

Uno- Sequencing, Color Recognition, Categorizing

What’s Gnu? – Spelling, Reading

Need more suggestions or questions on how to use games to teach these skills? Feel free to email Natasha Babbitt at natasha@playfulbydesign.com with comments.