Since young children learn mainly through play and modeling the adults and older children around them, we didn’t include “Pre-School” in our first and second editions of The Game Curriculum.  However, since the idea that formal Pre-School is an important part of child development has become so widespread in our society, we decided to include some game suggestions for children under five.  The article “Teaching Pre-Schoolers With Games” that follows will explain more about the kinds of learning activities that are appropriate for young children.

The best education for your child is one that is developed for his or her unique learning schedule and learning style. Only the parent can judge the appropriateness of the schedule by watching for things to “click,” but we can get quite a bit of guidance from Raymond and Dorothy Moore’s many books on homeschooling and Willis and Hodson’s Learning Style Profile found in Discover Your Child’s Learning Style. Trying to get a head start by pushing early academics can backfire, causing difficulties for years to come. Instead of worrying about a “learning disability” because your child does not fit the style and sequence of “in the box” schools, spend your energy on developing your child’s natural interests. You will be amazed at the results.

 

How to Use the LEARNING STYLES Hints on the Charts

You will notice that the game charts have a column labeled LEARNING STYLES.  If you have Discover Your Child’s Learning Style, you will understand what the notes mean.  If not, here is a brief key:

Modalities:

Print means that most content is in print.

Picture means there are a lot of pictures or other graphics.

Visual means that both print and pictures are used in the game.

Verbal means there is some to quite a bit of talking involved.

Listening means that listening is involved.

Auditory means that both Verbal and Listening skills are used in the game.

Hands-on means that there is significant hand movement of cards, pieces, etc.

Whole Body means that the whole body is moving.

Writing means that writing is involved.

 

Dispositions:

Move means that there is significant physical activity.  These games are great for the very active child who hates to sit still.

Produce means that there is a clear (to the student) and quantifiable learning objective.  These children like to have a game labeled “educational” whereas that adjective is the kiss of death to most of the other dispositions.

Invent or Discovery means that there is discovery and/or experimentation involved.

Interact means that there is significant social interaction.  This learning style enjoys most games so it is only listed it when the group interaction is above average.

Create means that the game requires significant thought and/or creativity.

There is another vital element of learning that is important in regard to physical movement or what schools like to call Physical Education.  This is explained in depth in Smart Moves by Carla Hannaford.  Therefore, we have included the notations Vestibular and Proprioceptive to help you pick out P.E. games and activities that give your child reinforcement  in these sensory areas.

Vestibular refers to awareness of body balance and movement.

Proprioceptive  refers to the relative position of different parts of the body and the strength of effort used in movement.

Most games combine multiple elements, so we listed only the salient ones.  Likewise, any one child’s learning style is far more complex than these simple definitions and each child’s personality includes a combination of several modalities and dispositions.  Watch for the elements in games that your child likes and look for those or similar elements in other games

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PERCEPTUAL SKILLS

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GAME IDEAS FOR PERCEPTUAL SKILLS

LEARNING STYLE

Visual

Hands On

Discover

Create

Hands-On

Whole body

Move

Discover

Interact

Visual

Hands On

Move Create

Visual

Hamds On

Move

Discover

Interact

Verbal

Hands On

Move

Interact

Discover

Hands On

Move

Discover

Interact

Whole Body

Picture

Move 

Discover

Interact

Visual

Hands On

Discover

Create

Verbal

Hand On

Move 

Discover

Interact

 

Visual

Hands On

Move

Discover

Interact

Visual

Hands On

Move

Picture

Hands On

Move

Discover

Interact

Hands On

Move

Interact

 

 

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LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

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The games suggested below reinforce language concepts as well as cultural literacy.  The nursery rhyme and fairy tales games reinforce an important part of our culture and those who are not familiar with them are not totally literate in English because they will not understand allusions to these stories when they read English literature or even the daily newspaper. Nursery rhymes also give children experience in repeating rhyme and meter long before they can articulate the rhythms of language fluently.  Read and recite stories and poems to your children as often as possible.

Below are some suggested books that are popular with homeschool families.

• Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes by Blanche Fisher Wright
• Richard Scarry’s Best Mother Goose Eve    
• Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose by Scott Gustafson
• Richard Scarry’s Best Nursery Tales Ever
• Classic Fairy Tales by Scott Gustafson

GAME IDEAS FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

GAME	PLAYERS	AGE RANGE	PLAY TIME	EMPHASIS AND NOTES	LEARNING STYLES
LADY BUG GAME	2-4	3 and up	20 minutes	Counting to 15 Addition Subtraction Life of Lady Bugs and  Aphids	Visual Verbal Discover Interact
OLD MAC DONALD COUNTING SNAP	2	3 - 5	5 - 10 minutes	Memory Naming Counting Adding	Picture Discover Interact
SEQUENCE FOR KIDS	2 - 4	3 - 6	20 minutes	Matching Counting Strategy	Picture Discover Interqct
ZIMBBOS	1 - 4	3 and up	5 - 10 minutes	Counting Manual Dexterity Balance	Hands On Move Interact Discover
UNCLE WIGGLEY	2 - 4	4 - 8	25 minutes	Number Recognition Counting	Visual Interact Discover
SPOT IT JUNIOR ANIMALS	2 - 6	4 and up	10 - 15 Minutes	Matching Visual Recognition Numbers	Picture Verbal Hands On Move Interact Discover
RUKUS	3 - 8	4 - Adult	5 - 10 minutes	Shape Recognition Matching	Picture Discover Interact

RECOMMENDED READING LIST FOR PRE-SCHOOL ABILITY CHILDREN

• Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes by Blanche Fisher Wright
• Richard Scarry’s Best Mother Goose Ever
• Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose by Scott Gustafson   
• Richard Scarry’s Best Nursery Tales Ever
• Classic Fairy Tales by Scott Gustafson

If you prefer individual books that your child can easily hold and muse over, Child’s Play publishes a beautiful collection:

• There was an Old Lady                                 
• Goldilocks                                                    
• Jack and the Beanstalk                                       
• Three Little Pigs                                              
• Little Red Riding Hood                                     
• Three Billy Goats Gruff                                    
• Hansel and Gretel                                            
• Cinderella                                                    
• Little Red Hen                                                          
• Emperor’s New Clothes                                    
• Stone Soup                                                   
• Ugly Duckling                                                       
• Snow White                                                      
• Elves and the Shoemaker                              
• Frog Prince                                                 
• Gingerbread Man                                          
• Rapunzel                                                      
• Sleeping Beauty                                                          
• Little Mermaid                                                            
• Princess and the Pea                                        
• Chicken Licken                                                        
• Boy Who Cried Wolf                                      
• Tin Soldier                                                          
• Town Mouse, Country Mouse                                    
• Pied Piper                                                 
• Pinocchio                                                    
• The Brave Little Tailor                                     
• Thumbelina

If you are looking for charming stories with good values, these are some of our family favorites:

These stories about three little Swedish girls (triplets) will warm your heart and teach important lessons:

• Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the Little Dog, by Maj Lindman
• Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the New Dotted Dresses, by Maj Lindman
• Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the Strawberries, by Maj Lindman
• Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the Three Kittens, by Maj Lindman
• Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and their New Friend, by Maj Lindman
• Flicka, Ricka, Dicka Bake a Cake, by Maj Lindman                                                                                                                           
• Flika, Ricka, Dicka and the Big Red Hen

Stories about three little Swedish boys (triplets) that highlight good moral values are also available:

• Snip, Snap, Snurr and the Yellow Sled                                                                                                                                                  
• Snip, Snap, Snurr and the Gingerbread                                                                                                                                                
• Snip, Snap, Snurr and the Big Surprise                                                                                                                                                 
• Snip, Snap, Snurr and the Buttered Bread                                                                                                                                          
• Snip, Snap, Snurr and the Red Shoes                                                                                                                                                    
• Snip, Snap, Snurr Learn to Swim    

We can’t emphasize enough the importance of reading to your children every day!

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COUNTING AND NUMBER CONCEPTS

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GAME	PLAYERS	AGE RANGE	PLAY TIME	EMPHASIS AND NOTES	LEARNING STYLES
LADY BUG GAME	2-4	3 and up	20 minutes	Counting to 15 Addition Subtraction Life of Lady Bugs and  Aphids	Visual Verbal Discover Interact
OLD MAC DONALD COUNTING SNAP	2	3 - 5	5 - 10 minutes	Memory Naming Counting Adding	Picture Discover Interact
SEQUENCE FOR KIDS	2 - 4	3 - 6	20 minutes	Matching Counting Strategy	Picture Discover Interqct
ZIMBBOS	1 - 4	3 and up	5 - 10 minutes	Counting Manual Dexterity Balance	Hands On Move Interact Discover
UNCLE WIGGLEY	2 - 4	4 - 8	25 minutes	Number Recognition Counting	Visual Interact Discover
SPOT IT JUNIOR ANIMALS	2 - 6	4 and up	10 - 15 Minutes	Matching Visual Recognition Numbers	Picture Verbal Hands On Move Interact Discover
RUKUS	3 - 8	4 - Adult	5 - 10 minutes	Shape Recognition Matching	Picture Discover Interact

This is the stage when children begin to attach meaning to number words.  Activities that encourage counting something tangible like spaces on a board game or dots on dice help them to connect the number word with the concept of quantity.  The matching games help them learn to look for similar shapes or pictures.  This skill will help them when they start to learn letters and connect them to sounds.

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SOCIAL STUDIES

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NAME OF GAME	PLAYERS	AGE RANGE	TIME	EMPHASIS AND NOTES	LEARNING STYLES
Community Jingo	2-30	4 and Up	30 Minutes	Learn about community by matching picture and oral clues.	Listening Picture Discover Relate
Madeline at the White House	2-4	4 and Up	10 Minutes	Counting to 4 Washington DC landmarks	Listening Picture Whole body Move Relate
American History Memory Game	2-6	3 and Up	20 Minutes	Match images of historical people, monuments, maps, artifacts and symbols.	Picture Hands-On Discover Relate
Geo Lotto	2-8	3 and Up	20 Minutes	Animals and their continents	Picture Listening Discover Relate
Explore Photo Safari	1-4	3 and Up	20+ Minutes	Learn about 112 animals placed on a world map. Three levels of play.	Picture Listening Discover Relate

Young children love to learn about the people in their community.  Community JINGO works like BINGO but involves matching pictures and/or clues about the people and jobs in your town.  Very young children will just match the pictures but as they grow, they will enjoy hearing the clues and figuring out whom they describe.  Madeline at the White House is an active game in which the game board is your living room or family room and the players are the pawns!  It is based on a charming children’s book of the same title in the Madeline series.

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SCIENCE

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NAME OF GAME	PLAYERS	AGE RANGE	TIME	EMPHASIS AND NOTES	LEARNING STYLES
Buggy Bates and Wallace	2-6	3-7	15 Minutes	Active game about animals and counting to 6	Picture Verbal Move Create
Life on the Farm	2-4	3-7	20 Minutes	Animals, matching shapes.	Picture Discover Relate
Ladybug Game	2-4	3 and Up	20 Minutes	Counting to 15 Addition Subtraction Life of ladybugs	Picture Discover Relate
Wild Cards Baby Animals	2-6	4 and Up	20 Minutes	Use of 18 pairs of animal cards to play "go fish" and "memory"	Picture Discover Relate

Science is all around you and connected to everything you do.  Your kitchen is a science lab: water boils, freezes and melts; fire cooks and burns; pudding, Jello and gravy get thick; food spoils if left out too long; mold grows, etc., etc.  Your yard or porch garden is a botany laboratory.  Young children are interested in just about everything they encounter and there are so many things they want to know.  All you really have to do is patiently answer their questions and they will learn more than any curriculum could hope to provide.  The games add an element of fun as well as teaching skills like taking turns and dealing with winning and losing.

NAME OF GAME	NUMBER OF PLAYERS	AGE RANGE	TIME OF PLAY	EMPHASIS & NOTES	LEARNING STYLES
VeggieQuest	1-6	3 and older	10 minutes	Christian Values	Picture Discover Relate
Hermie Card Game	2 or 4	3 and older	10 minutes	Veggie Tales characters, matching	Picture Discover Relate
BIBLE BINGO	2-6	3 and older	10 minutes	Bible themes, Listening and matching	Picture Listening Discover Relate
My Little Bible Memory Game	2-6	3 and older	10-15 minutes	Bible themes, matching Two levels of play	Picture Discover Relate
Bible Old Man Card Game	2-6	4 and older	15 minutes	24 Bible characters on 48 cards plus the old man. Matching and Strategy	Picture Auditory Discover Relate
Bible Rummy Card Game	2-6	4 and older	20 minutes	Story of Noah Matching Strategy	Picture Auditory Discover Relate
New Testament Cube Puzzle	1-2	3-6	10 minutes	Six (6) puzzles from New Testament stories on the sides of wooden cubes.	Picture Discover Create
Baby Moses Puzzle	1-2	3-6	10 minutes	Simple 12 piece puzzle	Picture Discover Create

Helpful Books:

• My Take-Along Bible                                                                                                             
• My Creation Bible                                                                                                              
• The Rhyme Bible Storybook

These Bible storybooks have very short stories for short attention spans.  The stories in verse help children begin to hear and recognize rhymes, an important auditory skill for reading readiness.