Candyland or Chess? Hosting Parent Games Night

Rande McCreight Lincoln, Nebraska

Benefits of games for kids…and families! Games help kids:

•  organize their thinking,

•  develop and sharpen problem-solving, estimation, and decision-making skills,

•  think logically, and use deductive reasoning,

•  develop number sense and new vocabulary,

•  develop social skills and game-playing

skills.

Games help families:

•  spend unhurried time interacting with each other in a fun, positive way,

"We live in a world with lots of distractions for both parents and children. If there is something family members can do together while being its own distraction in some sense, that can be good. Think about how much more interaction and fun there is while playing a board

game as opposed to watching yet another

movie.” Michael Mindes, Founder

Tasty Minstral Games

"Many families are into technological games played on the Wii or Xbox, but those games really don't bring the family closer together the same way board games are able to. Their focus is on the screen, whereas in board games, their focus is usually on each other. More communication goes on in board games as well in order to accomplish whatever the objective is.”

Tom Vasel, President

The Dice Tower

Family Game Night…with a twist

•  Typical School Game Night --families bring their own games

•  Not your “Candyland” Game Night --you supply the “brainy” games

Which Games?

•  Are all games created equal?

•  Games that promote logical thinking, deductive reasoning and vocabulary enrichment are preferable.

School-Sponsored Game Nights •  Parents-only Game Night

--Invite parents of high ability learners, or open it up to any parents

•  Family Game Night

--Invite all families

--Children MUST be accompanied by parents who come prepared to play WITH their children!!

Contact PTO/PTA Help with:

--advertising

robo-calls, email blasts, newsletters

--registrations

--purchase of sample games or

games for prize drawing

Choosing a Date •  Before Thanksgiving

--to encourage holiday game-giving

--in preparation for concentrated family time

•  Dark days of winter

--Before the “craziness” of spring activities begins

•  --End-of-year activity

--in preparation for summer time off

--and family vacations.

OR, •  Choose a date when parents are already

in the building…

--Open House

--Curriculum Night

--P-T Conferences

•  This kind of game night will look different. Because parents can drop in and out of the event, it doesn’t encourage family playing, but rather a demonstration of games. This still allows parents and kids a chance to see

games they might like to own.

Contact Local Businesses • Barnes and Noble--extensive collection of games

•  Local Toy/Game stores--coupons/catalogs

• Discount/Chain Stores--Walmart, Hobby Lobby

• Amazon/Internet--remember shipping

• Do Your Leg Work--Find out who

has what

Helpful details…(I hope)

•  Pre-register participants. Emphasize this is

for families ONLY…not just the kids!

•  Emphasize that parents play games WITH their kids (this discourages parents standing around talking with each other!)

•  Upon arrival have families register for game drawings. (Funding for games may come from PTO or grants.)

•  Solicit help with game playing—contact sororities/fraternities, high school students, PTO members, or teachers.

•  Arrange a training session prior to game night for volunteers.

Details, cont’d

Details, cont’d •  Requires large space with tables—lunch

room or gym (perhaps multiple classrooms.)

•  You may arrange games by grade level, but many can be enjoyed by all grade levels.

•  Have participants rotate through games, playing each for 10-15 minutes.

“No Fair, He Cheated!!” Board games can teach important social skills.

•  communicating verbally,

•  following rules and directions,

•  sharing,

•  waiting (patience),

•  taking turns,

•  enjoying interaction with others.

MOST important game-playing skills: winning and losing gracefully

Congratulating the winner is an important

part of losing, just as acknowledging a well

played game is an important part of winning.

It shows humility and good

sportsmanship.

Praise the effort, not the outcome.

Parents need to consider what will be accomplished if they frequently amend the rules of any game to enable their child to win. Losing, and failure, is part of life. Teaching children to lose gracefully will help them bounce back from failure.

When you introduce a game, don’t teach it incorrectly just to make it easy…give kids an opportunity to step up to the plate. If the age level is appropriate, and they have time to practice, they will be successful.

What we want our kids to believe…

"You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still don't win, at least you can be satisfied that you've tried.”

Rosalyn Carter

Former First Lady

Blokus •  Blokus--Fun for both kids and adults, Blokus is a

strategy board game that challenges spatial thinking, encourages creative thinking and has received a Mensa award for promoting healthy brain activity. The goal of this game is for players to fit all of their pieces onto the board.

Ages 5 & up.

7 Ate 9 •  It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3. Players add, or subtract, 1, 2,

or 3 to the number on the top card on the pile to determine if they have a card that can be played next. Sounds simple, but with everyone playing simultaneously, the options are constantly changing. The first player out of cards wins. Ages 8 and up.

Set •  Set is a card game of quick recognition and

deduction. The players--without taking turns--hastily scrutinize the images for logical "sets" of three cards linked by combinations of sameness or difference. It's not as complicated as it sounds! For ages 8 and up.

Math Dice •  Roll the 12-sided Target Die to get your target

number, then roll the five 6-sided Scoring Dice. Using addition and/or subtraction, combine the Scoring Dice to match the target number. The first player to reach the finish line wins! For ages 6-15.

Double Shutter •  Roll two dice, add the dots and find the best

combination of numbers to shut two rows of nine tiles. Don't touch a tile on the second row unless you have already shut the tile in front of it. Very few can shut all the tiles and close the super box. Ages 5-7.

Spot It! •  Put your visual perception skills to the test with

Spot It, a fun, fast-paced, and simple card game that everyone aged 6 years and up can enjoy. In a group of two to eight players, you'll draw cards and match symbols, but with one catch--only one matching symbol exists between any two cards. For

7-12 years.

Super Circles •  --4…3…2…1…Blast off. Players race to play all their

cards by matching colored rings on the previously played card. Quick minds and fast fingers will triumph. Two to 4 players, ages 7 and up.

24 Game Add/Subtract Primer •  Self-checking card game has three levels of

difficulty. Each card has 2 wheels and a white target number. Students pick the wheel that makes the target number using addition and subtraction ONLY. Reinforces problem solving skills while practicing basic operations. Grades 2 and up.

Albert’s Insomnia •  Helps with mental math, math facts, learning order

of operations, critical and creative thinking skills practice. Can be played in small groups or large group. Enhances addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills. Ages 7 and up.

Quirkle •  Using the 108 wooden blocks in six colors, players

attempt to score the most points by building lines that share a common attribute - either color or shape. Also requires tactical maneuvers and well-planned strategy in order to score the most points.

Ages 6 & up.

Muggins and Knockout •  Add, subtract, multiply, and/or divide three (3) dice

are all part of this analytical aerobic workout for the mind! Muggins on one side of the wooden board and “Knockout” (described as “thinking beyond the obvious”) on the other. Ages 5 & up.

Bananagrams •  In this unique word game, players use tiles to create

words crossword-style. The first player to use all their tiles is the winner. With multiple ways to play, this game is perfect for beginning spellers, as well as more advanced players. No pencil, paper, or board required. Ages

7 & up.

Appleletters •  Appletters™ is the domino game where you don't

connect the dots, you connect the letters! 110 tiles with red capital letters that may be used to play three different games. Players add tiles to the first or last letter of a word in the middle of the table creating a continuous snake of new words. Ages 5 & up.

Pairs in Pears •  Complete with capital letter tiles featuring various

designs (dots, lines, blank and solid), this game is designed to help kids work on cognitive skills and memory, as well as the order of the alphabet, vocabulary and rhyming as they practice forming words. Ages 6 & up.

In a Pickle •  Can a giraffe fit in a phone booth? It all depends on

how you size it up in this game of creative thinking and outrageous scenarios. Try to win a set of cards by fitting smaller things into bigger things. The player with the most sets at the end is the BIG winner! Includes 300 cards and instructions. For ages 10 & up.

Smart Mouth •  Challenge your brain skills in this letter-ific game of

spelling and quick thinking. Slide the Letter Getter forward then back to reveal two letter tiles. The first player to shout out a word of five or more letters that starts with the first letter and ends with the second wins the tiles Ages 8 & up.

Quiddler •  A bit like Scrabble, cards containing letters of the

alphabet and special combinations of letters are dealt in increasing number each time the dealer completes a round. The object is to turn all the letters in your possession into dictionary-proof words while leaving one stray card as a final discard.

Good Luck (and have fun!)

Rande McCreight

rmccrei@lps.org

Lincoln Public Schools, Lincoln, Nebraska

Here’s the website for the handouts: •  http://wp.lps.org/gifted/teacher-newsletter-

archive/

•  Then, “Conference Handouts”