The cold weather is fast approaching, bringing kids inside the house looking for things to do. In order to keep them away from the television and video games, why not have a variety of board games available? Board games are available in a numerous amount of themes and age ranges. Board games are no longer only Candyland and Chutes and Ladders, although who can resist a game of either? Board games are now available that get the kids up and doing dances, running around the room, jumping on one foot or who knows what else.
Here are some of my house hold favorites:
Cranium Balloon Lagoon: Ages 5 and up. Cranium has a long list of kids games, this is one of our family favorites though. The game board consists of four carnival style games that allow children to solve puzzles, practice spelling, matching and counting. As puzzles are solved, players collect balloons, the first with a total of 15 is the winner. Our favorite part of the game is flipping frogs, although the kids never got the frogs into the correct area, they had a lot of fun flipping them high into the air!
I Can Do That!: Ages 4 – 7. Who doesn’t love The Cat in the Hat? Dr. Suess has stepped outside of literature and now has a range of games for children. The I Can Do That! game gets children up out of their seats and jumping, balancing and sliding. As each player takes turns trying to do a different task they win stars. The player with the most stars wins.
Monopoly: Ages 8 and up. Monopoly is now available to keep any child happy. It is no longer the same boring board, no more just trying to buy Park Place and Boardwalk. Children and adults alike may choose from a variety of Monopoly boards, including Littlest Pet Shop, Star Wars, Spongebob and Disney/Pixar. Each board gives its own twists and different objectives.
If you do not have any games at your house and the kids want something to do, there are a number of websites available the offer downloadable board games. Some great sites to check out are:
Teacher Tools: Offers a variety of games strategy to trivia. There is bound to be something for each child on this site. All games are free to download and print out, a great way to save money and keep the kids busy.
Board Game Geek: A list of more than 200 print and play games are available. It is a great place to search through, just be sure to have lots of paper ready to start printing all of the games your children will want to try!
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