Game school is one of the best learning tools to spice up your homeschooling curriculum or school at home learning — whether you need 1 player game ideas, game at school ideas, game school online, or even games for learning across multiple ages, we’ve got you covered!
Tired of searching for the best homeschool curriculum (or trying different theme lessons over and over), only to find out it doesn’t work or, even worse, that the kids aren’t enjoying learning?
(Ugh.)
ENTER: Game School.
What is gameschooling?
Game schooling is using games to teach, both at home or in school classrooms. You can simply allow kids to choose games, play them, and learn topics naturally, or you can choose games in learning that match with a specific subject or curriculum (math curriculums, board games for history, etc.) or unit study topic (like animals).
Use board games and online games the same way you would use homeschool curriculum or online courses. If you’re working on learning multiplication or homeschool maths, use math games as a supplement or in place of the curricula!
(Yes, you really can homeschool gameschool as your curriculum and game for school instead of traditional online courses.)
Whether you’re a secular homeschooler or a want a Bible-based homeschool curriculum, you can find games to add to your at home learning and create a fun game school!
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What are some fun educational games?
Here are 12 fun educational games for game school or family game night:
- Continent Race
- Kanoodle
- Brain Freeze
- Silly Sentences
- The World Geography Card Game
- Guess In 10 States Of America
- Osmo games
- Cat Crimes game
- Boggle
- Mathable Deluxe
- Payday
- Wordplay for Kids
What is the importance of games in education?
Game-based learning (GBL), or using games in school, helps inspire learners to develop a lifelong love of learning. It not only helps students learn the subject or topic (like maths, reading, science, spelling) in a fun way, but also helps kids practice communication skills, teamwork, critical thinking skills and more!
MORE GAMESCHOOL RESOURCES:
Games In Learning: How to Use Game Based Learning Effectively
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One Of The Best Learning Games We’ve Ever Used!
Free Typing Games to Learn Typing At Home
58 Best Board Games Recommended By Parents
Interactive Writing Games (perfect for Homeschool Language Arts Program)
Get a Virtual Scavenger Hunt
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Best Gamer Gifts For Kids (When You’re On A Budget!)
How To Free Game School
Trying to build your library of games can get costly. (Some board games can cost $50 and up!)
So, adding schooling games for learning can easily stretch a budget.
That’s why you’ll want to get creative when building your own home school academy games for game play in school.
Where to find free games and cheap games for game school:
- Search app stores like Apple (iOS) learning apps and learning apps for Kindle / Kindle Fire apps for kids (even Kindle games for toddlers!)
- Check educational websites like museums, Smithsonian, and NatGeo that often have a kids area with learning games
- Shop secondhand and thrift store games
- Keep your eye on library sales
- Make your own games out of items you find around the house
- Let your friends know you’re looking for new board games when they’re decluttering
- Search for school game websites because many will offer free or limited time free games
- Buy basic items, like dice and a deck of cards, and use it for multiple different games
- Search online for a free board game printable or printable game cards (see our gameschooling pack below that includes free board game printables!)
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Looking for a free board games printable and want to learn more about using game school in your home school or classroom?
Check out our HOW TO EFFECTIVELY USE GAMES IN LEARNING pack that includes TWO FREE printable board games to make up your own games!
CLICK HERE TO GRAB THE LEARNING PRINTABLE
What games do you play in school?
With gameschooling, you play anything that helps with learning which, honestly, is most any board game or online game!)
(And, what is more fun than being game schooled?)
1 Player Games for Learning
If you parent / homeschool a single child, you know that playing games quickly gets exhausting because your child is looking to you to entertain them at all times. So, it’s important to find some one player games for your child.
Some of the best 1-player games are found online, where your kid can control their learning and still have fun with games even when you’re not involved (try the Dinosaur Sudoku Puzzle Game).
Some of the best games for one player we’ve found are those through the Osmo system. There are a wide variety of learning games like maths / STEM, geography, coding, music, spelling, and more!
READ WHY I CALLED OSMO ONE OF THE BEST LEARNING TOOLS WE’VE EVER HAD!
Gameschooling Preschool
You don’t need a printable game board or expensive boxed games to gameschool preschool.
This age is all about getting up and moving and working on things like fine motor skills and gross motor skills.
You can also search online apps and Kindle for kids app. There are fun options for this age range for apps and free online games.
Try these preschool games:
Gameschooling Kindergarten
If you’re looking for a free curriculum for kindergarten, game school is definitely the way to go because your kids can learn so much from games (and items) you probably already have at home.
For example, the dice games Tenzi helps kids practice numbers and counting (and it’s a fun family game for all ages!). (Or, you can even create your own Tenzi math game!)
A game board printable works well for this age because they can do a lot of creative and imaginary play.
There are also good online apps and Kindle apps for kindergartners, so don’t forget about those.
Try these kindergarten games:
Gameschooling Middle School and Elementary
If you’re looking for best homeschool math curriculum for struggling students (or other subjects your kids are struggling with), definitely add math games like Prime Climb and Clumsy Thief .
Also try games like the Ticket To Ride Game and Explore the World game for geography games and The Night Zoo Keeper online for grammar and writing.
If you want a board game about history try The Oregon Trail board game to pair up with your US history curriculum and courses.
Gameschooling High School
High school games need to be more challenging and engaging. For high school game ideas, try games like Merge Cube, Catan, Cranium Brain, and Wit’s End.
For this age range, using online game school is a great idea because your high school students probably already play games online.
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