Summer Games

One of Gabe's teachers sent home some lists of games to play over the summer.  There are online and board games which she recommends, all that use different creative and critical thinking skills.  We've been trying, as a family, to play more board games lately, especially with our budget shrinking and our kids' brains developing.  So far we have had great success with Sorry and Jenga.   I am looking forward to working our way down this list.  

If you have any suggestions of others, please let me know!

Games

1.  PDQ, by Gamewright.  The pretty darn quick word game.

2.  Quiddler, by Set Enterprises.  A short word game.

3.  Whatzit?, by Milton Bradley.  

4.  Taboo, by Milton Bradley

5.  Oodles of Doodles, by Think Fun.  The fast drawing use your noodle game.

6.  Apples to Apples, by Out of the Box Games.  A game of hilarious comparisons.

7.  Guess Who?, by Milton Bradley.  The original mystery face guessing game.

8.  I Spy Eagle Eye, by Scholastic.

9.  Blink, by Out of the Box Games.  A game of matching shape, count or color of cards.

10.  Matching Madness, by Cranium.  Matching shapes, patterns, numbers and colors.

11.  Blokus, by Educational Insights.  A strategy game for the whole family.  A Worldwide award winner!  (also highly recommended by Gabe's Reach teacher.)

Online Brain Games for Kids

1.  DANA - www.dana.org -- http://www.dana.org/resources/brainykids

Check out the "Brainy Kids Online" section for games and activities, as well as a "virtual lab" to help your child learn more about the human brain.

2.  Games for the Brain - http://www.gamesforthebrain.com  -- From Mahjongg Solitaire and Chinese Checkers to trivia games and crime scene scenarios, there's a wide variety.

3.  Fun Brain - http://www.funbrain.com -- Web books and comics, movies, and classic fun brain games to keep kids interested.

4.  Kaboose - http://resources.kaboose.com/games/index.html

The tutoring section of the site offers educational games for kids, as well as word puzzles, language builders, online stories, online musical games and mazes.

5.  LearningRx - http://www.learningrx.com -- Offers free downloadable copies of Think Magazine and LearningRx Magazine that contain fun brain-building games to take on the road or use at home.

6.  Math.com - http://www.math.com/students/puzzles/puzzleapps.html -- A world of math online.  Games including Peg Solitaire, a maze generator and other math-based games.

7.  Discovery Education - http://www.discoveryeducation.com  -- See the Home Resources section for lessons and tutoring broken down by subject: math, science, social studies and English. 

8.  Kids Sites - http://www.kidssites.com -- A clearinghouse of sites that includes a section of games for younger kids.

9.  Cool Math 4 Kids - http://www.coolmath4kids.com -- Touting itself as "an amusement park of math and more," this site offers math games, brain benders, math problems, a math dictionary, times tables and more.