Best Learning Games

Make-believe Games

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Imagination is healthy. Unfortunately, many toys and games these days actually stifle the imagination. If there is any indication of the future success of children, it is the amount of imaginative, or make-believe play they engage in on a daily basis. Many parents overlook this critical factor and begin to push learning games or toys with built-in story lines.

From Real-Life to Virtual

Young children almost always begin to play using their imaginations. Toy kitchens and doll houses help little kids act like the grown-ups they admire. Of course, the minute the children discover the wonders of the internet, much of this imaginative play begins to fade, but it doesn’t have to.

There are opportunities online for make-believe games. Although many games children play via the internet involve predetermined actions and plot sequences, this is not the case for all. Some games utilize the imagination more than even traditional toys. Online dolls offer young girls a chance to stretch not only their fashion sense but their imagination as well.

Playing Make-Believe Games

It may seem simple to the casual observer. Stick some clothes on a doll and you have a finished creation. But it is much more than that to the regulars. Every aspect of online play has great significance. Choosing the right base is the first step – is the doll going to represent the doll maker, or is she trying her hand at something new? Then clothing is selected based on what that doll is going to be doing or represent.

Young girls with rich imaginations love playing dress up games with these dolls. The dolls can lead wild fantasy lives or do literally anything the doll maker wishes. Young girls can try on imaginary personalities or styles, or create avatars and characters to be used for any number of games and contests.

Many doll creation sites, like TheDollPalace.com, offer more than simple doll creation software. They give girls a chance to find others interested in the same sort of make-believe games and imaginary worlds. Doll Palace offers forums and opportunities to share stories about dolls. Not only are the girls creating these complex dolls, they are writing histories and stories for their characters as well.

The Benefits of Make-Believe Games

If it is not already obvious, make-believe games, such as these online dolls, give children an opportunity to flex their creative muscle. Creativity and imagination are some of the most wonderful gifts of childhood and often they are stomped out by excessive school work or games that trap players in certain characters or roles. Those that enjoy these dolls should be encouraged to continue playing, and parents interested in developing or fostering these skills in their own children should seek out make-believe games.

Of course the best way to interact with your child as well as encourage the use of the imagination is to sit down routinely with your daughter and ask about her dolls. Do they have a history or is there something special about each one? Parents will be amazed at the lengths doll makers will go to build a complete fantasy life around a simple online paper doll. Imagination is truly a wonder to behold.

Education Spiced Up With Entertainments – Free Online Games

It is true that the word “educational” do not often link it to any degree of enjoyment to people but to young kids, they are as fun and as productive as they could possibly be. Research shows that the developing brain of children in their early stage have active capacity of absorbing almost anything thrown at them. Therefore if you have young kids then bring some twist to your teaching method. Introducing online educational games in your teaching process where they can have both fun and knowledge can be highly rewarding.

Generally educational games are highly underestimated but unfortunately the least visited applications in an entertainment site reside within this educational category. Max out the application of the internet which is considered as the most amazing learning tool where you will find answer to any kind of questions with a few points and clicks. There are plenty of on-line resources for kids especially when it comes to free kid’s educational games on varied subjects like math, English, geography etc.

Educational games are have been specifically designed to teach people about a certain subject, grow their concepts, reinforce development, understand an historical event or culture, or assist them in learning a skill as they play. But no wonder why children’s educational computer games have often encountered more negative critics instead of positive critics. Centralized by increasing technological and informational society, education to the growing children will be provided through a mediated combination of learning and enjoyment experience.

Online educational games will help even the teachers to assist students on social aspects such as critical learning, knowledge based communication and effective interpersonal skill that traditional method of teaching could not offer. The recent emergence of educational games spiced up with entertainments are helping the children to take interest and learn fast their subjects as well as their guide that may be their parents at homes or teachers at school to teach them with ease.

The advent of online educational games had brought a new revolution in the world of education providing additional information to the growing children. These computer-aided learning programs are said to be highly effective when designed to address a specific problem or teach a certain skill in any subjects. So whether its letters, numbers or colors that you would like your child to learn and respond to you positively online educational games can be a good option for you to avail. Just try and see.

Learning Geometry With the Online Game Quest for Einstein

Online flash games are more than just shooting, killing and other crazy stuff, they can also prove to be quite educational for kids as well. Geometry may be a tough subject if it’s learned the very same way kids learn social sciences. Math and all the sciences which are derived from it present problems which have many solutions.

Kids learn better by associating things, if they are able to visualize a problem they are more likely to understand the procedure involved to get the final answer. Problems which involve coordinates, degrees, distance and such and sound abstract to them, online games can change all that allowing them to visualize the problem through games.

The online game “Quest for Einstein” is a game which involves measurement, geometry and general knowledge of coordinates. The educational game is based on the following scenario:

When you entered Einstein’s lab you saw that brain you’ve been looking for so long. You almost had it, but you accidentally knocked down a radioactive chemical that spilled on you, and all over the floor. All of the sudden you are starting to get smaller and smaller until you are only about as tall as a pinky. Oh, and look at that, there’s a jet pack lying on the floor. You pick it up and get on your way to Einstein’s brain. You only have eight lives, so watch out for the chemical that’s still on the floor!

During this quest you are required to calculate the elevation and force you will set your jet pack to send you flying from one place to the other. While the game doesn’t actually teach kids the math involved in solving such problem, it does let them visualize the way coordinates are used instead of giving them a problem which may sound highly abstract to them.

Today’s set of educational online games can teach kids more than basic geometry, they can learn general facts in just about any subject, they can improve their memory through color coordination (which is also good for adults) and so much more. When it comes to online games, the sky is the limit.

Falling Shapes Game for Children

All parents have moments when they’re home with their young child and the cute bundle of joy runs up to them and screams, “Play with me!” and the parent stands there drawing a blank. Mom looks around the room and can’t think of anything to do. The child starts to get antsy and begins to whine. Finally mom decides to take the child shopping which in the end proves to be a bad idea.

Instead of enduring yet another shopping excursion, next time you could create your own game by using some simple items you can find in your home.

The educational game is called Falling Shapes.

Items needed:

4 pieces of paper (per 2 player)

2 pencils or pens

Crayons of any color

Instructions to Create Game Pieces

Create 32 Shape Cards:

Take 2 pieces of paper and cut them each into 16 squares. You will have 32 cards total, 16 per player. The easy way to do this is to fold the paper in half and cut on the fold line. Then fold again and cut and continue until you have 16 even pieces. Do the same with the second piece of paper.

Give each person 16 cards. You and your child should draw the following shapes on your cards. Only draw 1 shape per card. You should have 2 cards that have 1 square on each, 2 cards that have 1 circle on each and so on.

2 Squares

2 Circles

2 Ovals

2 Rectangles

2 Stars

2 Triangles

2 Hearts

Create Score Sheet:

Take the other 2 pieces of blank paper and draw the same shapes listed above on each sheet. There should be 16 shapes on each piece of paper. 2 Squares, 2 Circles etc… The shapes can be drawn in random places as long as there are 16 total.

Have fun coloring your cards and score sheet before you play the game. This will allow you to spend more time on the project and enjoy doing a craft before playing.

Game Instructions

Place your individual score sheets in front of you and your child. Place a writing utensil on the table or floor next to both score sheets. Each player should hold the 16 shape cards in their hand. When you say, “Go” both you and your child should take the first card off the top of each of your card piles and hold that card above your heads. Then drop the card and watch it fall to the table or ground.

If a player’s shape card lands with the shape up then they get a point and should circle or color that shape on their score sheet. If the shape lands face down then that player doesn’t get a point. Place the dropped cards in a discard pile. Continue holding up and dropping each card and marking your score sheets. When you’ve dropped all 16 cards the game is over.

Winner

The player with the most shapes circled on the score sheet is the winner.

This game is fun for all ages and it’s a great way to teach young children about shapes.

If you want to print this game instead of drawing it you can do this at http://www.learnthroughgames.com. LearnThroughGames.com offers free, printable, educational games for children. It’s fun for the entire family.

Tons of Free Online Games – a New Twist

The excitement and the enjoyment offered by game parlors is very different to the level of enjoyment offered by online flash game. We cannot compare the excitement delivered by playing at game parlors with online games. Ask them those who have played in game arcades and you will see they cannot deny entertainment they have have just had. On the other hand flash games vividly bringing alive the superficial impression but beyond that lies the several benefits we can derive from this entertainment form.

Educational games are highly underestimated, most of the people who head towards entertainment sites almost always end up having several choices where they must pick the right category in order to get the form of entertainment they are looking for. It is also true that most of the people choose board games because they are common and they know how to play them; the least visited applications in an entertainment site reside within the educational category.

It is true that when people hear the word “educational” they don’t often link it to any activity which might give them a certain degree of enjoyment but to young kids, they are as fun and as productive as they could possibly be. At their young and immature age, children have a mental capacity unlike any other, since their brains is developing and actively adding more layers it can absorb almost anything thrown at it, that is why teaching a second, third or even fourth language to a child at that age is very easy. Learning how to use the computer is a no brainer as well, this is where gaming sites come in handy.

Recently, a popular video has been going around the web which shows a young girl in her early years (2-3 years old) and she can not only recognize all the estates within the USA but she can locate them on a map! At such early age their parents taught her not only geographical facts related to this country but they also taught her the names and locations of the rest the countries around the globe. The most amazing thing is that she can locate each county without missing one. In a second video their parents explained that since they both were teachers they tested a new teaching method on her young daughter which included the use of the web and gaming sites to teach their daughter facts which are well beyond her years. If you have young kids this might be the best teaching method where they can have fun and acquire knowledge which will be of use to them later on their lives. How’s that for a gaming site new twist?

Educational Toys Enhance your Child’s Development

Children who play with educational toys have an advantage of increasing their mental and physical growth. There are many benefits to playing with quality educational toys. Families who have educational toys in their homes enhance their childrenâ??s environment, boost learning skills, and promote quality time spent together. When choosing educational toys, the quality of the toys must be a factor. Children tend to care for their toys better when there is an emphasis of value. They care for their belongings with respect and a positive sense of ownership. Educational Wooden Toys fit into the category of high valued toys. Educational Wooden Toys come in many varieties; wooden building blocks, wooden puzzles, wooden trains, wooden games, etc.

Montessori toys are educational toys which adhere to the Montessori philosophy of child development. Our Montessori Toys are not the Montessori Materials you find in the classroom; rather they are educational toys that will augment the learning from school to home. Montessori toys can be used no matter what the education of the child, because the philosophy of Montessori is to support the development of the whole child.

Educational Games develop strategic thought, memory, concentration, coordination, knowledge, and patience. Playing educational games with your child helps them enlarge these skills. Skills taught in school are improved at home by playing with educational games. Having these skills reiterated at home, you and your children will have quality family time, progressive learning time and fun all at the same time.

For more information on educational toys please visit http://www.brainbuildingtoys.com/

Educate Your Child With Games

Forcing your child to study or show learning of concepts that they are not ready for are a guaranteed way of creating a hatred for learning. The best way to let kids learn is to provide them learning games and let them set their own pace. As and when kids get curious about things they will indicate in some way or the other that they would like to know more. Your task as a parent at this stage is to expose them to a myriad of options starting from picture books to shapes and blocks that they can plug together. Allowing a comfortable pace at this stage and not being pushy about learning right from the very start helps kids become creative, develop exploratory skills and are more involved as students later.

As your child grows older the educational needs of your child change and so do the educational toys or games. At this stage your child may need to develop skills in math or science or maybe reading skills. One of the games that have been developed for increasing math skills is a variation of Bingo, in which you call out simple mathematics problems that may require mental addition or subtraction to start with and the kids strikes off the number that is the answer. This can prove to be a very interesting game that can be played among friends as well without intervention from you. The kind of problems that you set as questions can be made to be relevant to the age of your child and so this is one game that does not make itself useless to fast. Older kids may like to play with games that can demonstrate the practical aspect of science and the manner in which it can be used in normal daily life.

It is important to note that there may be some children that may take to learning easily and enjoy the activity as is but there are some who do not take to it so easily. For these children, especially the educational games are a boon and allow them to learn while having fun. The benefits of using these games do not stop at learning skills but they also associate a sense of fun and enjoyment with learning of any kind. Your child is less likely to desist from acquiring new skills if the process has been smooth in the past.

Computer Games Good For Kids

A study conducted in the U.K. found that primary school children improve their math scores and concentration levels by playing online educational games, according to an article released in the BBC last month. Thirty primary school children between the ages of nine and ten, played a game called “Dr. Kawashima’s More Brain Training” game every morning for about 15 minutes before their lessons started. The game consists of several mini-games including reading tests, number challenges, memory puzzles and problem-solving exercises. At the end of the study, the children were tested in math and the results compared to a control group. Children who had played the games increased their test scores by more points than those who did not play, even though the test scores for both groups increased.

So what does this mean? With educational games popping up by various manufacturers all over the world, a trend is emerging. Combining a child’s “play” time with education, seems to have positive results. Making learning fun-as in part of a game-increases a child’s desire to learn. The repetition of playing is more enjoyable than simply working math problems over and over and the concentration needed, as well as the child’s own competitive desire to beat the game, adds to the beneficial outcome.

So is it time to buy a computer for your kid? Possibly.

Setting up a computer desk and computer in your child’s room or play room may help. Give your child his/her own space with a computer desk at the proper height for comfort. We found fully customizable computer desks at excellent prices on Versatables’ website.

A computer just for your child can also be the way to go. Giving him/her his own computer allows you, as a parent, to lock off inappropriate features like internet websites and pop-ups, and download fun games and colorful desktops and screen savers.

Customize your child’s computer work area with fun mouse pads or a mouse (Target sells a Hello Kitty mouse for under $10). Versatables’ computer desks can also be customized with shelves, speaker platforms, and locking CPU holders and cable management systems that provide a safer environment for children.

Stickers can be used to decorate the outside of the monitor and the keyboard, or use the computer and desk to create a themed room. For example, an aquatic themed room would look great with a fishbowl screensaver, or a princess-themed room could have a photo slide show of Disney’s princess characters.

When picking computer games, be sure to do your research. Many have been tested and are endorsed by schools and learning centers. Keep in mind, anyone can put out educational software, and just because it says it’s educational, doesn’t mean your child will learn from it. Choose games that are age-appropriate and that your child enjoys playing. Give your child time to play before studying, as increased blood flow to the frontal cortex (which happens during game play) can increase memory and concentration for hours afterward, making them ripe for learning.

While much of what you hear about computers and kids is negative press, keep in mind that computers allow us to do much more than we could without them and with proper parental control, they can be key in giving your child the educational edge.

Education Toys & Games for Young Mind

Educational games are an integral part of childhood; more so with the new age trend of ‘learn while you play’. Educational toys are mainly classified based on the type, design and the particular age group they are targeted at.

The choices of educational toys and learning games are however mind boggling. With the ever growing trend and popularity of educational games almost every store you go to is generally filled with such toys and games.

Before zooming on the ideal educational games for your little ones, it is important to make the shopping ‘age’ specific. If your child is a newborn then a game suitable for a 3 year old is going to be of little or no use as the infant will hardly be able to play with them.
It is therefore important to choose toys that are age specific.

Educational toys for infants:
They are designed to nurture the creativity in infants. This is certainly one of the best ways to make your little one learn and have fun at the same time. From a very young age babies respond to color therefore toys like building blocks, cushions and play mats in vibrant colors are good options. Playhouses, creative play, musical toys and soft cushion blocks make resourceful educational toys for your little one.

Educational toys for a two year old:
At this age kids generally learn about their physical skills and actions of the world around them. Toys that augment hand and finger co ordination are ideal. Therefore simple crafts and artwork are ideal toys for your two year old.

Several soft bath toys are available which enhance the hand grip. They also make room for imaginative play which adds a whole new dimension to educational toys and games.

Educational toys for a three year old:
Educational games for a three year old are mainly those that are constructed to enhance the learning skills. Therefore they are categorized as learning games. Alphabet puzzle book, number games, magnetic toys and other activity sets are ideal toys for a three year old.

As the child starts school, it is important to get toys that would augment his learning process. Rhyme and story books, art book set, crayon colors etc are a must have. Besides this, each subject that is taught in school can be pictorially represented to him so that learning becomes a fun activity. Drama, choir and dance are the other activities that help making the learning process truly engaging.

Toys and games do have a positive effect on a growing mind. Learning games are especially important in the early stages of a child’s growth. Choose appropriate education toys and present your little one, the gift of learning with playthings.

EGAR Educational Games And Resources Crime Prevention Resources

Series 2A covers ten topical discussions around CRIME PREVENTION.

There are 10 ‘CHOICE’ Discussion Card sets in the CRIME PREVENTION series.

Game 1) KNIFE CULTURE

Game 2) GUN CULTURE

Game 3) DRUGS AWARENESS

Game 4) CRIME

Game 5) ANGER

Game 6) GANG CULTURE

Game 7) SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Game STEALING

Game 9) VANDALISM

Game 10) ALCOHOL ABUSE

For each card game there is one question, such as “Why do young people join a gang?”

(Game 6: GANG CULTURE)

Communication, connection, education and support leads to personal growth and the confidence to make the right choices.

Praise for EGAR products:

“I’m impressed by the EGAR ‘Choice’ Discussion Cards and Posters. I work with 11 to 20 year olds in an area of London where kids are under peer pressure to carry knives. They don’t like what’s going on but can easily be led and don’t think about their actions. The cards get them thinking about the consequences of what they do. I was shocked how much they opened up – it’s like planting a pea in their head; they’re more aware and start to grow. They should be used in every secondary school.” Paul Canoville, ex Chelsea FC player, now a youth worker and teaching assistant.

Scott-Horne says, “EGAR resources fills a gap for staff teams to communicate and discuss real issues in young people’s lives.  EGAR’s ‘Choice’ Discussion cards and posters tie in with the governments ‘Every Child Matters’ agenda as well as being an additional and complementary tool for the national core or recreational curriculums.  Adolescence is a massive transition, there is so much that happens at that time for young people in terms of personal development. These aren’t simply a discussion tool but can actually help change young people’s minds and attitudes opening up better decisions made and of course consequences.  This in turn will raise young people’s self esteem and confidence, making them valuable citizens of society.” www.egar.co.uk    email: egar@egar.co.uk