This easy-to-make gameboard used pictures cut from a children's book. Yes, I do cut books. Check out my blog on that topic.
Who Wants to be a Millionaire
Who Wants to be a Millionaire
Any skill cards can be used here. Age levels can easily be mixed as each child gets questions from his own selected skill cards. Children may even be reviewing/drilling very different subjects. Check out here how to make and play this fun game.
Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
This quick and easy-to-make gameboard was created to review a book on ....you guessed it - The Oregon Trail. The cute wagon is from bulletin board border strip. The path path is Avery 3/4" brown circle stickers. The special spaces along the path a filefolder label stickers. I don't know if you are able to read the special spaces, so here are what we chose to put on them. In order that they appear along the path: Big River - need even number to cross. Sight Buffalo - lose one turn to hunt. Indian Attack - lose one turn. and finally: Oregon Territory.
Animal Mania
Animal Mania
The pictures were again cut from a book. This book was a favorite for cutting animals. It was an old Golden workbook, the kind we would find near grocery check-outs. I still on rare occasions find this at garage sales--often in FREE boxes as all the pages have been done. But the pictures are so nice for games and other projects the children enjoy. Notice that the stickers that were once white have changed over all these years, but the game is still a good one. Children always love animal related games, even if we are drilling "boring" multiplication tables.
Not having a television except for video watching, I had not seen this show until it had become a popular hit. Visiting my son, I saw it for the first time with his family. His kids were excited about watching it, though they are young and most of the questions were way beyond their education. But what interested me the most was that they still watched the whole show cheering on the contestant and shouting advice about answers and how to use his "lifelines."
As I thought about this show more in the days to come and thought about its appeal to these children, I figured there had to be a way to make this game and use it for their education.
TO MAKE: I wanted something a little different than a traditional board game. I decided to use library pockets (You know those card holders in the back of library books, before many libraries went completely to using computers to track books.) I cut these in half, and taped them to make two pockets out of each one, as I needed smaller pockets. I wrapped the pocket portion in clear Contact paper to make it more durable.
Then I glued these in three rows (five in each row) on a pretty blue file folder. I used some file folder labels that were trimmed in blue below each one to indicate the level of question. I used the same levels as they do on the show: $100; $200; $300; $500; $1,000; $2,000; $4,000; $8,000; $16,000; $32,000; $64,000; $125,000; $250,000; $500,000; and $1,000,000. I put a gold sticker on the $1,000 and $32,000 pockets to indicate these as safe levels (Once reached this progress can not be lost.)
Now for the part that became the biggest hit with the kids: I used flat wooden spoons (The kind you can get at stores when you buy a malt cup or single serving of ice cream.) to make their playing pieces. These fit nicely into the pockets. To personalize each, I cut a snapshot of the child and glued his picture to the stick. I made some extra "players" in case a friend comes and wishes to play. He could chose from the Big Bird or Winnie the Pooh game pieces.
I made some special "lifeline" cards: 50/50 - The question will be rephrased as a True/False question or a choice of two answers will be given.
HELP - The player may ask anyone available for help...this can include calling Grandma on the phone.
BOOK - The player may get any book in the house and look up information.
NEW QUESTION - The player may choose to receive a completely new question.
HINT - The player will be given an age appropriate clue.
At the beginning of the game, these "lifeline" cards will be shuffled and three dealt to each player OR players may select three of their choice....some players like different ones than others.
For the game that I gave to my son's family, I included two sets of question cards I had from a trivia game that I bought at a used curriculum sale. I gave them the set for first graders and second graders as these were the right ages for the boys. However, I later made them some cards fitting more with things they are actually working on.....but they were so excited and wanted the game NOW.
TO PLAY:
Play is similar to the game show. However, we wanted all players to be able to play at the same time, not just one "contestant" (though this is a great game for the "only" child).
All players place their game piece in the first pocket. In turn each is asked a question and if successful, they move their game piece to the next level pocket. They may use their "lifeline" cards any time they choose for assistance with a question.
Any time a player wishes, he may quit and keep the money he has won. I made some fun money and pay the children. They can keep this money forever.....I just print some more. If a child, misses a question, he must return to the last "safe" pocket and collect that amount of money. He may, however, remain in the game...he simply must start at the beginning again.
When I was playing with the grandchildren the first time, and Kris made a mistake, he was heartbroken, but the pain seemed less as he received some fun money and realized that he was not out of the game...that he could start fresh again, with new "lifeline" cards. As it turned out, Kris was forced to start over more often than his older brother Kyle, however, Kris ended up with more money when we quit playing for the day. They left their game pieces right in the pockets so they could start up in the same places the next time we played....which turned out being within an hour as they were excited to get back to winning more money.
This game is fun for the whole family. Each member can be playing at his own level as the questions can come from cards made/selected especially for each one. Mom and Dad can participate too...get the questions from an adult trivia game for them to use.
"Speed" is a math card game designed to teach children to multiply and how to multiply faster. Once familiar with the numbers in a game, multiplication becomes simple.
The game consists of eight decks of cards (2's-9's) in which children learn skip counting. Two people play against each other to see who can get rid of all their cards first."
Here is a video where Julie and her daughter play a game of SPEED!:
I was concerned when we first received the game and read the directions.
Now you have to remember that I make almost all of the educational games that we use. Because I make them, they cost very little. I also know the types of games the children enjoy. I truly believe in the benefit of games, so I contacted Julie to discuss my initial opinions.
My concerns:
1. The cost ($17.75) plus shipping ($5.10) was more than I like to pay for one game.
Julie responds: There are EIGHT decks of cards. The cards are of a nice quality. They come in individual boxes and then in a box that holds all of the decks for easy storage. The cards have a unique center image that aids the player in the course of the game.
Julie called me from Germany to discuss my concerns after I had emailed her. She is a sweet homeschooling mother who has developed her first game. She did an awesome job taking her game all the way through production and making it available for sale. Way to go, Julie!
My new thinking: She is right! If I were to make these cards myself, it would take a lot of my time. It would also cost me the price of the paper, printer ink, and laminating or clear Contact paper.
I would have realized all this had I attempted to make the cards myself. But at the beginning, I didn't see enough value to the game to make the time. Also, it would have been very difficult/time consuming for me to try to replicate the information in the center of these decks. This information gives the player help in deciding the next lower or higher number in the skip counting sequence. He can see the entire sequence and exactly where the current card fits in.
2. So, now, I had to face my second concern - the play. My question was if the cards would actually teach multiplication tables or aid a child by increasing his mastery of the facts. For me, this is the larger of the two concerns. Like most teacher/parents, or in my case grandmother, I am willing to spend my money on something that really helps the children.
In a simple answer, yes. The cards work. It took a little while for me to come to an appreciation of the cards.
We began wrong. Since Douglas, age 8, knows his multiplication tables, I was hoping he would increase his speed. However, every game we played we used a different deck. He wanted to play them all. I had not thought this through. Because he was not focusing on a particular multiplication table for any length of time, he was not making much, if any, progress.
Charles, 6, on the other hand, was just beginning to learn about multiplication so we were only using the 2 Deck and the 5 Deck. I began to see the learning that he was gaining.
So I made a change with Douglas - we started concentrating on only one deck (table) at a time. We also came up with some variations of ways to play with the decks. (NOTE: I will share these variations in another post.) Finally, Douglas beat me twice on the 7 Deck even though I was playing my hardest. It is NOT that I am slow or giving him any break...it is just that he has gotten this good.
3. My last concern, another big one, is: Would the children enjoy the game? I knew that any game is a winner as we begin, mostly because it is different and it is time with an adult. My concern was more: Would the excitement last?
The answer is a definite YES! The boys love the play, both for the original rules and with the variations of play.
So...would I recommend this game? The answer is YES!
The price is good for the quality of the cards and number of decks.
The children do enjoy playing the game. The original game rules are fun.
Learning happens! This is what it is all about. We all want our children to master this important math skill. SPEED! definitely is a great option for providing some of the necessary drill for mastery.
