Pre-School Activities ? Create a Board Game

Playing board games with your children is a great way to help them develop literacy and numeracy skills. Monopoly, Scrabble, Trouble, and Sorry! are just some of many games that kids can enjoy while learning how to count, add, subtract, read and decode words.? If you find however, that your kids can become easily bored with the games that you have in stock, why not ask them to create their own!

On a rainy afternoon, this fun activity can be thoroughly engaging for youngsters and preschoolers alike. Encourage your kids to be creative and inventive when sourcing materials for constructing your game. They can reuse old toys, games, and dice. If you have old books or magazines lying around the house, you may want to donate them to the cause ? your kids can cut out images and letters to glue to their board game. To help your kids get started, ask them to think of a special theme around which to base the game, for example, ?birthday?, ?seasons?, ?sports?, ?friends? word search puzzles, mazes, and etc.

Once they have landed on a theme, assist with the layout or initial design of the actual board. Use cardboard or stiff paper (you can even paint over a rarely used board game) to create the layout or mark the game path.

Brainstorm fun messages and ideas with your kids to include in the various spaces or squares on the board (for example, if your game is birthday themed you might suggest, ?you forgot to bring a present to your friend?s birthday party, move back 3 spaces?, or ?you won pin-the-tail on the donkey, move ahead 3 spaces?). Have your kids use their art supplies (markers, paints, crayons, stickers, stamps and pencil crayons) to decorate the board. When it?s ready to go, round up a few playing pieces, some dice and a few players!

P.S. If you decide to go with the birthday theme, keep in mind that a homemade board game makes for an excellent birthday gift! Food for thought...

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