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1 Apr |
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7:27 am Posted by Nicola |
The elementary school years are prime time for birthday party invitations, and lots of them. Browsing the toy store aisles with my son recently, we had the usual dilemma. The birthday boy enjoys Legos – but it’s slim pickings for sets within our gift budget amount. He likes Wii – but I have a no video game policy for friends’ gifts. He loves Nerf – but how many foam weapons and darts can a boy really have?
It took a little convincing, but 15 (long) minutes later we ended up buying a board game. And the birthday boy really liked it! Granted, a board game isn’t nearly as exciting to unwrap as a Nerf-anything, but its durability and benefits far outweigh those foam bullets that are always scattered around my house.
Board Games help with ‘Number Sense’
‘Number sense’ refers to a child’s understanding of numbers, the sense of what numbers mean, and the ability to perform mental math calculations and comparisons in the real world. Indeed, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has made number sense a focus area of pre-K through 2nd grade education. I guess my kids’ teachers must be onboard because ‘family game night’ is on regular rotation in their homework packets (play a board or card game with family members – NOT a video game – then write about it).
Board games are an easy way to reinforce number sense in children and to give them a strong foundation of basic math skills. Dice games such as Yahtzee, Dominoes and Shut the Box have simple rules and offer rich learning opportunities. Other board games that utilize counting and reinforce grade-school math logic are Connect Four, Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders and Uno.
So consider buying a board game next time you need to buy a gift for your child’s friend, your nieces and nephews , or your own child. Most games provide guidelines right on the box about age recommendations, number of players, and the length of a typical game. The games we’ve listed here are traditional ‘must-haves’ for every household, but we’ll blog soon to share some of our newer board game favorites.
If you’re planning a kids birthday party soon, checkout the selection of online birthday party invitations at LookLoveSend.com. Cards can be easily customized online and orders ship the next business day.
