All Articles Learning Through Games (Yes, Really!)

Learning Through Games (Yes, Really!)

Learning through Ludo, upskilling through Scrabble.

Enjoying games is just the beginning.

Whether you’ve spent 8 consecutive weeks doing virtual games with friends on a Friday night, or if you prefer having a face to face board game night with your family, it has benefits you may not even realise. Encouraging youngsters to participate in games helps them learn valuable skills like teamwork (yes even between siblings could be possible), problem solving, and patience – plus it can also show them its okay to lose! Here are what we feel are some of the benefits from playing games, more specifically board games if possible:

Coordination and learning for younger ones.

Is your child wanting to join in with some family games? By choosing an age-specific game, they could brush up on their counting and maths skills, hand-eye coordination, taking turns, and even increase confidence by learning to speak up if it’s their turn. Even shy children usually feel most comfortable at home with their loved ones, so building upon their confidence skills in a safe environment could benefit them more than you realise. Even language skills such as getting their point across or even reading questions aloud can improve reading comprehension skills, which is fantastic if your child struggles with this area and you want to subtly help them without putting them on the spot.

There’s a teenager in the house somewhere…

Sound familiar? What a great way to get older children out of their rooms and into a sociable environment. Technology is great for this too – why not invite their friend’s household via a video call to join in? This way your teenager gets to be in a happier space with their friends, but has some bonding time with family too. This approach may work if getting your whole household together at once is quite difficult!

Alternatively, creating teams within games can be masterful if you want to encourage planning, organisational skills – and to some extent – making good decisions. Even once a game is over, we usually mull over where we made a bad choice or perhaps where something went in our favour. So the learning continues long after the fun has ended. Have a sore subject to bring up with your youngster? This can be a less direct route to bring up other subjects, how they’re getting on with school work, how they’re feeling about missing usual activities and events. Playing a game can be a slightly sneaky inroad to build upon other conversations or to simply find out how your teenager actually is! Build meaningful relationships.

In a world where it’s normal to keep in touch via Instant Messaging, it’s good to take a step back and build on social skills and improve relationships. Even at a 2m distance in a back garden could be a refreshing change to friendships that have been forced to be completely online. If it’s not possible then video calling could be the next best thing!

Maybe a child is missing a grandparent they usually see every week, or an older child hasn’t seen their bestie for three months, games can be a wonderful way to bring people together. The structure of a game can help to take the anxiety away if there is any worry around what to talk about, or if anyone generally struggles with anxiety around social situations. Following the path of the game and using that as a starting point to laugh along or help each other out can work wonders if you’re unsure what to suggest to help your loved ones build on their relationships and social interactions.

Far flung friends from across towns, cities or even countries can be brought together by the power of play! Having a game is an ideal distraction from any pressure to strike up conversation or anxieties on what to say to let a conversation flow more naturally.

Attention spans. More like attention ban.

This can be a problem for any of us let’s face it. With lockdown meaning many of us have spent even more time at home juggling responsibilities with family members, housework – oh and not to mention a demanding job, we can all be guilty of our minds wandering off somewhere – and frequently too. A games night or even a ‘Games Hour’ if that’s all everyone will agree to, helps keep minds active on one task for a set period of time. Before you know it the family may enjoy it so much you’re doing a ‘Games Marathon!’

To make this successful, we recommend turning off the TV – or if that is a terrifying prospect – put the radio on instead. Mobile phones are not to be in reach! Maybe even put them in the kitchen drawer, just in case you’re tempted by that work email, or the latest cat video that has to be watched immediately (or so they’ll tell you). And just generally make it a nice environment, refreshments and cushions are always a winner.

What YOU had to say

Thanks to all of you on social media who shared what you or your loved ones had learnt! Here’s what some of you said:

“I’ve learnt ways to beat people and also how to work well in a team”

“I have learnt #independence, I have been making lots of things in lockdown without asking for help from Mum and Dad, and achieving lots of #beaverbadges. #thegreatindoors”

“Problem solving and adapting to the game in front of me”

“Never give up”

“Independence, team work, problem solving, perseverance and patience”

“#empathy #problemsolving #funfunfun #leadership #teamwork”

“Problem solving and adapting to the game in front of me”

Give it a go.

Finally, you know your household best, so try out a few different approaches, some alternative games and see what works. Invest in a new game or two, or perhaps swap with friends and neighbours so you can save some pennies (of course we recommend sanitising any surfaces on games you may decide to swap if they’re outside your ‘bubble’). Grab your favourite snacks and start with an open mind! We hope you have a blast – and don’t let on to the kids that they might actually be learning something…