Benefits of Cooperative Games in Children
Ever heard of hiding veggies in your kids favorite meals by blending them in or chopping them finely? If you’re a mom, you’ve probably used these tricks and/or have others up your sleeve. I’ve used these tricks myself - as well as tricks to charm my kids into falling in love with reading, mathematics, science, engineering, and dance - all while growing their self-esteem and a healthy competitive spirit.
My secret: Game Night
We are big on ‘game night’ at the Milan household. In fact, we dedicate two hours of our Friday night to unwind with the kids playing our favorite games. Over time, they’ve gotten so good they beat us, which only motivates me to find a new game to challenge ourselves with.
Our kids are into math, science, dance, and reading. Getting kids excited or even interested in math, science, and reading is not always an easy feat, and that’s where Cooperative Games come in.
The benefits of Cooperative Games in children (and your family) will not only contribute to your child’s speech development, but they will also teach them about teamwork, and bring your family together.
Some of the most important benefits of Cooperative Games:
Non-stressful play situations
Emotional development
Shared decision making
Creative problem solving
A sense of community
Positive self esteem
Playfulness and cooperation
Some possible speech and language goals to address through play:
Syntax goals to include verbs, articles, especially conjunctions, etc.
Association skills to choose an add-on concept that flows with the story.
Vocabulary word finding articulation carryover auditory memory.
Excited to adapt this Milan family tradition? I’m hoping that you are and I’m looking forward to hearing about your game nights. To help make things a little easier, I’ve put together a list of cooperative games for your family to try.
Alphabet Go Fish
Kids learn how to read letters, they learn letter/object association, simple words, simple strategy, how to hold cards, how to deal them and take turns. This game can improve concentration, vocabulary, train visual memory, help with learning to classify and differentiate objects, and they are fun and entertaining!
You can play it with as little as 2 players or with as many as 6 players. Those who are ages 4 and up can enjoy Alphabet Go Fish in this delightful 52 card deck complete with instructions, parent learning prompts and sturdy, easy-to-open packaging. You may purchase Alphabet Go Fish by Peaceable Kingdom here.
Say The Word
In this game, players take a zany character, some silly words and an offbeat challenge and put them all together one phrase or sentence at a time. Can't recall a word? Have the other players give you a hint by "charading" it for you.
Just imagine the fun when your family works together, supports each other, listens and shares! Game includes 200 word cards, 19 character cards, 16 challenge cards, 1 anybody board, 1 storyboard, 1 dry erase pen and 5 clue tokens. Play with 3 to 6 players ages 10 years old and up. This imagination and memory game is a great educational learning tool for boys and girls. You may purchase Say The Word by Peaceable Kingdom here.
Social Skills
The box contains six game boards, 24 counters, one die, and one spinner. Each game has players discuss the solutions to socially challenging situations. Together the group decides upon the best action encouraging all players to communicate, listen, and participate in the game. Ideal for use in small groups, these games will encourage children to work together as they learn to improve their social skills.
The games target six important issues that children often struggle with: Morals, Manners, Empathy, Friendship, Showing Emotions, and Managing Emotions. You may purchase Social Skills by Didax here.
Check back often. We will continue to add cooperative games for family game night to this list. If you found this post helpful, please share it with your friends.
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