“A mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled”

– Plutarch

Great Games Inspire Thinking, Discovery And Fun

Simply put, I love games. They’re an everyday part of our homeschooling and an incredibly easy way to increase thinking, discovery and fun in your everyday homeschooling. They’re social, they’re quick (most of the time) and they’re like an ever-changing logic puzzle so each time you play there’s a new and different challenge. Games can be especially effective as we allow our kids to discover strategies and thinking on their own instead of telling them what to do. GIVE THEM THAT FREEDOM! It will pay huge dividends in their thinking, confidence and enjoyment of learning.

However, not every game is a great game for thinking and discovery, even if they’re fun. For example, as fun as Chutes And Ladders or Candy Land are for little kids, there’s no thinking or strategy or discovery involved, players are simply told what to do and are completely dependent on the luck of the draw. 

So, in our home, we focus on acquiring thinking games. And we’ve found the BEST WAY to get our kids playing is simply to have them out and easily accessible…we play way more games with this set up than just storing them in a closet. (Same with books FYI). Here’s what our shelf looks like:

Games We Have And Love

Here are some of the games we’ve purchased before and absolutely love (in no particular order):

PS: I’ve bolded my top 12 favorites but they’re all great!!!

• Bang
• Qwirkle
• Battleship
• Risk
• Ticket To Ride
• Wildlife Adventure
• Sail Away
• Sequence
• Kerala
• Incan Gold
• Coup
• Goat Lords (Cover Your A$$ets is basically the same)
• Proof
• Deep Sea Adventure
• Dragonwood
• Gravity Maze
• Prime Climb
• Lattice
• Blokus
• Zeus On The Loose
• Take Off!
• Qwixx
• Code Masters
• Tsuro
• Sleeping Queens
• Stratego
• Code Rover Control
• Mancala
• Scrabble
• Three Little Pigs
• Kanoodle
• Skip Bo
• Phase 10
• Uno
• Clue
• Camelot Jr.
• Set
• Forbidden Island
• Scattergories
• Mastermind
• Blink
• Swish

Games We Are Ordering For Our Family Gifts This Year

These are the next ones we’re adding to our collection!

• Azul
• Labyrinth
• Monkey Up
• Rooster Race
• Chinese Checkers
• Catan + Seafarers
• Ubongo
• Ricochet Robot
• King Of Tokyo
• Saboteur
• Dutch Blitz

Other Games Recommended By Math Inspirations Families

Here are some additional games recommended by families using Math Inspirations.

• Numbers League
• Rat-A-Tat Cat
• Bugs In The Kitchen
• Cluedo
• Othello
• Quiddler
• Paramath
• Civilizations
• Plague, Inc.
• Splendor
• Bizy Beez Toys
  • 20% Discount using code MathEm20 

Hope these recommendations help this holiday season!

If we left any off that you love let me know on our Facebook page or on Instagram @mathinspirations