![]() ![]() They don’t realize how much they are learning while playing the games… Diego now comes home from school, finishes his homework then asks to play on the Reading Kingdom game. ![]() I love programs that use games to teach children. When I heard about Reading Kingdom I was intrigued. “My 5-year-old, Diego, is just beginning to read. It has helped thousands of children to learn to read and write to a third grade level. The Reading Kingdom online reading program is one of the leading reading games for kids. Try the reading program that’s disguised as a game! Skills developed: following directions, listening, attention, concentrationįor interactive reading games, visit our reading games for kids page. How to win: The last person to stay in the game is the winner. The rules: Simon is not supposed to issue impossible or cruel commands such as “Simon says jump to the moon,” or “Simon says torture the cat.” If a player does follow a command without a “Simon Says,” that player is out of the game. If Simon does not say “Simon says” before the command, players shouldn’t obey the command. How to play: One player is “Simon,” and the other players must do whatever Simon says, as long as the phrase “Simon says” comes before the command. It requires attention, concentration and impulse control which are all great skills required for reading, school and life in general. This game develops the ability to distinguish between valid and invalid commands. Recommended educational game for preschoolers – Simon Says Dept.If you have a preschooler who is not yet reading, but you want to get them ready to read, there are a number of educational games for preschoolers that will develop the skills required for reading and set the stage for a lifelong love of reading.Ideas and Innovations in Early Childhood Education “Focusing on the how of learning, on executive functions, gives you the skills to learn new information, which is why they tend to be so predictive of long-term success,” Ellen Galinsky, a child-development researcher and author of “Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs,” tells the Times. Still another found that children who began the school year with low levels of self-control improved after playing games like Red Light Green Light, the Times reports. ![]() ![]() Another study cited by the Times found that young children who are better at games like Simon Says perform better in reading and math. Oregon State researchers followed 430 children from preschool to age 25 and found that children’s ability at age 4 to pay attention and finish a task were the greatest predictors of their chances of graduating from college by 25. Asking children to do the opposite requires more complex cognitive skills, such as attention, focus, memory, self-control and mental flexibility. If you’re ambitious, combine Simon Says, chores, and counting. You can also have the kids stomp their feet twenty times or count by tens. Have the kids jump up and down three or four times while counting aloud. The game starts with preschoolers copying the teacher’s movement – touching either her head or her toes. Simon Says and Counting Work on counting skills while playing. Researchers at Oregon State University use a game they call Head-to-Toes to assess young children’s development. asking children to do the opposite of what Simon says “helps a child develop mental flexibility and self-control,” the Times reports. “Variations on games like Freeze Tag and Simon Says require relatively high levels of executive function, testing a child’s ability to pay attention, remember rules and exhibit self-control - qualities that also predict academic success.” “A growing body of research suggests that playing certain kinds of childhood games may be the best way to increase a child’s ability to do well in school,” the Times reports. As I noted in an earlier blog post ( With Young Children, Play is the Curriculum), play helps children learn the executive function skills that research finds are important for school success. Think Simon Says is a simple children’s game? Think again, suggests a recent item in The New York Times that offers more evidence of the important role of play in developing critical executive function skills in young children. Photo: Alessandra Hartkopf for Strategies for Children ![]()
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