Educational Games For Kindergarten and Elementary School Students

Last year, I started in my teaching job at an elementary school located in the suburb and I was teaching two classes of kindergarten and first grade students. I was already teaching for several weeks when I started to notice that some of my students looked like they were bored with the lessons and that some of them lacked interest and motivation to learn. So paid attention to the activities and lessons for my two classes and I noticed that the curriculum I was following for my classes did not include any educational games or activities. I believed that this should not be the case since during my college studies and from the additional training I got as a trainee teacher, I was told by my superiors that incorporating educational games in classes would be beneficial for students.

So I researched and studied about the appropriate and relevant educational games and activities for kindergarten and first grade students, and I selected several games and activities that I could use in the classroom and in the outdoors. I presented my list of educational games to our principal and when I got here permission, I incorporated several games and activities for my classes.

The educational games that I initially used for the classroom included the last toothpick, alphabet list game, chain reaction, and sparkle. I selected these games because they improve the skills for mathematics, spelling and logic, and they are fun and engaging for kindergarten and first grade students.

In the last toothpick game, I would place toothpicks in several piles, and I would instruct the students in taking turns in removing any number of toothpicks in each pile and the student that is the last to take out the last toothpick is the one eliminated from the game. The play continues until the only student left behind becomes the winner. The alphabet list game involves a category of items to be listed. The first player names an item that begins with the letter A, the next player names  an item that begins with the letter B, and so on. The player who cannot name an item that begins with the corresponding letter is eliminated.

Teaching Mathematics: How to Make it Fun for Kids

Mathematics is a knowledge essential to children if they want to be successful in school and in their future career. However, not all children are inclined to study numbers and patterns. Many parents and educators are facing this problem. One solution to address this issue is to make learning the subject seem like play for children so that they equate fun with learning and will eventually learn to love the subject. Below are simple tips to incorporate playroom activities to Mathematics lessons:

· To teach mathematical concepts, consider manipulating objects in the environment. For example, in teaching children basic operations of multiplication, addition, division and subtraction, take a set of blocks and sort them into groups according to colour, size or shape. Then, vary the arrangement of the blocks to signify it being added to a group, taken from it to show addition and subtraction or arranged according to a predetermined number to show multiplication and division.
· Teach them basic facts for easy recall. While most of Mathematics involves analysis, the basics of Mathematics involves knowing simple facts by routine. To help children commit this information to memory and retain it, use colourful flash cards with interesting pictures or signs. Everytime a child has difficulty remembering a piece of information such as the symbols for basic operations, remind them of the ocean picture background associated with the division sign, and so forth.
· To help children solve word problems, visualize it for them so that they are able to play around with the concept in their mind. You can achieve this by having them draw a picture or diagram to illustrate it.