Why Gameschooling?
Children’s board games naturally provide some form of structure, making them a natural fit for homeschooling. Although many homeschooling families don’t necessarily depend on structure, the well-thought-out rules and overall aspects of learning through play that are associated with board gaming bring so many benefits to at-home learning.
Gameschooling vs Game-based Learning
Gameschooling is homeschooling using games as a large part of the learning curriculum. The term “game-based learning” refers to using games to learn something (for example, using HABA’s Dragon's Breath game to teach probability).
Benefits of Board Game Play
There have been numerous studies showing that children who are particularly excellent at certain board games grow up to be highly strategic thinkers, to be problem solvers, and to possess high intelligence quotients. Here are five specific benefits of board games:
- Enhance cognitive development.
- Enhance psychomotor skills.
- Help to establish a strong sense of inquisitiveness and creativity.
- Teach about the value of obeying rules and taking turns.
- Boosts self-confidence, self-esteem, and emotional wellbeing.
Who Can Gameschool?
This approach to learning isn’t just for families that homeschool. Families with children who attend traditional school settings outside of the home can still benefit from the gameschool approach, too. However your family utilizes board games, whether it’s through a formal curriculum or it’s just for reinforcing the skills learned in school, we can all agree that it’s a wonderful way to bond, all while making learning fun and engaging!
Benefits of Learning Through Play
Children naturally learn best through play. In play, children build foundations of skills, traits, and abilities that will help them to successfully function in society. Maria Montessori, founder of the Montessori method of education, coined the phrase "Play is the work of the child." She noticed that children’s “work” has all of the key characteristics of play.
HABA Game Suggestions for Gameschooling:
Orchard ( My Very First Games version | Regular version) - Teaches the basics: basic set-up, following rules, taking turns, color recognition, and logic. It is cooperative, so it also introduces little ones to the concept of working together to accomplish a common goal.
Dragon's Breath - This game is guaranteed to make learning the concept of probability fun and engaging. Which color do you think is more likely to fall out of the "ice"?
Monza - At first glance, our classic Monza game for ages 5+ looks like a simple roll-and-move dice game. But it's soooo much more than that! It’s a great balance of luck and strategy, allowing you to decide how you’ll use the colors you roll.
King of the Dice - Think of this as “Adventure Yahtzee.” It teaches math, subitizing (the process of seeing a quantity without having to count by ones), probability, and even how to balance strategy with pure luck.
Explore our collection of games that will make learning through play a breeze!
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