Friday, November 18, 2011

School Games

Back in 2004, my son needed practice adding with money. So I created a tiny "General Store" full of little treats and goodies for him. Each goodie had a pricetag, and he had multiple "shopping lists" printed out to work from. He would take a list, and choose the items from that list, then hand me the correct amount of change. He loved it. This fall, as my daughter was reviewing making change, I realized we had never played this with her - and that she could use just a bit of help also. So we reinvented the game. Now rather than having lists, we have "shopping scenarios" that are sealed away in security-envelopes. Each day, for the next four days, the kids will be choosing one of their envelopes and opening it, then working the math to see which goodies they can purchase. Next week I'll have to create a different game to work on making change, but for now this seems to be working and the kids are loving it. Even my son, who didn't actually need a refresher in money, is loving it. Such a fun & simple game seems to be just what we needed for a short break from our daily studies.