We were introduced to Gameschooling through our Homeschool community on Instagram! And  it is something that feels second nature to us because my daughter LOVES games. We joke that her love language is playing games!

 

Two subjects that we “exclusively” use games for are: Spelling and Grammar

 

How we teach SPELLING with games:

Our favorite game to use for 1st grade was BOGGLE JR. We intend to start using BOGGLE soon, but right now we are working on crossing off all the words in BOGGLE JR! (We are actually creating some extra cards to use in BOGGLE JR for 3 and 4 letter words.)

 

We would recommend using BOGGLE JR for PreK-2nd grade, BOGGLE for 2nd grade and up.

Here is our favorite BOGGLE JR game: (Amazon is our favorite, and we are including some affiliate links that help support our blog posts, but come at no additional cost to you!)

 

Regular BOGGLE is for ages 8+, but we are going to use the extra dice to add to our BOGGLE JR game for 5 and 6 letter words.

 

Some other GREAT games for Spelling are Scrabble and Scrabble Jr. I am actually adding Scrabble Jr to my Amazon cart right now- because I would like to try it out! My husband has expressed interest in playing Scrabble with our 7 year old, but she isn’t quite ready for that- so maybe Scrabble Jr will be! Here are links for both of those:

 

How to use BOGGLE JR for very beginning spellers:

This game comes with letter dice, and cards that have a picture and a word on them. For beginning spellers, it is more about matching correct letters in correct places than it is about actually spelling them.

So for an introduction to spelling, allow them to just build the word while looking at the card!

 

How to use BOGGLE JR for beginning spellers (K-2nd):

Using the letter dice, and cards with words- these kids can use the cover that comes in the game to cover the word, and try to spell the word by themselves! You can then uncover the word, look at their spelling- and if anything is wrong- have them correct it! This creates a feeling of control for them, and hey! You get a break from grading 😉

 

How to use BOGGLE + BOGGLE JR together for average/intermediate spellers that have graduated past 3 and 4 letter words (1st-4th):

Use the extra letter dice in BOGGLE, and our extra spelling cards download, and have your children/students practice spelling 5 and 6 letter words!

 

 

How we teach GRAMMAR with Mad Libs!

I have an announcement/confession…

We don’t use ANY formal curriculum for Grammar work for K-3rd grade. (Not sure where we will be after that)

We strictly use Mad Libs for our Grammar!

Mad Libs teaches:

1. Verbs, Adverbs, Past Tense Verbs and Verbs ending in ing
2. Adjectives
3. Nouns, Plural Nouns and Proper Nouns
4. Gives your child a chance to write one word at a time
5. Taking turns, allowing others to come to an answer
6. And its FUN!!! Kids don’t even realize they are learning!

 

We like to buy our Mad Libs on Amazon, but you can also find them at Walmart- and most stores that sell books/office supplies.

Some we have used, and are using right now are:

 

How do we keep it FUN?

1. I don’t say “its time for grammar.” I say, “Want to PLAY some Mad Libs?”
2. We play Mad Libs at family dinners, at family game night, and I try to say yes when they just ask to PLAY them.
3. We intend to bring them camping, and PLAY them in the car!

 

How do I TEACH the proper definitions of the words they are looking for?

For beginners (like my 5 year old son), I ask him to give me an adjective, let him know that an adjective is a describing word, and ask him if he needs help finding one.

If he does, I ask him to pick words that describe something specific (like your shirt is soft, blue, and clean) OR I give him a list of a few adjectives to choose from.

For kids who have been playing for a while (like my 7 year old)- If she asks what an adjective, verb etc is- first I ask her if she remembers, if not- I remind her what they are.

 

And since Mad Libs count as SCHOOL- I do take pictures of the finished product, and add it to our TRELLO folder. 🙂

 

 

Other Gameschooling Ideas:

Playing games like Uno, Dos, Phase 10, and Boom Goes the Dynamite for Math.

Putting puzzles together for fine motor skills, Preschool and Kindergarten work.

Playing charades for Science and History- pretending to be a historical figure, or a certain animal.