Playing meaningful games

"Children learn best when they are playing".  I have heard this many a time during my stint in school.  It could be true, but I had never been able to find time to devise interesting enough games that is not just mindless banter and laughter, and for learning to actually take place in lessons.  Pounded with the many additional demands that lay on teachers in the shorter than a marathon's time children have with teachers for our academic subjects, it just seems impossible to include games in their learning.

Perhaps I can try including games in my children's learning?  But how?  Enter this book I bought some months back "Number and Logic Games" by Dr D. Einon, Hamlyn (publisher).  I only had time to read it recently after settling down in my new job and schedule and am in the midst of it.  I read with interest some activities that may be interesting for my preschoolers and tried out this activity.


This one is called 'Match the Pictures", aimed at helping children to practise their counting skills by getting them to link matching numbers of items.  It required me to draw six circles and numbers of items in them, so that every two circles willl have matching numbers of items.  Children are to count the number of objects and to draw lines to match circles.  I came out with these:


Amateurish, eh?  Ha.  It will do for now.  I put the activity to the test with Rachel and Felix.  I designed the simplier on on shapes for Felix so he does not get distracted.  The result?

Rachel and Felix enjoyed the short activity.  They were serious in counting and drawing a line to the matching number of objects.  The book offered an extension activity too - to find the odd one out by adding an extra circle with a different number of objects.  Think this short (it only took two to three minutes!) activity helped me in my learning of my children's capability.  They are looking forward to another round of a similar counting and line-drawing, as promised by Daddy!