4 Interactive Summer Educational Games for Kids

4 Interactive Summer Educational Games for Kids
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This summer, toss out the worksheets and avoid tiresome anthologies. As a replacement, plan some engaging educational games. These games will get kids moving and learning synonyms, antonyms, multiplication and more.

Quack, Quack: Rubber Ducky Synonyms

Rubber duckies make learning so much fun. For this game, one needs twenty rubber ducks, a big plastic tub, water and a small net. Label twenty rubber duckies with these words: adorable, cute, scary, terrifying, delicious, tasty, pretty, beautiful, safe, secure, red, scarlet, hard, difficult, shiny, glossy, intelligent, smart, risky and dangerous. Each duck should have one word on it. For the best results, use a fine tip waterproof marker.

Give children a plastic net with handle to grab the rubber ducks. Each child will be given a chance to fish out two words that are synonyms. At the end, ask students to say their two words. Decide if the words mean the same thing or not.

This same game can be played with antonyms. Simply change out ten of the duckies with ten ducks labeled with opposite words.

Hop to it: Multiplication Jump

Get active and learn multiplication facts with this game. Using chalk, make a large grid with forty squares. On each square, put the answer of a multiplication fact. For instance, the number 25 would be the answer of the multiplication fact 5x5. Then, write out flash cards for all of the multiplication facts used. Each child will get five bean bags. The teacher will say one multiplication fact. The object is to hop onto the answer of the multiplication fact and place a bean bag marker on top of the number. Repeat this process five times. Then, read out the multiplication facts and the answer. As the answer is called, the student can pick up the bean bag from the square. If any bean bags are remaining, then this will be the multiplication fact that a child needs to work on. They should be given the flash card of each missed answer to practice.

Repeat the process with all students. For bigger groups, make more grids and flash cards.

Beach Ball Toss: Letter Sounds

Learning about letter sounds has never been so much fun. This game is suitable for kindergarten to first grade. It is similar to hot potato. Bring in a basket filled with summer related items starting with letter sounds. You can bring an object for all the letters in the alphabet or a certain group that will be focused on for the week. Sit in a circle and give one child a beach ball. Tell students they will be coming up with words that start with the sound -b like ball. Start a timer, students will pass the ball around and say other words that start with the same sound. When the timer goes off, the student with the beach ball gets to pick the next object out of the basket. Some other summer related items may include a hat, sunglasses and towel.

This game can also be played with blends like shell, crab and blanket.

Lemonade Stand: Fractions

Make big yellow construction circles and decorate them like lemons. On each lemon write a fraction. Each fraction should have a pair that adds up to one. Next, tape each lemon fraction to the wall. The object of the game is to throw the bean bag at two lemons that equal one. Before starting, put some masking tape on the floor where kids can stand behind. Then, kids will be given a bean bag. If desired, small carnival like prizes can be awarded to children who can make a correct equation. Afterwards, extend the lesson by making lemonade.

These are great activities for both parents and teachers to use during the summer months to make kids enjoy learning!