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Games for Pre-K to Learn and Have Fun

You win some, you lose some but games are essential. For a young child, playing is a huge part of learning valuable life skills. There are many childhood games which teach important concepts, such as taking turns or following rules. Many educational games are geared towards pre-kindergartners and reinforce their emerging skills in counting, color recognition or pre-reading. Pre-kindergarten games should not only be fun but exercise the child's mind and body alike.

Mind Games
- I Spy will encourage a child to be observant.
  
  Children's minds need to be perpetually stimulated. Games like I Spy teach kids to be observant as they play. Adapt the game to the child's skill level, using letters or spotting items of a specific color. Encourage mental games such as Shopping List. Begin with, "I went to the store and bought a..." and take turns adding items to the list. The child must remember every item on it as the list grows. The fun is in learning to use memory, which will improve the more they play.
Card Games
- Children learn to take turns playing cards.
  
  Card games are the perfect medium to get children taking turns. They also sharpen a child's ability to recognize signs and symbols, numbers and colors. There is an amount of dexterity involved in handling the cards and many games encourage a child to form strategies to use against their opponent. Enjoy classic card games, such as Go Fish, or Snap, with very young children -- or memory matching games which they may play alone if desired.
Board Games
- Board games help to develop social skills.
  
  Board games offer a wealth of learning opportunities for a young child. They develop their social skills while playing and learn to communicate effectively. They may need to recognize letters or numbers and use fine motor dexterity to manipulate the game pieces. Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders or Trouble are ideal board games for pre-kindergartners. They allow children friendly competition, valuable interactions and a time to bond.
Physical Games
- Learn about numbers with Hopscotch.
  
  A game of Tag is not only fun, but teaches young children about the fairness of taking turns. Likewise, Hide and Seek is an age-old favorite, which forces children to count. Hopscotch reinforces the child's knowledge of numbers, while she practices her hopping skills. Teach kids to listen and follow directions with a game of Red Light, Green Light. Young children need to develop and refine their gross motor skills. The easiest way to do this is through physical play.

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