montesori at home - The Montessori Mommy

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There are so many ways families choose to homeschool their children. Often, parents settle on a mixture of things that work best for their family. Today, I’m going to talk about a method I don’t hear much of, though I believe it is worth it: Game schooling!

What is “game schooling”?

Exactly what it sounds like! Learning through playing games, typically board game style games. Many of us are familiar with the classic board games and may even have a regular family game night! Games are loads of fun and there is a game for everyone out there. Some games incorporate a lot of reading, others require different types of math skills. Other games explore different science, nature, or cultural themes. When families decide to incorporate games into their child’s homeschool experience, they consider the educational topics they want to cover and find games that help children practice these skills. Below, I have compiled a collection of games I use, as well as games recommended to me. Jump to Math games, Language Arts Games, or Science games!

Math Games

A classic game from my own childhood, and that my own kids enjoy, is The Allowance Game. Players move around the board, collecting allowance, spending money, saving money, and maybe even owning a lemonade stand. Players learn how much coins are worth, how to add money, and how to make change.

To help kids learn their fractions, Fracto is a fun and easy game. With multiple ways to play, your kids are more likely to want to keep playing– and keep practicing their fractions!

So, we have not actually played this game, but it has been on my wishlist for a while now! Target is a game where players need to reach their target by using addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division. With so many options, it is a suitable game for multiple age groups.

Another favorite math game: Tiny Polka Dot. This game has been great because it is not one single game. There are over a dozen games to play for kids ranging from three to eight+. All the games use the included number cards, some of which have numerals and others which use dots and blocks.

Finally, recommended to me by another family, is Real World Math: Unexpected Events. This is a math game for older kids that helps them practice their math skills applied to personal finances, similar to the real world.

Language Arts Games

One of my favorite games growing up- and that I’ve shared with my kids- was Boggle, Jr. This is a fun way to practice letter matching and spelling. Boggle, Jr has a set of cards with words on the bottom. Depending on the child’s ability, they can either match the word or practice spelling the word with the letter cubes. For older kids, Boggle can be a lot of fun, too! Boggle is a simple word search game that can be played independently or with a partner.

Learning parts of speech has been described as boring to many people I’ve spoken with over the years. How do you make parts of speech fun? With Silly Sentences! Kids love making silly sentences with this game. Children use color coded puzzle pieces to build sentences as silly (or tame) as they please.

There are so many games where reading is an important part of the game, but one of our favorites is Apples to Apples, Junior edition. Designed with kids 9 and up in mind, children practice reading, make comparisons, and build their vocabulary. We have a lot of laughs playing both the “junior” and the “classic” editions of the game.

Of course, no language arts game would be complete without mentioning the classic game, Scrabble. If you are unfamiliar, this is a fun crossword style game where players build words to earn points. Children can practice spelling, learn new vocabulary, and practice using a dictionary.

Science Games

I’m sure many of you have built a marble run before, but maybe not one like this! Gravitrax is like no other marble run I’ve seen. Like others, gravity is a big component of this marble run. But with this, children also get to experiment with things like magnetism. Plus, there are some really interesting expansion sets you can get – such as a trampoline! The link below will bring you to a smaller starter set, but there are larger ones as well as many expansion sets to explore!

Are your kids interested in engineering? Or maybe you want a fun way to teach simple machines to your kids. This kit is a lot of fun because it comes with materials and instructions to build simple machines (things such as inclined plane, levers, screws, etc). After your child builds a simple machine, he/she can play with them to see how they work!

A final option is the Botley 2.0 Robot. My oldest is interested in robotics and this little robot was a fun way to let her explore robotics and coding. Botley comes with a booklet that explains how the programming works, has suggested activities, and your child set up his/her own programs. I think this is a great first step into learning how programming works.

Geography

Ticket to Ride is a family favorite; I actually got it as a gift for my husband and we all fell in love with it! We have the original version, in which players seek to build train routes across the US and some Canadian cities. There are other versions that take place in other areas of the world.

Have you ever heard of Continent Race? While we haven’t played this yet, it was a game recommended to me by followers. This is a game designed to teach children world geography and flags. My favorite part though, is that this game was designed by a six-year-old!

What games would you add?

This is just a handful of games that exist. What are your favorite games? Let me know in the comments!

Why not wooden?

Given the choice, I would purchase wooden options for toys and materials for play and homeschool. I outline why, below. But there are somethings I will not buy a wooden variety of and others I simply don’t.

When looking at which materials to purchase or create, I have a few things to consider. Firstly, what is the child to be learning from the material? Is there something to be lost, or gained, from going a non-traditional route? Next, I compare costs. There are a variety of companies making Montessori materials and many ideas for DIY materials. Can I easily make this material myself or is it time consuming? Do the supplies to make it cost almost as much as the material itself? Finally, how long will the material be used? When in a classroom, I know it will be used by many children over many years and a higher quality is best. At home, a material may only be used for a short time and maybe only with my children.

There are also things that I intentionally do not buy wooden versions of. Even in my classroom, I did not use wooden animals to learn about animals. If we were studying animals, such as animals of South America, I would have a collection of plastic, painted figures. They are often very realistic and give a good idea of what an animal looks like. I have used wooden animals, though they are displayed as art from a culture or as a polishing work. At home, LEGO blocks are a favorite. We have wooden blocks too, but the LEGOs have their own benefits.

Our homemade tray for the bead stair. Not as beautiful as a wooden tray, but it serves its purpose.

For math work, I bought a box of bead bars. I did not want paper and I did not want to do it myself, the cost was reasonable and I can use these bead bars for most anything we needed bead bars for. When it came time to display the bead stair for my youngest, I looked at buying a bead stair tray. It was far more expensive than I was willing to pay, but we needed something. Cue water, baking soda, and corn starch! I made a quick “clay” that has been serving us well. It’s not perfect but my kids’ attention is drawn to the beautiful beads and they easily complete the activity.

Fraction circles cut from felt, an easy and inexpensive DIY

A Final Consideration

Maria Montessori spent a lot of time developing specific materials to be used in the classroom. What she did not do was design toys to be used in free play at home. When looking at which toys to bring in, think about what your child may gain or learn from them, their longevity, and how interested your child may actually be in the toy. We have Barbie dolls at home. They’re used nearly every day for some very imaginative stories. They live in the wooden block houses my kids build and sometimes in cardboard boxes. And I’m OK with it. I don’t like “character” toys so you won’t find toys from popular TV shoes and movies in our home, but that’s just my own preference.

Why wooden, anyway?

Montessori environments aim to give children real experiences. The classroom is meant to feel like home, but at a child’s size. Tables, chairs, shelves, and sinks are low. They are given ceramic and glass cups and dishes- while some may break, they also learn the importance of being respectful of materials.

I love wooden toys and materials. Wood materials are beautiful. They draw children and adults alike to the shelves, eager to see, touch, and explore them. Whether it’s a wooden carving a child can polish or the classic “Pink Tower,” wood is an attractive material.

Additionally, wood material carries weight. When a child picks up the wood carving to polish it, he can feel the substance of the carving. It encourages him to treat it more carefully as he moves and turns it as he polishes it. When a child is building the pink tower, she begins with the smallest cube and carries each to her rug, one at a time. The smallest cube is tiny and nearly weightless. With each cube, the weight increases in correlation with the size. By the time she is lifting the tenth cube, the weight is far more substantial. As a sensorial material, this is incredibly important. Had the cubes been made of plastic, it would not have the same effect.

Further, wooden materials are more natural, giving yet another connection to the natural world for the child. Nature is an important part of Montessori philosophy, so it is only fitting to choose materials to encourage that connection. Being a natural material, it is kinder to the environment to use wooden materials over plastic. Not only do wooden materials typically last much longer than plastic materials, but they are biodegradable.

In Your Own Home

What works for my family? This is the question I ask frequently when buying things, whether for the household or for my children. When I see other people buying something I might not want in my house, that’s ok. We all have different priorities, tastes, and needs. You might love that print of Picasso in your home but I love the relatively unknown artist’s painting from a favorite vacation spot.

What considerations do you make when buying Montessori-aligned materials?

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Learning with Games