With our days becoming shorter, heading into the depths of winter and December fast approaching, kids will be finding themselves indoors more often. Although, we can’t send the kids outside to play, there are still plenty of fun indoor games to keep your kids active, happy, and their brains stimulated.
Games are fundamental for a child’s development. They help children find solutions to problems, practice social interaction, build their confidence and develop new skills. Games are great for keeping children engaged with their surroundings and with others around them. By engaging your child or children with games, improvements in your child’s social, cognitive and emotional well-being will continually be developed.
As Mayra Mendez, the program coordinator at Providence Saint John’s Child and Family Development Centre has stated “Play is important because it provides a primary foundation for learning, exploring, problem-solving, and building an understanding of the world and your role within it.”
Games can be beneficial for those of all ages, not just kids. Activities with the whole family are a nice and easy way to not only get your family together, but to also build strong family bonds. This is also especially important for children to experience, as a family bond will last a lifetime. An easy way to do this, would be to schedule a monthly or weekly game night with your family, and friends!
Affordable games
Looking for a game that won’t break the bank? Check out our 5 recommendations below:
1. Toilet paper bowling
Easy to organise and extremely fun, simply get two toilet paper rolls and some paper cups or cones, and place the cups 6-8 metres from each player in a triangular shape. The objective of the game is to hit as many cups as possible by rolling the toilet paper at them (throwing won’t be counted). One point is awarded for each cup or cone knocked down.
2. Mystery challenge
Collect a few items from around the house (they can include personal objects, food or toys but make sure they have different textures and sizes) and place them in a pillowcase. Without looking, children must put their hand inside and guess the objects. Whoever gets the highest number of correct guesses wins!
3. Balance beam
This is a more easily set up indoor game than you might think. Using painter’s tape (go gentle on flooring), tape down a line of any length, and test. Challenge your child to follow the line all the way to end.
Angles: Try taping down further lines at different angles. Spirals and zig-zags are always fun. This is one of those physical games for nursery readiness that is easy to practice.
Backwards: Switch up the challenge by having the child walk the tape line backwards or with eyes closed (socks off so they can feel the line).
Offline games
If you are tired of your kids being glued to laptops and phones, here are some fun games to play that are completely offline:
1. Giant Jenga
Jenga has been a much-loved learning game over the decades, and has really stood the test of time. Jenga is fun for the whole family that can teach your kids so much.
Jenga is right up there when choosing a game to develop strategy skills, as well as building fine motor skills. The kids will also learn to concentrate long and hard to get it right, and be victorious!
2. Gravity Maze
This is a super cool marble run game recommended for kids 8 years old and upwards. It is basically a falling marble logic game, which is a marble run and logic puzzle all in one. There are 60 challenges, which start from beginner all the way to expert. This game provides, like the others, learning and fun all at the same time.
It includes a game grid, 60 challenge cards, 9 towers, 1 target piece and 3 marbles.
3. Cheeky Monkeys
This fun game where you hang monkeys from a tree helps to develop counting skills and encourage strategic thinking. You spin the wheel, try to collect the most bananas and hope no one tries to steal yours. It encourages observational, social, and numbers skill development and has picked up numerous awards and five-star reviews from satisfied parents.
Educational games
Educational games can make learning fun, motivate students and help them pay attention and stay focused on the subject. See some of our students’ favourite games that they play in our Finchley Centre.
1. Sorry
Here’s another one of those awesome learning games for kids that will get you all hyped up and excited! It’s best for kids who are aged 5 and over. This game is all about counting and good sportsmanship.
You have to move your pieces around the board until you get them all nice and safely home. But there’s a catch, your opponent can bump you or even make you switch places. Keep those brains sharp!
2. Scrabble Junior
This learning game for kids is also best for those aged 5 and above, and will get those little brains thinking verbally. Here, this game is all about spelling, reading and how to follow rules.
Players take turns by placing tiles on the letters and then earn points for completing words. For those who are still budding readers the words are already spelt out and include picture clues. For the older kids, just flip the board over and you’ll have a blank grid to play on. Sorted!
3. Tate Kids
Tate is a family of four art galleries in London, Liverpool, and Cornwall. Its children-focused project, Tate Kids, lets children play free art-related games and quizzes, get help on art homework, and share their creations!
In addition to completing fun quizzes, kids can help robots save famous art in “Art Parts,” create their own landscapes in “My Imaginary City,” and more!
Electronic games
If your child loves their phone or their iPad; try the games below! They’re guaranteed to not only keep your children entertained for hours on end, but develop valuable skills.
1. Tynker
With over 3,700 fun modules, Tynker designed its lessons to motivate children to further advance their skills, while earning cool new badges! They’ll also have help along the way thanks to interactive explanations, how-to videos, mini-game previews, and more.
2. The Time Tribe
If your child loves history, mystery, and a great story, keep reading. Created by a parent, educator and anthropologist, this educational game brings fun historical facts, archaeology, and world cultures together. Your child will embark on a point-and-click journey that encourages exploration, self-expression, and self-directed learning — all while learning real history.
3. Carmen Sandiego
Your child will just have to hop on the internet for this one! In collaboration with education publishing company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Google Earth created a series of Carmen Sandiego games: The Crown Jewels Caper, Tutankhamun’s Mask Caper, and The Keys to the Kremlin Caper.
Your child will help Carmen Sandiego track down burglars working for a global criminal organization called VILE. Flying from continent to continent, players interview characters to gain clues that help track down the burglars while testing their geography knowledge.
If you are looking for a fun and educational setting to keep your children occupied over the winter book a free taster with us, inTuition Clubs. Our tuition club provides an all-round experience, focusing on both academic and non-academic skills. This fun space, full of activities, is designed to challenge and develop:
- Adaptive thinking
- Communication skills
- Social skills
- Collaboration skills
- Critical thinking and problem-solving skills
- Creativity
inTuition Clubs is here to to keep children engaged, learning and making new friends!
