Homeschooling With Games: How to Make Lessons on Money and Math Fun

Many parents and guardians find themselves educating their children at home. Some parents have chosen this educational setup, but others find themselves thrown into the deep end without a life preserver. 

The good news is there are many amazing resources available to parents to supplement their children’s educational experience. 

The coolest available resource: board games. A number of board games teach grade-appropriate content in a fun and engaging way. These educational games can supplement almost every subject, but there are many board games that focus on mathematics. 

What is homeschooling?

The term homeschooling is used often, but the exact definition is rarely discussed. Homeschooling, in its broadest sense, is taking on the responsibility of educating school-aged children at home. It means that children are taught by their parents, guardians, or other trusted individuals outside of the traditional classroom setting.

Homeschooling can, and does, look different for each family that chooses to homeschool. Some families choose to be completely self-contained, while others take their schooling on the road or invest time in cooperative learning groups. 

Regardless of the exact setup or the chosen curriculum, homeschooling is a very personal choice for families. The decision to homeschool brings with it several benefits and abilities that aren’t necessarily possible in a traditional school experience. 

Many families enjoy nontraditional breaks and a greater sense of flexibility. Homeschool families are able to indulge in their hobbies, interests, and extracurricular activities of their choice. Homeschool families can bond and connect at a level that others aren’t able to. 

The most intriguing benefit to homeschool is the personalization it offers. Homeschooling allows the educational experience to be tailored exactly to the needs of each child. Children complete school work at their own pace, and families are able to emphasize the values they feel are most important. 

Even with the many choices and selections to be made, board games can be used to engage and teach. When a family places an extensive focus on board games in their educational endeavors, it’s called gameschooling. 

What is gameschooling?

Gameschooling is exactly what it sounds like: educating children using games. This isn’t as simple as playing Monopoly or Uno twice a week. Gameschooling is the intentional use of card and board games to teach and educate children. Though it may sound very unorthodox, gameschooling provides a lot of great benefits. 

Teaching Interpersonal Skills

The first is the ability to build positive family relationships. Games are collaborative. Games encourage communication, even when things get competitive. Playing board games helps develop interpersonal skills and encourages connective relationships. 

Brain Exercise

The problem solving and engaging nature of board games is a great way to exercise the brain. This kind of mental exercise helps develop connections in the brain, which leads to greater focus and mental capabilities. 

Educational

There are a number of board games that teach academic topics. There are games that focus on science and geography topics and others that focus on math or language. Games don’t have to just be for educational purposes, but it’s nice to know the games you select aren’t just for entertainment. 

Fun = Memorable

Card and board games are just downright fun. The more fun a child has, the more likely they are to remember that activity or topic. Pairing an educational idea or concept with a board game is a great way to engage children in the learning process and help them remember what they learned. Even some of the best tabletop games for the family can be used to reinforce and solidify lessons and educational concepts.

With so many benefits, it’s hard to discount the gameschooling concept. The question is now what games to invest your time and money into?

Games With Money

The concept and value of money aren’t just an educational necessity. It’s a life skill, too. Unfortunately, the repetitive nature of money-counting worksheets can get tedious and more than a little dry. Kids need a creative, fun way to learn and practice dealing with money. Board games are a great way to do just that. 

Money Games for Preschoolers

Loose Change is a cute and easy introduction to the idea of money. Children learn how to identify and count loose change in a game format.

Money Bags is a game that helps children practice money values. Players count, collect, and exchange money until they reach the finish line. 

Money Games for Elementary Age

Clumsy Thief is a fast-paced race to make money stacks. Players look through their hands to find two cards that add up to $100. Not fun enough? Players can also steal money from each other in a break-neck race to see who makes the most cash.

There are even more board games that involve money without focusing on it. Board games like Monopoly require players to count and exchange bills when purchasing property and buildings. Many games use a “bank” in one way or another and can help kids practice those skills. 

Games With Math

Math can be a tough subject. The concepts get more complex and complicated, but the foundational concepts are always relevant. But it can still be hard to get kids interested in math. Luckily there are a lot of games that integrate math into a fun and engaging game environment. 

Math Games for Preschool and Younger Elementary

If you have a younger student, it’s important to find games that focus on the foundational concepts in math. Those foundational concepts include things like number identification, counting, and simple addition or subtraction. 

Math Dice is a great game to start your gameschooling collection. It’s a simple game of adding and subtracting based on the roll of the dice. You can encourage basic math practice in young kids and help solidify those foundational math skills. 

The game Countdown! is a more intense version of Math Dice. Countdown! reinforces the simplest math equations – addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Players roll dice, solve simple math problems, and race to be the first to flip over all of their cards. It’s a great game to keep coming back to.

Math Games for Upper Elementary and Middle School

Older children may want a little more of a challenge. The math concepts become more complicated in those later elementary years. Using games to teach and practice some of the more abstract concepts can be a great way to go.

Blooby’s Pizza teaches fractions using monsters and their pizza orders. This game provides a great opportunity to visually show kids fractions and their practical applications.

Star Realms is a game that uses positive and negative numbers. Players build their own space fleet and battle against their opponents. The scoring requires the use of both positive and negative numbers, so it’s a great disguised way of practicing that math concept. 

Grow-With-You Games

Then there are games that can be used and reused year after year. Prime Climb is a color matching game that uses math concepts like addition and subtraction all the way through factorization and prime number concepts. 

Five Crowns is a rummy-like card game that rests on addition, subtraction, and speed. This is a great option at almost any age and will continue to strengthen your child’s math abilities. 

These are just a few of those games available. The beauty of gameschooling is you can keep finding new games that teach different skills and concepts. You can always grow your board game collection and keep the learning process new and fun. 

Other Play-Based Activities

The fun doesn’t have to stop with math and money either. There are so many opportunities for play and games in a homeschool setting. Games that focus on logic, strategy, geography, language, or even online science labs are all great ways to get children learning while they play. 

It may seem like it’s all fun and games because it can be. Homeschooling isn’t just about doing the work of school at home. It’s about creating new opportunities and inviting new experiences that encourage children to be lifelong learners. 

Laura Gunn researches and writes for the insurance comparison site, USInsuranceAgents.com. She is a certified teacher who homeschools her two active boys. She is passionate about making education fun and working functional lessons into daily activities at home.