We’re big fans of Learning Resources — their products are fun, engaging and genuinely help with learning, which makes them perfect for home schooling during lockdown. I’ve teamed up with them to give one reader a prize bundle of goodies worth over £50 to help make these uncertain times a bit easier.
One highlight is Word on the Street, a great family game that our kids loved. Letters sit in a long row across the middle of the board. Players take turns (in teams) drawing a card and naming words that fit the category — for example, something found in the kitchen. When you pick a word, each letter in that word moves one space toward your team. There are two spots on either side, and if a letter moves off the board it becomes yours. The first team to collect eight letters wins. It’s simple but clever, and we found ourselves deliberately choosing words with repeated letters to get an advantage.
We also used a small set of Learning Resources items — a calculator, tackling tables cards and the under-the-sea counters — to make a quick, fun maths game. One of us called out a sum from the tackling tables cards, and the children shouted the answer then grabbed the right number of counters to show they understood it. We’d check the answer on the calculator afterwards. It takes no setup and can be played anywhere in the house. The counters made the activity more hands-on: the kids grouped the animals and colours, which slowed things down a bit and encouraged them to work together. Isla now uses the ocean counters daily to help with grouping and fractions.
To enter the competition, complete the entry form. The competition closes at midnight on 9 May 2020. Good luck!
