There are so many ways for children to learn these days, and one of the best ways is through educational games for kids! I mean, how can you go wrong with a game that doubles as a teaching moment?
There’s a huge range of learning games, but I’m here to break down some of the best little-to-no prep games that you could play right now with your kids!
And if you want even more learning games, make sure you check out our list of math games and multiplication games!
How to Incorporate Educations Games for Kids Into Your Day
It’s been one of my goals lately to try to incorporate at least one small learning activity each day. It gives me so much peace of mind to see my kids doing something that stimulates their brain between everything else they do.
As a mother, it can feel impossible to squeeze education into a schedule already packed with other responsibilities. But fitting these games into your day will absolutely be worth it.
Educational games are a great way for kids to learn new skills, learn cooperation, practice focusing, and attention, and stay entertained.
The good news is that most of these games only take 5-10 minutes. You can spend as little or as much time playing them as you want.
9 Fun Educational Games For Kids
Here’s a great list of some educational games for kids. It’s the perfect mix of DIY and ready-made games, so you’re bound to find something your kids love!
Word matching
To work on your kids’ word recognition, spelling and reading, try playing word matching! Place some words on the wall throughout the home or playing area and write out some matching words on paper.
Have the kids pick a paper word and match it up to a word on the wall!
For a more advanced variation, put some pictures on the wall and write the words out to label the picture and have your kids match them up.
Uno
Don’t miss out on having some Uno cards around if you love educational games for kids!
Uno is a great game for teaching about numbers, counting, and even a bit of reading. It’s so simple that a toddler could understand how to play, but fun enough for you or your teens to join in too!
Double War
If you want to work on your kids’ basic addition, use some basic playing cards to play this fun game!
Double war is just like the classic game, but with an extra card added each round. Each person places 2 cards face up in front of them. Whoever has the largest sum between the two cards gets to keep all four.
The winner is whoever ends up with all the cards!
Grocery Store Cashier
A less in-your-face educational option is playing cashier! Kids love playing pretend and using their imagination so this one is so fun!
Just pretend that the child is the cashier and as they scan items they can try to total them up and accept the right amount of money.
Using play money is really helpful for your kids to learn about the coins and bills and also a good way to boost their basic math skills. And pretending to be a cashier is also a great life skill learning experience!
Yahtzee
My husband always tells me that the reason he can do such quick math in his head is that he used to play Yahtzee all the time with his mom!
Seriously, this game is so fun for all ages! If you haven’t played before, the basic idea is that you roll 5 dice and have to come up with certain combinations throughout the game.
A big part of the game is adding up the sum of some of your dice each turn, so be prepared to work on those counting skills!
Lego Fractions
Fractions can be so hard to understand. But with Lego blocks, you can make learning easier and more fun!
Grab a basic set of legos that has all different sizes. First, compare the different sizes and pick a whole number size. Show how you can make two halves make a whole, 4 fourths make a whole, etc… Then you can take turns calling out a fraction and the kids’ can try to make it out of the Legos!
For a bonus element, add a little pressure by putting a timer out while they are trying to make the fraction!
Color Bingo
For your little ones, try playing bingo with colored squares.
Make a standard 5×5 bingo board with blank boxes and color each of them a different color. Grab some place markers like buttons, cheerios, or other small items and your kids will be ready to mark off the colors as you call them
Whoever gets the first line of 5 colors in a row wins!
This is a great way to teach colors, and especially learn more advanced colors that aren’t the basic primary and secondary colors.
Scrabble
Another great board game option is Scrabble! Scrabble can be a tricky one, so it may be better for your older kids, but it’s a great way to work on spelling and sounding out words.
Using the letter tiles, you’ll have to come up with words and try to get the most point by laying down a word on the Scrabble board.
With a little help from mom or dad, this game can be super helpful at building those spelling skills!
Dice Actions
This is definitely a game you’re going to want to play over and over again. First, you’ll need to make or buy 2 large oversized dice.
One one of the dice, tape different actions to it like jumping, spinning, hopping, etc.
Take turns throwing the dice and seeing what number and action land up. Then everyone has to do the action however many times the other dice says! Make sure you let your kids lead and practice reading the dice to figure out the correct number!
Which educational games would you add to the list? Share in the comments!
Check out these other great posts!
30 Fun Games to Play With Your Friends
31 Awesome Board Games for 5-Year-Olds