What is on your holiday shopping list?

It is that time of the year, and the spending has begun! Perhaps you are buying for others, maybe you are making a year-end purchase for yourself! I know that I have a couple of additional items to get purchased and wrapped for some special people in my life! I guess I had better get moving on that!

A few years ago, I put together a list of ideas for parents and I had posted it on my old website. I had focused on math games for kids. I dove into my Amazon page and looked for the games I loved using as a teacher with my students. I decided that I would re-create a list of some of my favorite items that I have used with my students and my own children to move them forward with their learning.

As an online tutor, I find myself using many web-based subscriptions. But, I want to share some hands-on activities you can play with the kids that are not only fun, but can help kids gain confidence and skills that will boost their abilities in the classroom.

I will be using my Amazon Affiliate links. I just want to be transparent about this. Feel free to look for these items via their description.

MATH GAMES!

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Flashcards are amazing tools that easy to slip into a bag and go! They may seem boring, but I like to pair them with any board game you have at home. Prior to taking your turn, the player must answer the flashcard correctly and then take their turn. Keep track of the right and wrong pile, then study the wrong pile before playing the game again! Here is the link for the addition and subtraction flashcards. ​

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Smath is a fun game that resembles Scrabble. You can make it as easy or complex as you would like. This was one game the kids loved for the strategy, and EACH time you play it, it is a NEW game! Here is the link to check it out!​

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Shut the Box game was gifted to our classroom. The kids had such fun playing the game! The object of the game is to shut the box by rolling certain number combinations. You add up the roll of two dice. If you would roll a 4 and 4, you can choose which flaps you will close that are equal to that roll. It is fun and fast! Here is the link!

READING GAMES

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Bananagrams! This is always a FUN game! It can be fast or slow depending on the reader! Or, should I say speller! You can focus on easy or more difficult words. This version is for younger children. Have fun spelling! Here is the link! ​

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Word A Round is a FUN and challenging word recognition game. I have used this with students as young as 3rd grade. Each person or group gets a card and races to see who is the fastest to discover the hidden words in the circle. Super fun, and you can play a short round or two, or spend lots of time playing it! Have fun with this one! Here is the link! ​