Carrots Are Orange

Montessori Parenting & Learning

  • Montessori
    • Principles
    • Curriculum
      • Geography
      • History
      • Language
      • Life Science
        • Botany
        • Zoology
      • Math
      • Peace
      • Practical Life
      • Sensorial
    • Classroom
    • Theory
    • Materials
    • Courses
    • Printables
  • Activities
    • Art
    • Fall
    • Montessori
    • Outdoor
    • Science
    • Summer
    • Fine Motor
  • Parenting
    • Montessori Toys
    • Montessori At Home
    • Mindfulness
    • Social & Emotional Learning
    • Special Needs
      • Anxiety In Kids
      • Gifted Children
      • Executive Functioning
      • Sensory Processing Disorder
  • Printables
  • Resources
    • Book Lists
    • Gift Guides
    • Montessori Materials
    • Montessori Toys
  • Newsletter
  • About
    • Contact
Home » Activities » The Best Board Games for Kids, Homeschoolers, and Families

The Best Board Games for Kids, Homeschoolers, and Families

This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure .

The best board games for kids

We recently discovered the amazing world of Gameschooling! So, I went on the hunt for the best board games for kids and families. These games are educational and loads of fun.

Robot Turtles [Coding / Age 4+]

We love this board game! Did you know that it was the most backed board game in Kickstarter history?

I was one of the backers falling in love with the sneaky way this game teaches preschoolers the fundamentals of programming, from coding to functions!

The game is really easy to learn and offers loads of learning opportunities. Before you know it, your little one will be writing computer games rather than just playing them

Zingo [Reading / Age 4+]

I bought this game when my son resisted learning sight words and short vowel words. Zingo is perfect for pre-readers and early readers and teaches recognition of essential words.

Zingo offers a bingo-style game that was developed by educators to create a great play and stealth learning experience for Pre-K to 2nd graders and help with reading skills.

Obstacles [Strategy / Age 5+]

    My boys truly enjoy this game. Players adventure through paths of hazards and barriers.

    Players overcome obstacles by using unlikely tools in silly and imaginative ways.

    Players work together to make solutions to get them home together. A fun game that promotes cooperation, problem-solving, and imagination.

Sight Word Swat [Reading / Age 5+]

We bought this game when our 6-year-old fought us on reading. The game is a blast and our son learned a ton from it.

The game includes 220 of the most commonly used sight words. Kids want to learn and are encouraged to learn in a fun and engaging way.

Specially designed to teach the top Dolch sight words, sight word SWAT challenges kids to see, SWAT, and learn! Learning can be loads of fun!

United States Bingo [Geography / Age 5+]

Telling Time Game [History / Age 5+]

Mancala [Strategy / Age 6+]

In college, a friend of mine made me a Mancala board and I immediately fell in love with this game.

Mancala is one of the world's oldest and best-loved games. You take turns scooping up the special stones and counting them out one at a time into the pockets on the board.

When a player drops a stone into an empty pocket on their side of the board, they capture all the stones in the opposite pocket.

It sounds like a simple marble game, but it's got plenty of strategies and reinforces Stem skills like counting and planning. The player who collects the most stones wins.

Qwirkle [Strategy / Age 6+]

Game of the States [Geography / Age 6+]

Carcassonne [Strategy / Age 6+]

Cash Flow for Kids [Money / Age 6+]

Blokus [Strategy / Age 7+]

Super easy to learn! Players need to stake your claim and protect your territory with the Blokus game!

Super easy to learn and packs a punch full of strategy learning and challenges.

Each player gets a set of 21 pieces – in red, blue, green, or yellow – then takes turns placing them on the board. There's just one rule: each piece you play must touch at least one other piece of the same color, but only at the corners!

The goal is to fit the most pieces on the board. The game ends when no more pieces can be placed down, and the player with the lowest number remaining wins!

Rubik's Race [Strategy / Age 7+]

Battleship [Strategy / Age 7+]

Prof. Noggins History of the United States [History / Age 7+]

Prof. Noggins Geography of the United States [Geography / Age 7+]

Prof. Noggin's Wonders of Science [Science / Age 7+]

Continent Race [Geography / Age 7+]

Labyrinth [Strategy / Age 7+]

Game of the States [Geography / Age 8+]

Yahtzee [Math / Age 8+]

Distraction [Memory / Age 8+]

Kingdomino [Age 8+]

Scrabble [Age 8+]

Stratego [Age 8+]

Timeline [Age 8+]

Dragonwood [Age 8+]

Samurai Sword [Age 8+]

Ticket to Ride [Age 8+]

Incubation [Age 8+]

Proof! Math Game [Age 9+]

Risk [Age 10+]

Catan [Age 10+]

Happy Atoms [Age 10+]

Trekking the World [Age 10+]

Trekking the National Parks [Age 10+]

Cytosis [Age 10+]

Tak [Age 12+]

Evolution [Age 12+]

Chronology [Age 14+]

Tagged With: Homeschool

About Marnie Craycroft

Marnie hails from Maine where she spent summers buried in sand and winters buried in snow. She is the daughter of a nearly four decade veteran of the public school systems. Teaching has always been a part of her life. She founded Carrots Are Orange in 2010.

Carrots Are Orange is a Montessori learning and living website for parents and teachers.

Marnie graduated from Wesleyan University in 1999 with a BA in Economics. She spent nearly a decade working in investment management. In 2006, she earned her MA in business from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business.

Marnie moved to the west coast in 1999 and currently lives in Boulder with her husband and three sons. She is Montessori trained. Her work has been featured on Apartment Therapy, Buzzfeed, PBS Kids, BabyCenter, the Melissa & Doug blog, Huffington Post, and WhattoExpect.com. Besides writing, passions include running (usually after her three sons), photography, and outdoor adventures.

« Teaching Kids to Be Kind in 2020
Teaching Kids Compassion – Pay It Forward »

Comments

  1. Mary says

    November 8, 2020 at 7:56 pm

    Tiny Polka Dot is awesome younger kids and has a ton of variations.

    I also highly recommend Prime Climb–it does an amazing job of naturally understanding factors.

    Fraction Formula is amazing–my 5 year olds don’t understand fractions yet but they understand the game (and it helped one of my high school students understand fractions for the very first time)

    Reply
    • Marnie Craycroft says

      November 9, 2020 at 11:16 am

      Yes, thank you for these board games for kids recommendations! Prime Climb is on my list!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Recent Posts

  • Resist Painting – Toddler & Preschool Activity
  • [2020] Montessori Black Friday Deals
  • [2020] The BEST Gift for 8 to 12 Year Olds
  • Teaching Kids Compassion – Pay It Forward
  • The Best Board Games for Kids, Homeschoolers, and Families

Copyright © 2021 Carrots Are Orange · Disclosure & Copyright · Site by Design by Insight