Did you know you could have fun homeschooling with Yahtzee? You sure can but first, a short story. When we started homeschooling I spent a lot of time trying to replicate school at home. We woke up at 7, sat at a desk, completed worksheet after worksheet. News flash, it didn’t work!
I was quickly reminded of the reason we decided to homeschool, to begin with. I wanted to make learning fun. I didn’t want Reese limited to worksheets and textbooks. I wanted to implement as much play-based learning as possible.
Why Kids Love Homeschooling With Yahtzee
Education can be “hidden” in a lot of toys and games. When you think of educational toys and games for your kids don’t overlook some of the less obvious ones…like Yahtzee!
Most will say with Yahtzee it’s all in the luck of the roll. That may be true but there is some logic involved as well. Do you use four ones for your four of a kind or do you try for sixes instead? Do you go for your large straight when you have a 2, 3, 4, 5, or do you try in when you have a 1, 2, 4, 5? Besides logic, there’s basic addition taking place. Kids can learn to count by 2’s, 3’s, 4’s, 5’s, and 6’s. Then, of course, you need to total up the score.
The game of Yahtzee doesn’t take long and even if you are playing with a younger child that cannot add up the final scores just the exposure to counting by 2’s and 5’s, for example, will help them understand math concepts later on.
Yahtzee is also great because it doesn’t matter how many players you have, and you can even play by yourself and try to top your best score.
Don’t forget the sheer fun you get just from spending time with your kids doing something enjoyable. Children love when attention is spent on them. You don’t have to plan an expensive trip to an amusement park to spend quality time with your kids, just doing something enjoyable to both of you while giving them your full attention is often enough.
Start young when introducing your kids to different concepts such as addition, reading, etc. Young children love to learn and you will most often find a willing pupil that is excited to learn new things, especially when it is their favorite teacher (aka MOM) instructing them.