Board games seem to divide people into two categories, those who love them and those who can’t stand them.
My boys and I are definitely in the “love them” category. I appreciate board games at those moments when we need something to occupy our time, but I lack the inspiration or motivation for a more creative activity. When you need some simple entertainment that doesn’t require much more than a few willing participants and a small chunk of time, board games are the answer.
We’ve had fun making our own games in the past - Fun With Fishing and Make Your Own Matching Game. So, when my preschooler won a checkers game at the arcade recently, I decided to personalize it a bit before handing it over for some alphabet-learning fun.
What you need:
- Checkers game (board and playing pieces)
- Small circle stickers (I used the leftovers from Shape Practice and Peel & Stick – Letter Matching Game)
- Marker
Using the marker, write each letter of the alphabet on a sticker.
(You will only be able to use 24 of the letters, because that is the number of game pieces used to play checkers. No worries, let your child try to guess which letters are missing)
Place each sticker on a game piece and set them on the checker board.
Play the game as you normally would, but each time a player touches a game piece, they must name the letter that is written and say the phonetic sound that the letter makes…
Do you have a favorite board game ? Our current favorites include Blokus 